Home » Audio » Source » How long has this been goin' on?
How long has this been goin' on? [message #11460] Wed, 10 December 2003 13:25 Go to next message
DRCope is currently offline  DRCope
Messages: 160
Registered: May 2009
Location: Brooklyn, CT
Master
How long have you been spinning vinyl? Are you a newbie? An old hand? A prodigal son (or daughter) who wandered away from vinyl and has returned, at least part time?

I trace my vinyl spinning to playing Meet The Beatles on my Dad's mono Garrard and home brew tube system. What really got me in trouble, though, was a Kenwood 1033 manual belt drive table I bought in '76 because the turntable built into the top of my high school graduation present "all-in-one" stereo sounded dreadful, and I suspected it was eating my ever-growing record collection alive. If only I had known what I was getting into . . . . . ;-)

These days I'm listening to a Voyd The Voyd table, Audio Note AN-1s arm and Audio Note Io 1 cartridge.

I should point out that I'm the US Distributor for Audio Note, UK, just so no one thinks I'm trying to "pull a fast one."

Re: How long has this been goin' on? [message #11461 is a reply to message #11460] Wed, 10 December 2003 13:44 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18792
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
I purchased my first high-quality turntable in 1977 or 1978. Before that, I had some average stuff but this had an expensive Audio Technica gold cartridge, which I still have. The turntable itself was a Technics direct drive, which I think probably makes audiophiles today turn their noses up. But I really liked that turntable, and I still think they are good units, especially the heavy models.

Now days - You know what I have 'cause I picked it up from you at MAF last year. It's a Rega P2. I really like that turntable, and I use it often. But I always have to remember to be careful when cleaning records, so that I don't stretch the belt.

With direct-drive turntables, you can spin the platter with your finger and run the cleaner along the record grooves. I was always quite meticulous about record cleaning, and had a ritual that has been etched firmly in my being. If I put a record on a turntable, it becomes like auto-pilot muscle memory to clean and destatic the record, and then lightly clean the needle. But now with a belt-drive unit, I must be careful to assist the motor to spin the platter as I brush the cleaner along the grooves, but not increase or decrease speed which may stretch the belt.

Still, that's not rocket science. It really goes without saying, and it's just a part of the deal. Maybe that's half the fun of it - The ritual of record cleaning. Sometimes, I find myself paying attention to how others do these same things.

I have a pretty large collection of albums, and they have all been cared for very well. None have been played with a cartridge weight of over 1 gram, and the needles used were all premium needles and in good shape. So many of them have no scratches at all, and you cannot hear a single pop or click.

But I was really impressed with the Mark Margiotta's record collection. You know how some guys have shelves full of records and others have rooms full? Margiotta is one of the latter. It's like he is a record distributor or something, he has so many of them. You've gotta meet this guy at one of the anual events, because he is definitely a vinyl aficionado extraordinaire.

Wayne

Re: How long has this been goin' on? [message #11462 is a reply to message #11460] Thu, 11 December 2003 22:43 Go to previous messageGo to next message
elektratig is currently offline  elektratig
Messages: 348
Registered: May 2009
Grand Master
Bought most of my albums from the late 60's through the late 70's (high school and college) -- classic rock, Cream, Jimi, Janis, etc. Switched to CD in the mid 80's and literally put my albums in storage for ten years, couldn't bear to trash them. In about 1997 I bought a Rega Planar 3, pulled the albums out of storage, and voila!

Luckily, when I was in college I was anal about my albums, didn't use them for beer coasters. After 30 years or so, they sound pretty good, except for some of my FZ albums, which I played to death.


Re: How long has this been goin' on? [message #11463 is a reply to message #11460] Wed, 17 December 2003 22:13 Go to previous message
Don T is currently offline  Don T
Messages: 3
Registered: May 2009
Esquire
I had an all in one unit from the mid-60s through the later 70s when I bought my first reciever (JVC), Ampex speakers and a Garrad (I think TT). Then went to Pioneer then Dual then a Harmon Kardon t20 around 1982/3 then a Rega Planar 3 in 1988/9. Since then a Sota Sapphire, another Planar 3, a brief (couple of month) ownership of an LP 12 and currently a Roksan Xerxes DX2. I'm not sure this will be my last deck - the Well Tempered Reference and the Mitchell Orbe might make their way into my system someday.

Previous Topic: Welcome!
Next Topic: REQUIRED:HEADSHELL FOR AR XB1
Goto Forum:
  


Current Time: Wed Dec 04 21:48:26 CST 2024

Sponsoring Organizations

DIY Audio Projects
DIY Audio Projects
OddWatt Audio
OddWatt Audio
Pi Speakers
Pi Speakers
Prosound Shootout
Prosound Shootout
Miller Audio
Miller Audio
Tubes For Amps
TubesForAmps.com

Lone Star Audiofest