**The Official Vinyl Collectors Thread**

[thestand]

Here's an easy rule of thumb: if you're buying an LP made after, oh, '45, it's probably not 78.

EDIT: Actually, I think the last 78s died out closer to the late '50s, and I'm sure some artists have put out novelty 78s since then, but yeah.

[dobyblue]

Yeah definitely novelty, I had a 78rpm speed record when I was younger in the 70's, just one of them and it was a novelty item but I forget what it was.

I also had a plastic (totally bendable) 16rpm novelty 7" record with the 70's British Airways "Fly the Flag" theme on it. Lamesville or what?

By the way did anyone pick up Death Cab's new album on 2LP? I have some serious non-fill issues on SIDE A I'm not happy with, writing to Barsuk now to see if they'll offer a replacement. SIDE B sounds great.

[trippingbillie4]

To those that have audiophile turntables: I hear when you first set it up you are suppose to let it run for a day or two straight. During this break in period can you still put an lp on?

[SYDM6]

Just purchased Sigur Rós - Takk... and I absolutely can not wait for it to ship across the pond. Really excited about this one.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by trippingbillie4

To those that have audiophile turntables: I hear when you first set it up you are suppose to let it run for a day or two straight. During this break in period can you still put an lp on?

I wouldn't do it any other way, it is meant to play music right out of the box.

In fact if you ran it without a record, you wouldn't be breaking in your cartridge at all.

Let that wax sing.

[trippingbillie4]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

I wouldn't do it any other way, it is meant to play music right out of the box.

In fact if you ran it without a record, you wouldn't be breaking in your cartridge at all.

Let that wax sing.

Haha that's what I thought! Just came in an hour ago. Going to set it up in 30 minutes! Wish I could break it in with BTCS but I don't have that yet. I'm thinking either OK Computer or Bon Iver's new album.

[coldengrey12]

Originally Posted by trippingbillie4

Haha that's what I thought! Just came in an hour ago. Going to set it up in 30 minutes! Wish I could break it in with BTCS but I don't have that yet. I'm thinking either OK Computer or Bon Iver's new album.

I vote for OK Computer.

[trippingbillie4]

Originally Posted by coldengrey12

I vote for OK Computer.

Ya, it's easily my favorite album ever so this should be a no brainer.

[coldengrey12]

Originally Posted by trippingbillie4

Ya, it's easily my favorite album ever so this should be a no brainer.

I like the new Bon Iver, but OK Computer is a 17-legged monster in an ass-kicking contest on that one.

[trippingbillie4]

Listening to airbag radiohead right now on the rega rp1 and the word that comes to mind is "full". The sound is much warmer and engulfing. Only minus is it will pick up any dirt or blemishes on the record. So next thing on the list is a decent record cleaner.

[trippingbillie4]

Originally Posted by coldengrey12

I like the new Bon Iver, but OK Computer is a 17-legged monster in an ass-kicking contest on that one.

lol couldn't have said it better

[trippingbillie4]

One of my favorite three song runs of all time: Exit Music (For A Film) -> Let Down -> Karma Police

[mja271]

Need some advice and I figured this is a good place to ask. I'm looking for a good pair of noise canceling, over ear headphones. I'll spend up to $300. Any recommendations? Obviously looking for the best possible sound quality for the price.

[Bron Yr Aur]

Originally Posted by mja271

Need some advice and I figured this is a good place to ask. I'm looking for a good pair of noise canceling, over ear headphones. I'll spend up to $300. Any recommendations? Obviously looking for the best possible sound quality for the price.

If you're spending that money I think you should NOT get noise cancelling if your priority is sound quality.

My recommendation: Get a pair of AKG K701 or K702 headphones, possibly the best in your price range, but they aren't noise cancelling. They are rather loud if others are around while you're listening, however.

I own a pair of the K701's that I got a few years ago, and they are miles beyond even my quite good Grado SR80's.

To be honest, though, I'm not much of a headphone user when it comes to LP's. High quality cans only make me notice any flaws or dust on the LP even more.

[mja271]

Yea these are more for use on the go with my ipod and whatnot. I don't have to spend that much, its just as high as id go. Is prefer noise cancelling because is usually be out in public with them

[trippingbillie4]

Hey all--I'm loving my rega rp1 but I have a quick question for anyone familiar with the device. There's a knob next to the slider that can be either in the 2 position the 1 position below it or the 0 position below the 1. What are these and when am I supposed to switch b/t them???

[trippingbillie4]

I just did some research and I guess its the "bias slider". I've always had mine in the 2 position. So on softer songs if I can actually hear the friction between the arm hitting the record through the speakers that means I need to adjust it, correct?

[Bron Yr Aur]

Originally Posted by trippingbillie4

I just did some research and I guess its the "bias slider". I've always had mine in the 2 position. So on softer songs if I can actually hear the friction between the arm hitting the record through the speakers that means I need to adjust it, correct?

I believe what they call the "bias slider" is the anti-skate adjustment. Usually it is recommended to set the anti-skate at the same number as the downforce. For the Rega RP1 that's probably between 1.5 and 2 g. I've read that Rega's don't usually need the anti-skate set quite as high as the downforce, though, so I'd go a little lower than that. Maybe around 1?

[trippingbillie4]

Originally Posted by Bron Yr Aur

I believe what they call the "bias slider" is the anti-skate adjustment. Usually it is recommended to set the anti-skate at the same number as the downforce. For the Rega RP1 that's probably between 1.5 and 2 g. I've read that Rega's don't usually need the anti-skate set quite as high as the downforce, though, so I'd go a little lower than that. Maybe around 1?

Ya, I'm going to try it at 1 b/c of the issues I've had with 2.

[trippingbillie4]

Hey guys, I'm loving my rega rp1 but I'm already thinking ahead to about a year from now when I get back in the market to upgrade my stylus. I just wanted to know what are the major benefits of getting a very nice stylus? What do you notice when listening to a record on the two of the same players but with different quality styluses?

[dobyblue]

Better tracking, more resolved sibiliance of s's and cymbals/hi-hat's, etc.
It can be a very eye-opening experience how a difference cartridge can improve your rig.

Consider the Goldring 1022GX, Ortofon Blue; you can also look into the Groovetracer platter and subplatter upgrades as well - http://groovetracer.com/

What cartridge is on there right now?

If you have a hifi dealer near you, you can probably demo a couple cartridges with a record you're already familiar with to hear the difference.

[trippingbillie4]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

Better tracking, more resolved sibiliance of s's and cymbals/hi-hat's, etc.
It can be a very eye-opening experience how a difference cartridge can improve your rig.

Consider the Goldring 1022GX, Ortofon Blue; you can also look into the Groovetracer platter and subplatter upgrades as well - http://groovetracer.com/

What cartridge is on there right now?

If you have a hifi dealer near you, you can probably demo a couple cartridges with a record you're already familiar with to hear the difference.

It came with the Ortofon OM5e. I've heard very good things about goldring.

[dobyblue]

It's definitely worth shopping around as well. I use the Goldring 1012GX cartridge.
LP Gear - $390 - http://www.lpgear.com/product/GOLDRG1012GX.html
Needle Doctor - $450 - http://www.needledoctor.com/Goldring...&category=1058

I ruined the needle (careless mistake) before but luckily the actual cartridge for the 1012, 1022 and 1042 is the same, the stylus replacement was $235 - http://www.lpgear.com/product/GLDD012GX.html

I should have upgraded to the 22 or 42 stylus at that point, but the Canadian dealer close to me only had the 12 stylus and I didn't want to wait.

If you have an Ortofon dealer close to you I'm sure they'd let you audition the Blue, Bronze and Black cartridges. The Red is nice too, but if you're going to upgrade might as well do it right?

I hope to get the Groovetracer platter/subplatter combo next year so I'll definitely report my findings as the Goldring turntable I have (GR-2) is made by Rega and has an RB250 tonearm and almost identical build to a P2/P3. The Groovetracers are made for Rega and Goldring tt's.

[trippingbillie4]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

It's definitely worth shopping around as well. I use the Goldring 1012GX cartridge.
LP Gear - $390 - http://www.lpgear.com/product/GOLDRG1012GX.html
Needle Doctor - $450 - http://www.needledoctor.com/Goldring...&category=1058

I ruined the needle (careless mistake) before but luckily the actual cartridge for the 1012, 1022 and 1042 is the same, the stylus replacement was $235 - http://www.lpgear.com/product/GLDD012GX.html

I should have upgraded to the 22 or 42 stylus at that point, but the Canadian dealer close to me only had the 12 stylus and I didn't want to wait.

If you have an Ortofon dealer close to you I'm sure they'd let you audition the Blue, Bronze and Black cartridges. The Red is nice too, but if you're going to upgrade might as well do it right?

I hope to get the Groovetracer platter/subplatter combo next year so I'll definitely report my findings as the Goldring turntable I have (GR-2) is made by Rega and has an RB250 tonearm and almost identical build to a P2/P3. The Groovetracers are made for Rega and Goldring tt's.

Ya, I'd definitely love to take everything up to the dealer and hook up different styluses to really get a true comparison. Yesterday when I was listening to a record I got the receiver up to about half volume before any distortion could really be noticed. Will a better stylus allow you to listen at a louder volume before you hear the distortion or is that something else?

[trippingbillie4]

Listened to Amnesiac yesterday and it sounded really good, especially Spinning Plates and Life in A Glass House. I need to get some more jazz records. But I've always been really impressed with radiohead records. I could hear the quality even when I only had a crossley. I wonder if it's because most of their records are on 180 gram vinyl.

[joshizzle3]

Unrelated, but today, someone read a text, looked up, and said, "Hmm there's mold all over my mom's collection of vinnel." Yeah... College kids in 2011 don't know how to say vinyl. Wow.

[trippingbillie4]

I didn't know till reading about Pink Floyd's reissue of Dark Side of the Moon that bands are putting albums on blu-ray now. For those who have listened to an album on blu ray, is the sound superior to an excellent vinyl set-up? Yes? No? Depends? Or just different???

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by trippingbillie4

I didn't know till reading about Pink Floyd's reissue of Dark Side of the Moon that bands are putting albums on blu-ray now. For those who have listened to an album on blu ray, is the sound superior to an excellent vinyl set-up? Yes? No? Depends? Or just different???

It really depends. For me it's all in the mastering. I have some albums where the LP is best, some where the CD is best, some where the SACD is best, some where the Blu-ray is best and some where the DVD-Audio is best. Yes, cassette is missing, never found a cassette that sounded the best, never collected 8-track or analogue reel-to-reel.

The advantage for me is 5.1 surround. I love a surround mix done well. Listening to "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel in 5.1 from the SACD is an unreal experience that 2-channel just can't compete with for me.

That said the availablity of surround mixes, especially in pop/rock/alternative, is sparse. Hopefully Blu-ray will allow more releases to come out.

Whether the STEREO high resolution track on a BD/SACD/DVD-A is better than vinyl really depends on the mastering. For surround vs. stereo it's how well you like surround and whether the surround mix is any good/gimmicky.

The Elton John SACD's are all excellent.

DSOTM was already released on SACD, but the Blu-ray in addition to the 5.1 mix found on the SACD has the 70's Quad mix by Alan Parsons in 24/96 4.0, presented properly mastered for the first time.

The upcoming Wish You Were Here will also have the Quad mix. It's kinda pricey though, if they want Blu-ray to succeed for music they need more single-disc (or 2 disc) SKU's like Rush's "Moving Pictures" which sounds excellent in 5.1 24/96 PCM.

[trippingbillie4]

So I returned my first order of Dark Side Remaster to amazon because Us vs. Them (favorite song on the album) had some pops for about 30 seconds in the beginning. The 2nd copy came in today and Breathe has one pop. I can't find any indention though. Am I being too picky expecting no pops at all on the first listen or should it be perfectly flawless?

[dobyblue]

Looks like the Foo Fighters are dropping 6 of their albums on vinyl this November.

http://www.shopradiocast.com/product...ghters-LP.html

Foo Fighters have announced the vinyl release of 6 of their greatest albums! They are set to all drop Nov 21 and are available for pre order now! Here is the list:

Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters LP
Foo Fighters - Color and Shape 2XLP
Foo Fighters - In Your Honor 2XLP
Foo Fighters - There Is Nothing Left To Lose 2XLP
Foo Fighters - One By One 2XLP
Foo Fighters - Skin And Bones 2XLP