The price of vinyl satisfaction?

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16 hours ago, esimms86 said:

Yes, I know what forum this is and, no, this thread is not one of those vinyl vs. digital pissing contests. I was just reading elsewhere about the Grado Aeon cartridge that sells for $6000. This got to wondering if someone already satisfied with the amp/preamp/speakers in their rig were to take an audiophile dive into vinyl, how much would they need to spend to again reach an undisputed level of audio nirvana. I'm guessing that 20 to 30 thousand dollars spent on a vinyl rig(turntable, arm, cartridge, cleaning supplies, LP sleeves, etc., all in sans furniture and vibration control and, of course, LPs) would probably get you there. Yes, you could spend a lot more but you wouldn't have to. I should also add that, when I was imagining such a rig, I did so with the understanding that an expenditure of 20 to 30 thousand dollars is not what many in this hobby would consider extravagant.

 

I recently upgraded to a Triangle Art Concerto + platter upgrade + Jelco 750 ($4k), Triangle Art Crystal speed controller ($2k) and Triangle Art Zeus cartridge ($2k). Manufacturer price all in was $8k (MSRP is a lot higher). The crucial upgrade to SQ over my old MoFi StudioDeck ($1k) + AT-OC9ML/II ($500) is in the area of dynamic performance; the new setup renders life-like dynamic speed and power which I believe is the key to being happy with a system. Did I need to spend $8K to achieve this level of performance? Maybe not, but that is the price I ended up paying.

 

Also, you can't just play any vinyl. They MUST be audiophile grade pressings. Actually, this is very important to get across: don't worry about the gear, that's the easy part -- worry about the vinyl you're going to play on it. Here's the deal -- most vinyl SUCKS. There's a FEW audiophile labels that CONSISTENTLY put out high quality pressings (MoFi and Analog Productions). It's NOT ENOUGH to just be on 180-200g vinyl. It's NOT ENOUGH to just be from a limited audiophile label -- case in point, half my Reference Recordings records are UN-LISTENABLE due to NOISE. An expensive system will be wasted on noisy and/or compressed junk. Modern big label releases are purely a crap-shoot, with crap being the most common outcome.

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6 hours ago, esimms86 said:

My understanding is that, with the proper stylus and record cleaners and static removers, you could have an enjoyable listening experience  even when spinning some non-audiophile discs. 

 

Yes, that is common misinformation. I learned the hard way otherwise. I even resorted to sending some noisy records -- some of them brand new from shrink -- to a cleaning service (Perfect Vinyl) that does a multi-pass ultrasonic clean and enzyme soak + vaccum after trying over and over to clean them myself to no or little effect. BTW I've used expensive enzymes and ultra pure water, vacuuming and even the wood glue method myself. Meanwhile every single one of my Analog Productions discs are almost perfectly quiet right out of the shrink with no cleaning needed. 

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My current CDP is a MHZS CD88J which is a mid-fi Chinese job. I have a pair of good 5751s (military 12AX7) on the output stage, and it features of a tubed power supply (rectifier and voltage regulator); it does a good job of warming up CDs and adding some image depth to them but is utterly crushed by my Triange Art turntable setup. 

 

 

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3 hours ago, Ralf11 said:

https://www.malaymail.com/s/1648539/testosterone-pushes-men-to-luxury-brands-study-reveals

 

Does testosterone defenciency push men to Fikus plants?

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36 minutes ago, SJK said:

 

I can give you all the details.  If possible, I buy everything used.  Only the Nu-Vista Vinyl on the list below was bought new.  Current system is:  

 

Kharma Speakers Model CRM-3.2-FE with Black Label Drivers
Clearaudio Compact Innovation Turntable
Clearaudio Universal Tonearm
Dynavector DV-XX2MKII, Dynavector Te Kaitora Rua Phono Cartridges
Bryston BDP-2 Digital Player
Bryston BDA-2 DAC
Korg MR-2000S Digital Recorder
Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800 Integrated Amplifier
Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista Vinyl Phono Preamp
Yamaha TX-350 Tuner
APC Power Conditioner H15BLK
Grado Reference Headphones RS1i

 

I would have never paid full price for the turntable.  I seem to recall trading in a Rega P9 against a Clearaudio Ovation that had the Universal tonearm.  They were asking $4,600 CAD for the turntable/arm combination.  Some fellow traded in on bigger and better, had the tonearm for less than a year.  Goodness, the tonearm alone was worth over $8K in Canada.  Then, I traded in the Ovation for the Innovation Compact and had to kick in something like another $2K.  I kept the arm and added the VTA lifter to the package and there it was.

 

I made a lot of changes this year in anticipation of downsizing homes.  That included selling the Klipschorns that I had fully rebuilt and picking up the Kharma's. Other changes were selling the Audio Research LS-27 and VS-115 for the Musical Fidelity 800, and the Audio Research PH-5 for the Musical Fidelity Vinyl.  Oh, and sold close to 1,500 rock LP's that have all been recorded with the Korg.  

 

Music is an important thing in our house, something we enjoy every day.  The TV is in the basement for watching movies only.

 

Please understand that it's hard to believe that this digital system is on par with that analog setup.

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On 7/9/2018 at 4:23 AM, mordante said:

 

I mostly buy new music most older music holds no interest to me. In my collection there are maybe 20 to 40 LP's I bought second hand. The last LP's I bought:

 

Roger Waters - Is This The Life We Really Want?

Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction

Sleep - The Sciences

Various - Guardians Of The Galaxy Awesome Mix Vol. 1

Wrekmeister Harmonies - The Alone Rush

My Dying Bride - The Angel And The Dark River

Amenra - Mass I

Amenra - Mass II

Amenra - Mass III

Amenra - Mass IIII

Amenra - Mass V

The Angelic Process - We All Die Laughing

Amenra - Mass VI

Danny Cavanagh - Monochrome

See very few second hand/old release albums. Not everyone is into jazz or blues.

 

This seems like a non-audiophile library. Is it true that audiophiles only listen to jazz, classical with maybe a sprinkling of classic rock?

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2 hours ago, Route 66 said:

OMG, I guess you guys have a history with this individual! ?

 

I’m a resident truth-teller, so that makes me a target.

 

I realize that all I listen to is jazz and classical, and mostly that’s all you hear at the audio shows, so I wonder if that’s all audiophiles actually listen to.

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2 minutes ago, kumakuma said:

 

Neither of these statements is correct. 

 

I’m a truth-teller — check

I’m a target — check

 

Both statements are true and I was targeted for stating the truth; you accidentally proved it.