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Vinyl |OT| The magic is in the grooves

Deleted member 5853

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
12,725
I found a signed Glass Candy 12'' yesterday signed by both Johnny Jewel and Ida No.

I sent an email to IDIB asking if it's legit, but I'm buzzing. I'm so happy to have found that.
 
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wenis

wenis

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,110
torre_avenue said:
I found a signed Glass Candy 12'' yesterday signed by both Johnny Jewel and Ida No.

I sent an email to IDIB asking if it's legit, but I'm buzzing. I'm so happy to have found that.
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They exist. I have one. I believe it was one of those "first of the 300 to order gets a signed copy" deals
 

Deleted member 5853

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
12,725
wenis said:
They exist. I have one. I believe it was one of those "first of the 300 to order gets a signed copy" deals
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Oh really? Damn that's cool! Yeah, I stumbled upon it randomly in a record shop in LA and I was shook. I asked the people at the counter if I could really buy it for $15 since it was signed, and they said yeah. It was doubly odd too, since they had a signed version of Snoop Dogg's reggae record on sale for $80, so I'm guessing they either didn't know it was signed or just didn't care.

I also ended up buying Actress' "Ghettoville" and the single of Jamie xx's "Girl/Sleep Sound".
 

Deleted member 5853

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Oct 25, 2017
12,725
Iris

Iris

Member
Oct 28, 2017
102
Do you guys like Sonic Boom in Toronto? I went there last year to checkout CD's, but I was thinking of getting into analog, and was just wondering if it's a good place to buy records from.
 
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wenis

wenis

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,110
hmm, already own Control and Rhythm Nation, but wouldn't mind owning Velvet Rope.
 
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wenis

wenis

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,110
been a minute since i've done an update

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ZeroDS

ZeroDS

The Fallen
Oct 29, 2017
3,420
Anyone know any good places to buy a record player in Japan. I was looking at the lp120 but for some reason it isn't sold over here
 
PurpleMoustache

PurpleMoustache

Member
Oct 29, 2017
2,587
Neu! 75 on the table tonight. Fresh arrival, that rounds out my collection of all 3 Neu! albums. There isn't a fourth one. Not at all...
 
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wenis

wenis

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,110
NoRéN said:
What's your opinion in that price range between the LP-120, Teac, or Fluance turntables?
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I don't have too much familiarity with either TEAC's or Fluance tables, but they look and review well enough. My personal money would be on a LP-120(X) or a U-Turn Orbit table if you're thinking of upgrading. I've used both (didnt own) and they're good upgrades.
 
daveo42

daveo42

Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,251
Ohio
Just found out about this OT today. My modest setup at this point:
fWcC6xZl.jpg

Latest pickup was this beaut, Sonic and Knuckles vinyl rip that is one of the best sounding small batch vinyl in my collection.
4mBvq8Tl.jpg
 
Pinku

Pinku

Member
Dec 21, 2017
357
WYOWAQ9_d.jpg


I have a Teac TN-300 hooked up to Q Acoustics 2010i. Great sound but I want to do some upgrades. No space left in my apartment though. Gonna buy a house so I can have a dedicated room for vinyl, books and whisky! 😅
 
pooptest

pooptest

Member
Oct 27, 2017
618
Any opinion on the Fluance RT85... when it eventually comes in stock?

Thinking about upgrading from an AT-LP60 when it inevitably does.
 
slinch

slinch

Member
Jan 20, 2018
642
It's a nice looking table, but just on the tonearm's effective mass alone I'd go with a Rega Planar 1 instead. It doesn't look as flashy, but it's a better performer. The rt85 does come with a pretty good cart, but it's not compliance-matched to the tonearm, meaning you're extremely likely to experience unwanted resonance in the arm, which very noticeably effects the playback.
 
A_Dang

A_Dang

Member
Oct 27, 2017
262
Western New York
I recently received some vinyl for my birthday, forcing me into pool of collecting records...which is all well and good, except I don't have a table..and I'm honestly terrified to play any of the nicer records I just got because they are on the pricier end of things.

I can get a table, I'll scan through this thread and get something in my price range, but am I being overly concerned about ruining +$100 records by playing them?
 
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wenis

wenis

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,110
A_Dang said:
I recently received some vinyl for my birthday, forcing me into pool of collecting records...which is all well and good, except I don't have a table..and I'm honestly terrified to play any of the nicer records I just got because they are on the pricier end of things.

I can get a table, I'll scan through this thread and get something in my price range, but am I being overly concerned about ruining +$100 records by playing them?
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Unless you're putting a playskool or crosley turntable needle on them they should be ok, another thing to be concerned with would be the quality of the needle tho. If it hasn't been well taken cared for or is cheap then there may be damage. You are dragging a needle into vinyl essentially so minor wear will occur.
 
pooptest

pooptest

Member
Oct 27, 2017
618
Yoss said:
I've heard really good things except for the availability problem.
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Thanks.
Yeah, same from a couple forums, but also nice to get feedback from everywhere.
I don't mind being patient. I just hope it gets listed on Amazon eventually (as there others are)... got $200 worth of gift cards to burn for it.
 
Eros

Eros

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,660
Haven't posted an update in a while. I was looking at my discogs page thinking I bought one record last month. Turns out it was 9. Oops

0okDgrd.jpg
 
Yoss

Yoss

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,680
Canada
Eros said:
Haven't posted an update in a while. I was looking at my discogs page thinking I bought one record last month. Turns out it was 9. Oops
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Nice pickups, I've heard really good things about Freddie Gibbs but haven't checked him out yet. I had to put myself on a vinyl diet a few months ago, I thought I'd be doing good for the month and wouldn't realize how much I picked up. Running out of cabinet space helped too.
 
pooptest

pooptest

Member
Oct 27, 2017
618
Yoss said:
pooptest Fluance turntables are back in stock today
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Thanks! They went super fast, though.

I have $200 in Amazon GC that I can't apparently use via Amazon Pay, so I'm just gonna wait for it to pop up on Amazon directly soon enough. I was tempted to order directly, but the site was getting hammered like crazy. By the time I was able to get onto the site, they were already out of stock. :(
 
Yoss

Yoss

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,680
Canada
pooptest said:
Thanks! They went super fast, though.

I have $200 in Amazon GC that I can't apparently use via Amazon Pay, so I'm just gonna wait for it to pop up on Amazon directly soon enough. I was tempted to order directly, but the site was getting hammered like crazy. By the time I was able to get onto the site, they were already out of stock. :(
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That's weird, they're still showing up as available to me on the Fluance website. It looks like Fluance offers the option to pay using Amazon Pay too.
 
pooptest

pooptest

Member
Oct 27, 2017
618
Yoss said:
That's weird, they're still showing up as available to me on the Fluance website. It looks like Fluance offers the option to pay using Amazon Pay too.
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Oh, really? I checked at like 8:30 and showed out of stock. And yeah, unfortunately you can't use Amazon GC balance with Amazon Pay, so still a waiting game for me for a while. It apparently just acts as a payment intermediary like Visa Checkout.
 
*Splinter

*Splinter

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,087
Hello.

I've decided I want to start collecting Vinyl. Not so much for the quality but they just seem like a really nice thing to collect. You get the physical collection itself, the artwork, and the occasional special edition stuff that isn't always ported over to streaming services (hello Fragile Deviations).

So I figure I should get a record player as well so I can actually play them, and that's where I need some advice...

I'm hoping for something in the £200 range, prioritising sound quality and convenience. Don't think I will have any need for digitisation.

Found this handy guide from TechRadar and like the look of:

1. Audio-Technica AT-LP120-USB - their best rated, and one of the cheapest at £200. Only concern is it includes the USB output for digitisation so I'd be paying for a "benefit" that I don't care for. Wonder if I can get better quality elsewhere without that.

4. Fluance RT81 - similar to above but without the USB and slightly more expensive (£250). They list "poor vibration damping" as a negative which seems weird as I thought belt drives were better for that? Do they mean external vibrations?

5. Pro-Ject Debut Carbon - well reviewed but a little outside my price range at £350. Probably won't get this one as I don't see what justifies the extra £100 over this next option:

6. Rega Planar 1 - probably my favourite option at the moment. Well rated for sound and £250 is doable. However this also requires a phono preamp. No idea what that is or how much to expect to spend on it (also applies to the Pro-Ject).

Any recommendations? From this list or otherwise. Anything else I should know or consider? What is a phono preamp anyway?

Any help much appreciated!
 
JavonMcCloud

JavonMcCloud

Member
Oct 25, 2017
59
*Splinter said:
Hello.

I've decided I want to start collecting Vinyl. Not so much for the quality but they just seem like a really nice thing to collect. You get the physical collection itself, the artwork, and the occasional special edition stuff that isn't always ported over to streaming services (hello Fragile Deviations).

So I figure I should get a record player as well so I can actually play them, and that's where I need some advice...

I'm hoping for something in the £200 range, prioritising sound quality and convenience. Don't think I will have any need for digitisation.

Found this handy guide from TechRadar and like the look of:

1. Audio-Technica AT-LP120-USB - their best rated, and one of the cheapest at £200. Only concern is it includes the USB output for digitisation so I'd be paying for a "benefit" that I don't care for. Wonder if I can get better quality elsewhere without that.

4. Fluance RT81 - similar to above but without the USB and slightly more expensive (£250). They list "poor vibration damping" as a negative which seems weird as I thought belt drives were better for that? Do they mean external vibrations?

5. Pro-Ject Debut Carbon - well reviewed but a little outside my price range at £350. Probably won't get this one as I don't see what justifies the extra £100 over this next option:

6. Rega Planar 1 - probably my favourite option at the moment. Well rated for sound and £250 is doable. However this also requires a phono preamp. No idea what that is or how much to expect to spend on it (also applies to the Pro-Ject).

Any recommendations? From this list or otherwise. Anything else I should know or consider? What is a phono preamp anyway?

Any help much appreciated!
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A vinyl pre-amp basically takes the weak signal output by the stylus of your turntable and amplifies it to a level your receiver (or whatever you're using, knowing that could also be helpful to answer your question) can use. Some turntables have this built in, some require an external one. Some popular external options in and around $100 are the Art DJ Pre II, U-Turn Pluto, and Schitt Mani.

Like all things sound quality related, all opinions with this stuff are a little subjective. But in general a separate external pre-amp is a better option if you can afford it. It gives you more flexibility if you decide to upgrade your turntable down the road and often sounds better than a built in option.

Personally, I don't think you need to get too far into the weeds with this stuff when dealing with that sort of budget. Any of those turntables on the list are nice and will treat you nicely for years. If you do end up with the Audio-Technica, look for the LP120X. AFAIK it's the same price and has some updates to how the built in pre-amp works which would allow you to fully disable it if you ever did want to upgrade.

Lots of variables depending on what you're pumping the sound through, so at the risk of getting too wordy I'll leave it there. Hope that helps!
 
slinch

slinch

Member
Jan 20, 2018
642
*Splinter said:
Hello.

I've decided I want to start collecting Vinyl. Not so much for the quality but they just seem like a really nice thing to collect. You get the physical collection itself, the artwork, and the occasional special edition stuff that isn't always ported over to streaming services (hello Fragile Deviations).

So I figure I should get a record player as well so I can actually play them, and that's where I need some advice...

I'm hoping for something in the £200 range, prioritising sound quality and convenience. Don't think I will have any need for digitisation.

Found this handy guide from TechRadar and like the look of:

1. Audio-Technica AT-LP120-USB - their best rated, and one of the cheapest at £200. Only concern is it includes the USB output for digitisation so I'd be paying for a "benefit" that I don't care for. Wonder if I can get better quality elsewhere without that.

4. Fluance RT81 - similar to above but without the USB and slightly more expensive (£250). They list "poor vibration damping" as a negative which seems weird as I thought belt drives were better for that? Do they mean external vibrations?

5. Pro-Ject Debut Carbon - well reviewed but a little outside my price range at £350. Probably won't get this one as I don't see what justifies the extra £100 over this next option:

6. Rega Planar 1 - probably my favourite option at the moment. Well rated for sound and £250 is doable. However this also requires a phono preamp. No idea what that is or how much to expect to spend on it (also applies to the Pro-Ject).

Any recommendations? From this list or otherwise. Anything else I should know or consider? What is a phono preamp anyway?

Any help much appreciated!
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Performance-wise, out of the ones listed the Rega is an absolute winner.
 
Cugel

Cugel

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Nov 7, 2017
4,412
*Splinter said:
Hello.

I've decided I want to start collecting Vinyl. Not so much for the quality but they just seem like a really nice thing to collect. You get the physical collection itself, the artwork, and the occasional special edition stuff that isn't always ported over to streaming services (hello Fragile Deviations).

So I figure I should get a record player as well so I can actually play them, and that's where I need some advice...

I'm hoping for something in the £200 range, prioritising sound quality and convenience. Don't think I will have any need for digitisation.

Found this handy guide from TechRadar and like the look of:

1. Audio-Technica AT-LP120-USB - their best rated, and one of the cheapest at £200. Only concern is it includes the USB output for digitisation so I'd be paying for a "benefit" that I don't care for. Wonder if I can get better quality elsewhere without that.

4. Fluance RT81 - similar to above but without the USB and slightly more expensive (£250). They list "poor vibration damping" as a negative which seems weird as I thought belt drives were better for that? Do they mean external vibrations?

5. Pro-Ject Debut Carbon - well reviewed but a little outside my price range at £350. Probably won't get this one as I don't see what justifies the extra £100 over this next option:

6. Rega Planar 1 - probably my favourite option at the moment. Well rated for sound and £250 is doable. However this also requires a phono preamp. No idea what that is or how much to expect to spend on it (also applies to the Pro-Ject).

Any recommendations? From this list or otherwise. Anything else I should know or consider? What is a phono preamp anyway?

Any help much appreciated!
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Click to shrink...
Pro-Ject is above everything else
 
*Splinter

*Splinter

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,087
Thanks for the advice! Still looking at the Rega Planar 1, paired with the slightly cheaper Pro-Ject Phono Box MM which seems to review well.

I was hoping to plug this into a Sonos Beam... and having done a little more research it seems that's not so easy -.-

Argh why is this so complicated. I'm abandoning the Sonos dream (again). I think I need an AV receiver... That leaves me the option of a surround sound setup down the line, and lets me connect the record player to my Megaboom until I can afford some better speakers.
 
slinch

slinch

Member
Jan 20, 2018
642
*Splinter said:
Thanks for the advice! Still looking at the Rega Planar 1, paired with the slightly cheaper Pro-Ject Phono Box MM which seems to review well.

I was hoping to plug this into a Sonos Beam... and having done a little more research it seems that's not so easy -.-

Argh why is this so complicated. I'm abandoning the Sonos dream (again). I think I need an AV receiver... That leaves me the option of a surround sound setup down the line, and lets me connect the record player to my Megaboom until I can afford some better speakers.
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Well, in essence the Beam is just a larger and less portable Megaboom. Of course there's a wide difference in features, but the main focus of those devices is digital and wireless. Quite the opposite approach to the good old vinyl.

When trying to build a setup, or really just thinking of getting into any kind of audio with such opposing concepts, it's best to really take a step back and plan out whatever you can. Work out what you're preferences are, what you wish to achieve in short-term, what your goals are in the long run. Just adding the odd piece to patch up whatever's missing will bring nothing but mismatched and unbalanced chaos. Just like in your case, buying a receiver just to hook up your record player to a portable speaker is so unbelievably counter intuitive, as well as simply wasteful, even if you do plan on getting a surround setup one day. You'll likely compromise on the AV receiver because you'll focus on as inexpensive as possible solution to play your records, then down the line you'll compromise on your surround setup because you'll be building it around the receiver you just bought on a whim, all the while you'll be listening to records on a great turntable yet still end up with a terrible experience.

What I'm really getting at is: quick fixes just to get something new working with the stuff you already have when that stuff isn't really intended to work together will almost always lead to bad decisions and a heap of compromises.

So ask yourself the following questions:
- What do I like to listen to most? Is that mostly just TV, movies, a lot of music, gaming?
- Which of those do I want to focus on first?
- What matters most, ease of use, portability, small footprint, design, sound quality?
- How much am I willing to spend for the thing I'll focus on first, and how much do I likely see myself spending on all of it in the long run?

Only after you've answered these, start thinking about what to buy.
 
*Splinter

*Splinter

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,087
slinch said:
Well, in essence the Beam is just a larger and less portable Megaboom. Of course there's a wide difference in features, but the main focus of those devices is digital and wireless. Quite the opposite approach to the good old vinyl.

When trying to build a setup, or really just thinking of getting into any kind of audio with such opposing concepts, it's best to really take a step back and plan out whatever you can. Work out what you're preferences are, what you wish to achieve in short-term, what your goals are in the long run. Just adding the odd piece to patch up whatever's missing will bring nothing but mismatched and unbalanced chaos. Just like in your case, buying a receiver just to hook up your record player to a portable speaker is so unbelievably counter intuitive, as well as simply wasteful, even if you do plan on getting a surround setup one day. You'll likely compromise on the AV receiver because you'll focus on as inexpensive as possible solution to play your records, then down the line you'll compromise on your surround setup because you'll be building it around the receiver you just bought on a whim, all the while you'll be listening to records on a great turntable yet still end up with a terrible experience.

What I'm really getting at is: quick fixes just to get something new working with the stuff you already have when that stuff isn't really intended to work together will almost always lead to bad decisions and a heap of compromises.

So ask yourself the following questions:
- What do I like to listen to most? Is that mostly just TV, movies, a lot of music, gaming?
- Which of those do I want to focus on first?
- What matters most, ease of use, portability, small footprint, design, sound quality?
- How much am I willing to spend for the thing I'll focus on first, and how much do I likely see myself spending on all of it in the long run?

Only after you've answered these, start thinking about what to buy.
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Ok you're right. Really I should forget about surround sound, that's not happening until at least next year. My concern is I'm going to start to run out of space now if I need a separate amp and speakers. Is there a simpler option I'm missing?

I should probably go back to the LP120X. That simplifies things a bit and knocks £100 off the price.

The Megaboom was definitely not supposed to be the solution :p

Edit: there is a simpler option, I just didn't know how to search for it. Think I need something like the Edifier R1280T



On the vinyl front, I've ordered the essentials to get me started:
Dark Side of the Moon
Lateralus
The Fragile: Deviations 1


Edit 2: After much back and forth, I've settled on the Rega Planar 1 with a Rega Fono Mini A2D preamp connected to a pair of Edifier R1850DBs. Should arrive on Friday :)
 
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maximumzero

maximumzero

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,922
New Orleans, LA
I'm kinda regretting buying into vinyl back in January 2018. I don't play it very much and I haven't bought a new record in probably nine months.

I went through my parents' collection and plucked out about a dozen titles, but I want to get them properly cleaned before I gunk up my turntable. I feel like once I get those cleaned and give them a listen my interest might be revitalized a bit.

I think it also hurts that I'm in an apartment with the wife. I feel like I can't enjoy albums without potentially annoying her. Once we're in a house (hopefully by the end of the year) I can set up the turntable in a separate room and better enjoy it.

I'm hopeful I don't need to replace the stylus or belt anytime soon considering I use it so infrequently.
 
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