Hi All
Sitting here converting my old vinyl records to disc, re-living my youf in the 70's. Converting yessongs by yes, thinking about concerts and festivals we went to, dont remember them all but have vivid memory of packing into my new Fb victor with 3 speed column change had a horrendose vibration at 40 mph then disappered at 50 mph when finally looked gearbox tailpiece loose, it used to come loose every so often, in the end had to put on shakeproof washers those were the days
Might I suggest a different approach?? Go and have a listen to a really good quality turntable- I listened to a Linn Sondek over the Xmas break in a decent hifi shop and the sound quality of an old vinyl copy of 261 Ocean Boulevard (Clapton) was absolutely stunning! Very little noise, superb dynamics, full warm bass and crystal high frequency response. I'm not exaggerrating!
Not my favourite album but was a joy to listen to on a decent turntable. I'm not suggesting you spend megabucks (£10000's) like this system cost, but a "mid range" decent turntable such as a Rega planar 2 or 3 with decent cartridge will make your vinyl sound better than you could imagine. No need then to convert it all to CD (unless perhaps to put the music on your iPod), just enjoy it as it was meant to be- much like an original Minor!
I prefer the vinyl sound, but you don't lose it by copying onto CD. I agree that putting on a CD isn't as satisfying as gently lowering the needle onto the disc.....
I've gone down the convert to CD route as I found it a little difficult getting the needle onto the record while driving.
I far prefer analogue sound over digital- seems to have much more texture and subtlety. Agree about getting a good turntable, I thought it was a lot of hogwash until I bought an old Heybrook. I have since found a startling improvement again by swapping the plastic cartridge body for a magnesium one- I don't confess to being ultra keen in the ear department, but the improvement in definition was huge.
One day when I get time, I'm going to build my ultimate LINEAR drive air suspended turntable, just got to get the Moggy sorted first
Roger- you can get software to remove noise, but unless you spend a fortune it also changes the sound too much.
I really think that CD misses something on vinyl. CD quality is only 16 bit 44.1KHZ. They (sony/phillips) decided on this in the early 80's due to the storage limitations of the time. I have recorded my guitar at 96KHZ 24 bit digital and the quality difference over CD is stunning.
Vinyl being an actual anaogue signal has audio information that CD loses out on.
PSL184 wrote:I'd never swap my Linn for any modern rubbish - I just need a really nice valve amp to go with it now
Valve amps! Aaaah! That and a couple of big talking-point horns- can't see the wife putting up with it though, even if I did suddenly get rich! Have to stick with Messrs Arcam and Castle for the foreseeable future
I've gone back to vinyl in the last few years as I found I didn't enjoy listening to my favourite albums (I'm a bit of a Prog rock fan) on CD as they sounded so sterilized! I agree that for the ultimate in listening pleasure you need a record deck and a valve amp, I've got the deck just need to get the valve amp as I'm currently using a cheapo Cambride Audio solid state amp. There are some excellent sites on the net for anyone interested in making their own valve hi-fi. That's probably what I will do - eventually, after restoring my Traveller.
Hi Roger
I am using Polderbits software its not expensive and you can do as little or as much clean up as you want sometimes I just clean up clicks only ,but i found where I had not played them a long time lots of fluff etc on stylus even after cleaning so I wash them in very weak soap solution and plenty of cold water it has even cleaned up a lot of crackle. I use a USB turntable, easier to connect to PC. By the way does anyone know how to repair the spines of covers that's more professional and will last longer than sellotape. I also got a 2+1 speaker system, much easier on the ears for long term listening.
Ian
I'm afraid I'm a phillisteine I've loaded all of mine, CD and Vinyl, on to i-tunes for my i-pod. I would agree that there is a difference in sound quality and ambience but I dont think my hearing is as good as it once was (all those years of Pink Floyd suppose). I have kept all the vinyls and have stored them in the loft complete with my turntable so when some future generation comes across them they will have something to play them on. My vinyl favoutites were from a series I bought in the early 70's (allegedly) Master Recordings which seem to have really great quality. Only played them twice or 3 times to record then to tape and later to CD.
All I need now is a wireless with an i-pod dock for the Minor
The big negative I found with getting a decent set-up ( and this criticism applies to CD & DVD also) is that you rapidly start to find the limits of some of the original sources. I used to think that some Hawkwind quality was patchy, then progressed to a better set-up and found it's actually allawful quality!! Likewise, I've been very disappointed with some Hendrix stuff. But there are some simply breathtaking analogue recordings out there- when you get a female vocalist making the hairs raise on the back of your neck, you know you are getting close!
I very nearly got rid of my original Hi-Fi setup, but I am very pleased I saw sense at the last minute.
I have installed my Quad 33/203 amp and FM3 tuner with Garrard/SME/V15 setup and Quad speakers in the spare room where the pc is with a proper sound card, and it sounds fantastic!
I have ripped pretty much most of the music we have as wav files on the pc - takes an age but it's great to listen to all the old vinyl again which although having been stored in the loft hasn't suffered (well some of the sleeves are coming apart)
I will say though that there were (I have) some rough recordings, but I also have some superb recordings that really leave some modern cds standing.
Fb victor with 3 speed column change had a horrendose vibration at 40 mph then disappered at 50 mph when finally looked gearbox tailpiece loose, it used to come loose every so often, in the end had to put on shakeproof washers those were the days
