Does anyone still use or like vinyl?

[Alain Maréchal]

Don't forget the olfactory element too!

Especially if it is a Melodiya Kniga vinyl sleeve. Fish? Glue? Glue made from fish? It still lingers around Sviridov: Wooden Russia.

[Dave2002]

Well, how about that?

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.c...z3egyGuKA0kkDM

And then there's this - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-65417131

There was also an interview with the Canadian who is putting the store back on Today - either yesterday or the day before - but I can't find it. I do wish the BBC would put markers on the playback lines - it would require someone to do that, but surely with the rather large budgets, which some often think are not spent appropriately, it would be a relatively low cost thing to provide.

[smittims]

I admit I have bought LPs of recordings I already have on CD, and not played the LPs, but bought them just for the pleasure of owning them. The labels are of historical interest (e.g. the cream 'early stereo' labels on EMI records from 1958) and the cover art and sleeve-notes are often much better than the meagre equivalemt on some Cds.

While some of these Lps are too worn or scratched to play, I have recently cleaned some of the better ones and gained much pleasure from playing them, as I have mentioned on other threads. There is a special satisfaction in reviving a sixty-to-seventy-year old disc that may have stood neglected on a shelf before its owner or their heir gave it to Oxfam.

And, dash it all, who's to say what other people like? I wouldn't want to go water-skiing or backpacking to Khatmandu even for a large fee, but I don't mind those who do.

[richardfinegold]

I had mentioned that I had bought a Direct Drive turntable and I have about fifteen records . I’m using it in a secondary system because there was more shelf space so I can’t make the picayune comparison to the best of my digital equipment but I am really enjoying it. About half the records are Bach with Karl Ristenpart and his Orchestra of the Saar, as I am trying to focus on the slim bit of repertoire that isn’t currently available digitally and after 40 years of HIPP listening these do sound old fashioned but there is excellent musicianship and one does get the feeling that the performers are enjoying sharing this music with listeners who were probably hearing it for the first time.
I found someone local who will clean lps ultrasonically for $5 each. Since I don’t wish to buy this machine myself and it is a one time process it’s a useful service and they are much quieter.

[Maclintick]

I found someone local who will clean lps ultrasonically for $5 each. Since I don’t wish to buy this machine myself and it is a one time process it’s a useful service and they are much quieter.

Our local record store charges £1.50 per LP, employing a gizmo similar to the Keith Monks machine rather than ultrasonics, but it’s quite easy to clean them oneself using microfibre cloths, paint pads & soft bristle brushes with a 4-1 mixture of distilled water, 99% pure isopropyl alcohol, & a tablespoon or so of rinse aid - the latter acting as surfactant ensuring that the mixture seeps deep into the grooves, prior to flushing out the accumulated gunge.
There are loads of videos on Youtube showing the basic steps.

I’ve recently resurrected my vinyl collection, consisting almost exclusively of classical 60s & 70s records, & am ruefully kicking myself that I offloaded several hundred to the local charity megastore, retaining only those not duplicated on CD or download, bar a few exceptions I was unable to part with, Properly cleaned, & replayed via a decent turntable and phono cartridge, the results more than stand comparison with ‘purist’ 24/96 transfers to CD, Taking the Decca Ring as a case in point, Jimmy Lock and his fellow Decca engineers achieved a faithful hi-res transfer with careful CEDAR-ing to reduce tape hiss and low-level thumps on the original analogue masters in 1997, to my ears indistinguishable from the LPs in overall sound quality. However, the LPs still score in some respects - hammer & anvil blows of startling realism, for instance.

[pastoralguy]

Especially if it is a Melodiya Kniga vinyl sleeve. Fish? Glue? Glue made from fish? It still lingers around Sviridov: Wooden Russia.

Off topic I realise… However, we picked up two copies of this year’s Edinburgh Festival Brochure from our local library on Tuesday. For two evenings I was convinced our neighbours were painting and decorating due to the pungent smell of paint, only eventually working out that the odour was emanating from said brochures…

[Dave2002]

I had mentioned that I had bought a Direct Drive turntable and I have about fifteen records . I’m using it in a secondary system because there was more shelf space so I can’t make the picayune comparison to the best of my digital equipment but I am really enjoying it. About half the records are Bach with Karl Ristenpart and his Orchestra of the Saar, as I am trying to focus on the slim bit of repertoire that isn’t currently available digitally and after 40 years of HIPP listening these do sound old fashioned but there is excellent musicianship and one does get the feeling that the performers are enjoying sharing this music with listeners who were probably hearing it for the first time.
I found someone local who will clean lps ultrasonically for $5 each. Since I don’t wish to buy this machine myself and it is a one time process it’s a useful service and they are much quieter.

I thought you'd definitively given up on LPs!

I'm not quite sure what the fascination with them is, but yesterday I went into a local HMV store - and yes - there were loads of LPs - just like 20 years ago. Relatively few CDs. I was "amused" by the special offers - £40 for 2 LPs. HMV also sells record decks, but I suspect that they're not great. However, if I ever get my turntables working again, and if HMV or other shops are going to offer cleaning services, then I might be tempted to go down that rabbit hole just one more time - though I fear I may not live that long!

I do have some LPs of music which is either not available on CD, or even NLA.

[Bryn]

I thought you'd definitively given up on LPs!

I'm not quite sure what the fascination with them is, but yesterday I went into a local HMV store - and yes - there were loads of LPs - just like 20 years ago. Relatively few CDs. I was "amused" by the special offers - £40 for 2 LPs. HMV also sells record decks, but I suspect that they're not great. However, if I ever get my turntables working again, and if HMV or other shops are going to offer cleaning services, then I might be tempted to go down that rabbit hole just one more time - though I fear I may not live that long!

I do have some LPs of music which is either not available on CD, or even NLA.

I have purchased two vinyl LPs during the past year. Both were replacements for recordings damaged beyond repair in a house fire back in the 1980s and neither recording has since appeared on CD or as a download. I have played neither, as yet, due to my Thorens deck needing rewiring and my not having got a round tuit. When the necessary rewiring has eventually been done, each LP will probably be played just once (after thorough cleaning) with the output being fed directly to a high-resolution digital recorder prior to editing to repair at least some of the vinyl-induced distortions of various sorts.

[teamsaint]

Popped into this exhibition yesterday.

https://www.smb.museum/en/exhibitions/detail/broken-music-vol-2/

Which was interesting, informative, and perhaps shed a little light on the resurgence of interest in the format.

[richardfinegold]

I thought you'd definitively given up on LPs!

I'm not quite sure what the fascination with them is, but yesterday I went into a local HMV store - and yes - there were loads of LPs - just like 20 years ago. Relatively few CDs. I was "amused" by the special offers - £40 for 2 LPs. HMV also sells record decks, but I suspect that they're not great. However, if I ever get my turntables working again, and if HMV or other shops are going to offer cleaning services, then I might be tempted to go down that rabbit hole just one more time - though I fear I may not live that long!

I do have some LPs of music which is either not available on CD, or even NLA.

I had, but I had a list of old favorites that I was waiting to come available digitally and after several years decided to purchase the lps, just sitting in the bins of local shops, and of course needed something to play them with. I am limiting my purchases to recordings that are unavailable digitally, or in the case of the Horenstein Mahler 3, are only available in unacceptable digital transfers. I purchased the Technics Direct Drive DJ turntable, the only Direct Drive table I ever owned, and find that it cures most of the ills of turntables, such as speed instability. I also find that ultrasonic cleaning removes much of the noise from lps, much better than the alternative methods discussed here.
I still prefer digital, and will only a lp if the recording otherwise isn’t available. The direct drive table for me does a lot to close the gap between digital and analog

[Dave2002]

I had, but I had a list of old favorites that I was waiting to come available digitally and after several years decided to purchase the lps, just sitting in the bins of local shops, and of course needed something to play them with. I am limiting my purchases to recordings that are unavailable digitally, or in the case of the Horenstein Mahler 3, are only available in unacceptable digital transfers. I purchased the Technics Direct Drive DJ turntable, the only Direct Drive table I ever owned, and find that it cures most of the ills of turntables, such as speed instability. I also find that ultrasonic cleaning removes much of the noise from lps, much better than the alternative methods discussed here.
I still prefer digital, and will only a lp if the recording otherwise isn’t available. The direct drive table for me does a lot to close the gap between digital and analog

I may have a version of the Horenstein Mahler 3 which is OK somewhere, though I'd have to search for it. As I recall there was a CD version which was not a standard CD, but something like XHCD or HDCD, and it required a special plugin to play or rip, otherwise it sounded absolutely dreadful. If you've got a working version well done. I have heard disc (vinyl) systems which sounded as good as many CD systems, or in some cases better, but most disc systems are definitely inferior. I think one of the turntables I put away - as a project to work on when I retired (hah! ***) - is a direct drive, but I've never used it. I might see if I can connect it out of curiosity, though I'm not now sure if I have a reasonable amp which will take a cartridge input - I'll have to check.

*** It is of course a fallacy that one has lots of time when retired, or that projects like restoring old turntables will come centre stage.

[Bryn]

I may have a version of the Horenstein Mahler 3 which is OK somewhere, though I'd have to search for it. As I recall there was a CD version which was not a standard CD, but something like XHCD or HDCD, and it required a special plugin to play or rip, otherwise it sounded absolutely dreadful. If you've got a working version well done. I have heard disc (vinyl) systems which sounded as good as many CD systems, or in some cases better, but most disc systems are definitely inferior. I think one of the turntables I put away - as a project to work on when I retired (hah! ***) - is a direct drive, but I've never used it. I might see if I can connect it out of curiosity, though I'm not now sure if I have a reasonable amp which will take a cartridge input - I'll have to check.

*** It is of course a fallacy that one has lots of time when retired, or that projects like restoring old turntables will come centre stage.

My CDs of Horenstein's 'studio' Mahler 3 came in a Brilliant Classics set of all 9.2 with a variety of performers and conductors. They are standard 'Red Book' CDs. It has also been issued on standard CDs on other labels.

[gramophonic]

I used to seriously collect lps of classical music even a couple of years ago, but a couple of things happened:
1: I started to sell some of my own cds on discogs, which went so well I started buying collections to resell. This means as well as my own 6000 or so cds I have thousands, and I mean thousands, in storage, it's basically a library at this point!
2: I got a DAC I really like the sound of (an r2r/NOS DAC, Metrum Musette with lots of upgrades for the techy types) that has taken away the harshness that I felt like I was hearing with digital music. Digital now sounds almost, almost! as good as vinyl, and is so much less faff!

However I do have an extremely good (my opinion) vinyl playback system, consisting of a Technics 1210GR up stairs with studio moniters and a shure v15 iii cartridge, and the main system which is a garrard 301 with audiotechnica arm, shure v15 iii with fancy-ish micro-ridge stylus, and quad 33 and 303 with Mordaunt Short ms10I classic speakers (the best bookshelf speakers I've ever heard and I've heard a LOT of bookshelf speakers.

I went from around 6000 lps to maybe 3000. Everything with a lot of pops and ticks went. All the cfp/mfp/other budget stuff went other than a few early cfp albums. I was offered astonishing money for some of the Decca and Columbia albums (as a poster above mentioned) so they went.
What I am left with are either rare repertoire albums or amazing sounding ones. Lots of stuff on labels like Melodiya, Genesis, Vox, Supraphon, schwann, Marco Polos that I never had the cd issues to, etc. Lots of 80s digital lps (I think they are the very best and often prefer the recording quality to the valve stuff, also dmm pressings are super quiet)

I have bought a couple of recently issued lps, the audiophile issues, honestly wasn't impressed. Inner groove distortion was so bad on 1 album (a clearaudio reissue) I sent it back twice until it became clear it was on every single copy! but when a record is good it is very very good sounding.

An interesting point is that I started seriously collecting records while I was at uni c. 2008 or there abouts. Back then stereo Decca SXL records and HMV ASD were in every charity shop. The incredible rise in second hand record prices over a very short period of time has really been annoying me, so I buy much less now! Oxfam are the very worst for this, £10 per classics for pleasure reissue - I don't think so!

I bought a record cleaning machine, too, and that really was a game changer. Decent pressings are now extremely quiet, but the other thing that machine has done is made me think much harder about what I keep. My tolerance for crackles and pops is a lot lower than it was, I'm 33 years old and already replacing records of music I like with the cd versions due to this (it's amazing how uncommon some of those Vox box sets have become!)

I also really like mono lps.

All this being said, my main love is 78s and I will put up with all the noise shellac brings (was listening to isolde menges play the beethoven kreutzer sonata from 1926 on my large horned gramophone earlier), so I guess it all boils down to a personal choice. I still love vinyl for jazz and other types of music, but am learning to live with a lot less of it for classical.

PS as a 90s kid I hated tapes, they always seemed to chew up and that hiss annoys me much more than vinyl noise for some reason.

[richardfinegold]

My CDs of Horenstein's 'studio' Mahler 3 came in a Brilliant Classics set of all 9.2 with a variety of performers and conductors. They are standard 'Red Book' CDs. It has also been issued on standard CDs on other labels.

I had the Horenstein on lp back in the day, bought the CD when it came out but probably only listened to it a few times. The Gramaophone did one of their CLassic Recordings revisited or whatever they call the feature about a year ago and were very negative on the CD remix. I hadn't listened to it for a while but found myself agreeing with their comments. High Definition Tape Transfers has said they will remix the recording but they seem to be taking their time about it. So I bought the lp version recently. I really can't think of another classical recording where the CD was so markedly inferior--usually its the opposite, with one of the most drastic cases again being a Mahler/Horenstein effort, the Fourth with the LPO. Here the Cd was spades better than the CfP lp issue.
In pop music, I know of several records where I prefer the lp to the very first CD issue-namely Cat Stevens, the Beatles, Judy Collins, Leonard Cohen...however subsequent remixes issued digitally were huge improvements in all cases

[hmvman]

...my main love is 78s and I will put up with all the noise shellac brings (was listening to isolde menges play the beethoven kreutzer sonata from 1926 on my large horned gramophone earlier)...

EMG? Steel or fibre?