I can see that. Not too long ago, someone I know looked for a good, working VCR to borrow, and it became clear that nobody we knew had one. You can always find someone on ebay selling, but there's always the issue of price, condition (i.e. how long it'll last), etc.
― birdistheword, Monday, 8 February 2021 00:12 (three years ago) link
xp Certainly no one's producing good mechanisms
― maf you one two (maffew12), Monday, 8 February 2021 00:25 (three years ago) link
I just realized I haven’t had a CD drive on anything in my house for about 6 years
― frogbs, Monday, 8 February 2021 00:28 (three years ago) link
generally best that CDs not get behind the wheel in general, least of all in your home
― class project pat (m bison), Monday, 8 February 2021 00:31 (three years ago) link
otm
― maf you one two (maffew12), Monday, 8 February 2021 00:35 (three years ago) link
I was starting to even get worried about CD players disappearing by the time I need a new one.. but optical disc players will survive because of cinephiles eh?
― brimstead, Monday, 8 February 2021 01:24 (three years ago) link
most high-end audio companies still sell CD players, but yeah... if you've got a good DAC any old DVD or Blu-Ray player will serve for playing CDs
― fbclid=fhAZ3l (f. hazel), Monday, 8 February 2021 03:15 (three years ago) link
i had to replace my dvd player recently and it came without line level out, or a display. was also half the size of the previous one. and they all looked like this, unless you wanted to spend twice as much.
― koogs, Thursday, 11 February 2021 09:18 (three years ago) link
my friend gifted me a 1970's BSR-style dansette for xmas... it's a sub-par turntable (though way better than any crosley junk) but the amp and speaker in it have these projecting forward mids and it just makes you wanna dance. i feel like fonzie punching the jukebox or something. it's been loads of fun to play 45s, 78s and older LPs, but it won't track a modern pressing for shit. i was excited to buy a cardigans LP but after months of tracking adjustments and a new stylus it just skips every song. i guess a lot of new pressings are very loud and weird... maybe something to do with horizontal grooves, too.
it's nice to not be so precious about vinyl and fret over perfect sound forever. i'm having fun just heading to the thrift store and picking up a couple of 45s every weekend. i guess i plan to augmenting my digital collection with records... there's no way i could replace everything in my library and navigating the crapshoot of modern pressings quality control is nothing short of a headache.
― maelin, Thursday, 11 February 2021 12:37 (three years ago) link
if you really really don't care to be precious, put a nickle on the head while you try that cardigans
― maf you one two (maffew12), Thursday, 11 February 2021 13:40 (three years ago) link
weirdly i have found that relief of tracking force rather than applying more helped it to skip less... though i read lighter force is way worse for LPs than heavy. weird.
― maelin, Thursday, 11 February 2021 13:47 (three years ago) link
it's nice to not be so precious about vinyl and fret over perfect sound forever. i'm having fun just heading to the thrift store and picking up a couple of 45s every weekend.
I think you have the right idea. I have a pretty nice Rega and every time I pick up a cheap LP I have a crisis about whether I should play it or not and risk messing up the needle (which is an ordeal and a half to replace, by the way, unless you have the eyes and unshaking hands of a jeweler). I usually just say fuck it and play the record, but your current setup sounds less stressful
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 11 February 2021 15:37 (three years ago) link
? I have a Rega for years and I just play whatever never even worried about it and have had no problems
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 11 February 2021 15:39 (three years ago) link
you need to appreciate the zen of cartridge replacement (or get one where the stylus snaps in and out).
― Thus Sang Freud, Thursday, 11 February 2021 15:39 (three years ago) link
I have an Audio Technica VM540-ML, they have easily replaceable cartridges (amazing cart btw)
I'm assuming Paul has a moving coil (vs moving magnet) cartridge? Those are much harder to deal with....I still mourn by old Denon MC cart (now discontinued) that was broken by a certain small child who is near and dear to my heart
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 11 February 2021 15:43 (three years ago) link
this is why I have two turntables, the nice MMF-5 for ripping vinyl and the Technics 1700 for playing whatever I want
― Überschadenfreude (sleeve), Thursday, 11 February 2021 15:45 (three years ago) link
Do records hurt a stylus? I've honestly never even thought about it
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 11 February 2021 15:47 (three years ago) link
well styli are supposed to be good for about 1000 hours of play assuming you keep the records & stylus clean. i suppose if it hits something that knocks it out of alignment that would be bad. not sure if that can happen.
― Thus Sang Freud, Thursday, 11 February 2021 15:52 (three years ago) link
every time you play a record everything involved dies a little, the record, the stylus, you, etc.
― fbclid=fhAZ3l (f. hazel), Thursday, 11 February 2021 16:05 (three years ago) link
mmmm entropy
― Überschadenfreude (sleeve), Thursday, 11 February 2021 16:05 (three years ago) link
conversely, every time you play a CD, your lifespan increases by .003549 seconds and the sun emits more heavy elements that can be used to manufacture 40th anniversary CD box set editions of all your 80s favorites
― fbclid=fhAZ3l (f. hazel), Thursday, 11 February 2021 16:07 (three years ago) link
lmao. honestly. records are way hardier than people make them out to be. perhaps old ones more than new, though. i wood glued a couple the other week, after the gold rush, parsley sage rosemary... they came up great, and they've been treat like shit and ran through a blunt stylus a bunch and still sound fine. years ago, i remember waiting a few months for an LP to ship from US to UK to me - something i was so excited to hear on wax - and immediately after, i got a tiny nick in it and it skipped forever through track three from then.
going to HMV here is a laugh. ABBA reissues for like £30-40. what? the proper ones are all in your nan's sideboard!
― maelin, Thursday, 11 February 2021 16:17 (three years ago) link
maelin you've given the courage to try the wood glue thing finally
got a copy of dark side of the moon (really nice orig harvest pressing) from my gf's dad but it's so dirty, might as well try it
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 11 February 2021 16:18 (three years ago) link
the wood glue trick looks like it would be an extremely satisfying meditative exercise
― fbclid=fhAZ3l (f. hazel), Thursday, 11 February 2021 16:36 (three years ago) link
I have a Rega turntable but I am probably going to get something else at some point. Not a fan of Rega's "internal ground" that literally no other manufacturer uses. To many random hums and buzzes for my taste. Anyone else have issues?
― Rocky Thee Stallion (PBKR), Thursday, 11 February 2021 16:47 (three years ago) link
to = too
I have a Rega turntable but I am probably going to get something else at some point. Not a fan of Rega's "internal ground" that literally no other manufacturer uses. To many random hums and buzzes for my taste. Anyone else have issues?― Rocky Thee Stallion (PBKR), Thursday, 11 February 2021 16:47 (thirty-eight minutes ago) link
― Rocky Thee Stallion (PBKR), Thursday, 11 February 2021 16:47 (thirty-eight minutes ago) link
It is the only thing I don't like about my Rega (and is it all of them? I feel like it was only the P1s or P2s?) and sometimes it really annoys me but I've generally learned to live with it. Though a lot times I would try to point it out to people when we used be able to occupy the same physical space to listen to records and most people didn't notice unless I said something and sometimes not even then.
I've had the table for 15 yrs now and I'm unlikely to change it anytime soon.
― chr1sb3singer, Thursday, 11 February 2021 17:29 (three years ago) link
just make sure you use unibond titebond II i think it's called, i have heard bad things about others.
― maelin, Thursday, 11 February 2021 17:36 (three years ago) link
i had problems a few years ago, but not for a while, i think it might be when i got a new cartridge, i think it might be related to the wires in the headshell
overall it seems like a solution in search of a problem and at odd with their really stripped down and functional design
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 11 February 2021 17:36 (three years ago) link
Exactly, sort of a galaxy brain move.
My preamp is in the shop and it was buzzing as well so I am curious what I think when I get it back. I am hoping it resolves most of the issues and improves the sound as well.
― Rocky Thee Stallion (PBKR), Thursday, 11 February 2021 18:00 (three years ago) link
posted on a different thread but I went on a fun journey from "hmmm, something's a bit off with the sound" to "you should get a decent cartridge" to "maybe yours is just not aligned properly" to "you actually *can't* properly align a cartridge on your turntable because it's a straight underhanging arm that's meant for scratching and not really for listening", so yup got a new one coming in the mail, this hobby is so fun
― frogbs, Thursday, 11 February 2021 18:09 (three years ago) link
i ordered a pretty expensive record and the vinyl was sealed in this stuff called 'Last', a sort of protective coating. never seen it before and can't find any info about it online, (it's a french record from the 70s). does this negatively affect the value of the record at all? the vinyl is pristine and sounds amazing, so i personally have no problem with it, but vinyl fetishists can be very weird
― global tetrahedron, Thursday, 11 February 2021 18:17 (three years ago) link
xp What did you get?
I've got tubes in my amp and preamp, so there are hums and buzzes coming and going from time to time. I've gotten pretty good about diagnosing the source.
― Rocky Thee Stallion (PBKR), Thursday, 11 February 2021 18:18 (three years ago) link
Last may be a record cleaning solution as there was a company with that name that had a CD cleaning solution.
― Rocky Thee Stallion (PBKR), Thursday, 11 February 2021 18:19 (three years ago) link
whaaaat
https://thelastfactory.com/vinyl-record-care-preservation/
― Überschadenfreude (sleeve), Thursday, 11 February 2021 18:24 (three years ago) link
thanks! it was a tricky google search. looks like this, was defunct for a time and now produced again
https://thelastfactory.com/product/heritage-last-record-preservative-purpose-record-cleaner-kit/
The 30-second treatment affects the vinyl to a depth of about ten molecular layers and becomes part of the groove wall. There are no surface residues for the stylus to pick up. In fact, overuse is harmless.
not sure how legit this is tho
― global tetrahedron, Thursday, 11 February 2021 18:24 (three years ago) link
“overuse is harmless” was the name of my rave night in 1997 iirc
― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 11 February 2021 18:25 (three years ago) link
PBKR - I got the AT-LP120X with Bluetooth. figured it might be nice to have that so I can use headphones since I sit about 15 feet away. I've heard a lot of good things about that turntable, pretty much everyone says it's a great entry/midlevel one for those who don't want to break the bank
those cleaning products drive me crazy, there are just so fucking many of them. I have the D4+ discwasher system which doesn't do much (just kinda pushes the dirt around), plus one of those brushses that's pretty decent at removing debris. for cleaning the stylus I just do the Magic Eraser thing, though I'm kind of confused, do you just tap the surface or does it actually have to penetrate the surface? (I've seen YT videos showing both)
― frogbs, Thursday, 11 February 2021 18:40 (three years ago) link
I use the Magic Eraser on my stylus too; I just drop the needle on the eraser for maybe a second once or twice, and then lift it off. Can't remember where I read about that method, but it seems to work, and a few times I've seen dirt from the stylus left on the Eraser.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 11 February 2021 18:44 (three years ago) link
I have one of those zerodust gel things from Japan, it’s pretty sweet
― brimstead, Thursday, 11 February 2021 19:52 (three years ago) link
this is the best brush I’ve used for picking up dust:https://www.audio-technica.com/en-us/at6012
― brimstead, Thursday, 11 February 2021 20:02 (three years ago) link
although I read somewhere last year that AT started to cheap out on materials so the new ones aren’t as good lol :-/
― brimstead, Thursday, 11 February 2021 20:03 (three years ago) link
I got the AT-LP120X with Bluetooth.
AT turntables are supposed to be pretty good and totally classic.
― Rocky Thee Stallion (PBKR), Friday, 12 February 2021 00:15 (three years ago) link
https://www.business-live.co.uk/manufacturing/first-vinyl-record-plant-factory-20329690
the last piece of news i expected to be reading today was a new vinyl plant opening in my shithole of a hometown. this is most curious. i was under the assumption that there are very few plants left operating internationally. at any rate, wonderful news
― maelin, Saturday, 10 April 2021 13:16 (three years ago) link
that’s awesome
― brimstead, Saturday, 10 April 2021 16:26 (three years ago) link