Vinyl

[Rip76 4917]

16 hours ago, BoomMF said:

Walmart is doing their $15 vinyl sale. Every Walmart I visited in the east Austin area had every title on sale for $15, and I mean every. $50 Rolling Stones Hot Rocks, $15. $70 George Harrison All Things Must Pass box set, $15, and on and on. Good luck.

Went today.

Need to go back for the Hot Rocks.

 

 

Edited November 19, 2022 by Rip76

[BoomMF 1398]

Nice haul, but scoring that Guaraldi is next level.

[Topper13 3238]

Fucking Amazon vendors shipping records in plastic fucking bags

 

[TexPx 2321]

Walmart is doing their $15 vinyl sale. Every Walmart I visited in the east Austin area had every title on sale for $15, and I mean every. $50 Rolling Stones Hot Rocks, $15. $70 George Harrison All Things Must Pass box set, $15, and on and on. Good luck.

Thanks for the heads up. Picked up the Gauraldi at my nearby store yesterday but nothing else interesting. Out and about today and stopped at one across town and found some nice ones.
Sale was supposed to end yesterday and they were ringing up at regular price at the electronics checkout. I pulled a “Karen” and pointed out to the Mgr. they still had the sign up so the gave me the sale price.

[tokamak 6353]

Only thing of interest to me at my local Walmart was Hot Rocks. They did have the Garth Brooks Legacy box set for $15, which seemed like a great deal but Garth Brooks ain't my thing so I passed.

Edited November 21, 2022 by tokamak

[BoomMF 1398]

You're a vegetable. 

[tbone_ 14039]

Whatever that is it looks like I can’t afford it

[stc 1453]

that's a very highly regarded Jackson direct drive pedophile. 

[trza-hawk 269]

It doesn't matter how much money you spend on the system or the lighting. It just does not matter.

[Pescado_Rojo 19345]

My Walmart online haul showed up today. 

[Axle Hongsnort 208]

I have an irrational need to allocate some year end bonus funds to the Wrensilva Loft. Anyone familiar with them ?

SOUND
* Wrensilva solid state pre-amp
* 100 wpc Class D output - ICEpower by Bang & Olufsen
* Wrensilva 2-way bass reflex speakers with premium drivers
* 55hz-20k hz +/- 2.5db

TURNTABLE
* Fully decoupled belt driven turntable with Pro-ject 8.6" aluminum tonearm
* Wrensilva split plinth construction
* 33-1/3rpm and 45rpm playback speeds
* Low-resonance, piano-black platter
* Pro-ject precision DC-powered motor
* Ortofon OM5E Cartridge

LISTENING MODES
* Vinyl
* Sonos WiFi streaming
* Bluetooth

* Broadcast from your Wrensilva stereo console to any Sonos speaker throughout your space

[ultimaton 2966]

The limited edition of Tool's Fear Inoculum is a black friday deal at Amazon right now. Currently $61, down from $170.

https://www.amazon.com/Fear-Inoculum-Limited-Vinyl-Tool/dp/B09T8F2ZQF/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=fear+inoculum+limited+edition+vinyl&qid=1669314575&sprefix=fear+in%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-1

Edited November 24, 2022 by ultimaton

[Pescado_Rojo 19345]

On 11/24/2022 at 12:29 PM, ultimaton said:

The limited edition of Tool's Fear Inoculum is a black friday deal at Amazon right now. Currently $61, down from $170.

https://www.amazon.com/Fear-Inoculum-Limited-Vinyl-Tool/dp/B09T8F2ZQF/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=fear+inoculum+limited+edition+vinyl&qid=1669314575&sprefix=fear+in%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-1

Funny story. I just read this post and thought "shit, that's a great deal" and clicked on the link to buy it....which I guess I also did on Thursday evening...because there was a big blue box at the top of the page that said "Last purchased Thursday, November 24th". So I check my email, and there's a notice from Amazon that it will be delivered today. I guess that's what I get for shopping on gummies, but I'm stoked I get to listen to this today. 

[BoomMF 1398]

While I was picking up some speakers, I asked the dealer about cartridges. I'm still hunting for an endgame MC. He proceeds to show me a trade-in he has, customer bought a Mcintosh MT10 (as photogenic a turntable as there ever was) and swapped out the cart. It's a Mcintosh branded Clearaudio Talismann v2 Gold low output MC. He sent it home with me to check and see if I liked it. Cool. Popped open the phonostage, monkeyed with some jumpers, and set it up for thr new cart. Installed the cart and immediately upon touching the tonearm to drop the needle, I get a buzz. Fuck me. So I dusted of the multimeter to track down the problem. I had to pull EVERYTHING apart tracing back the continuity problem. Made it all the way to cable interface, so I pull out the mount to get to it and noticed the set screw holding the tonearm  in the mount was set too deep and snapped off a copper lead. I don't know how it happened, we don't need to point fingers. Contacted Transrotor, in Germany mind, to see if they had a replacement to that piece that they could send me and they were like nein. Argh. So I busted out the soldering iron and dropped an ugly bead (soldering isn't like riding a bike apparently) where the copper lead was supposed to terminate, threw it all back together and viola, dude's grounding like a champ. Crisis averted.

The Talismann is an eye-opening experience. There's a noticeable increase in life to records. I like to test with Kind of Blue, but Randy Travis's voice on Storm's of Life (MoFi) is something I know like the back of my hand and he has never sounded so present as with the new cart. I had my heart set on a Sumiko Starling, but damn son.

Gonna play it a lot this week and give homeboy the yay or nay. 

Edited November 29, 2022 by BoomMF

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

Nice.

I ain’t that fancy, but did add an MP-500 stylus to my Nagaoka cart (MP-150/200 body) recently. Saw a tip from a guy on a Nag FB about a Japanese site to buy Nag stuff from that is way cheaper than everywhere else (even Japanese eBay sellers).

I’m enjoying it. Had been using elliptical styli before, so the fine line is very precise sounding.

[dcbc 14443]

Nice work.  Mine was jumping toward the middle of records, which I thought was an unbalanced tone arm.  But I swapped out my reproduction Ortofon stylus (VMS20E Mkii) for a lower compliance one (also a reproduction Ortofon FF 15XE mkii) which is compatible, but which will allow for a little  more tracking force (just a tad more).  Problem with my jump/skip seems to be solved.  Now I just need to get things fine tuned a bit.  I also want to look at this older stylus under the magnifying glass to see if it just needs to be wet cleaned.  I was pretty religious about dropping it on the Magic Eraser square on a regular basis, but my son has bought some albums he probably should have cleaned before he played, and may have munged it up a bit.

Edited November 29, 2022 by dcbc

[stc 1453]

Matador Records holiday sale purchase arrived yesterday. All good Sunday morning records. Somehow didn't have any YLT in my collection.

[oSuJeff97 3435]

Oh shit I guess I missed out on the Wal-Mart thing.

Is that a regular thing they do? Annual? More often?

[Mr. Drummond 2197]

I’m a noob with vinyl (I’m 55, so I had vinyl growing up of course) 

Im taking over an 11x13 room that I’m turning into my study.   Think many leather bound books and rich mahogany.    Will have floor to ceiling custom bookshelves, a desk and one comfy reading chair.

What should I buy for a vinyl setup and speakers for this size room?  Budget is whatever.  5k? Does spending a few more thousand make a big sound difference? I’ll be your huckleberry.  

Spend my money.  

[CooterBrown 17949]

Build your spacing and shelf depth to handle an oversized 13.5”x13.5” box with fixed shelves that can handle the weight. No adjustable shelves.

[Chico_SA 521]

Great Album. Enjoying this one

[Rip76 4917]

Doyle….

 

 

[Axle Hongsnort 208]

I’m brand new to collecting and am curious how to best work through what can be overwhelming Discogs options for a given album. I’m looking for a copy of Also Sprach Zarathustra / 2001 Theme and the options are amplified because so many orchestras have performed it.

Sifting through, many were replicated from CD which I understand defeats the purpose of vinyl. The Discog filters are not real helpful here, so it’s hunting and pecking just part of the fun?

I’ve experienced this when looking for for everything from live jazz to best live Jane’s Addiction concert versions on Discogs, Amazon, etc.

TLDR - is there a way to search for the “best” vinyl to weed out stuff sourced from CD or other substandard options?

[dcbc 14443]

DCBC Jr. got a Fluance RT81 for Christmas.  Nice little table.  He got a copy of Velvet Underground's Loaded to break it in.  Sounds pretty good through an old surround amp we had with a phono input and a pair of older Sony speakers we had lying round.  He's pumped.

[MAUFRAIS 6589]

Are you aware that Sterling Morrison went to UT? Cool thing I didn’t know until lately.

[CooterBrown 17949]

I’m brand new to collecting and am curious how to best work through what can be overwhelming Discogs options for a given album. I’m looking for a copy of Also Sprach Zarathustra / 2001 Theme and the options are amplified because so many orchestras have performed it.

Sifting through, many were replicated from CD which I understand defeats the purpose of vinyl. The Discog filters are not real helpful here, so it’s hunting and pecking just part of the fun?

I’ve experienced this when looking for for everything from live jazz to best live Jane’s Addiction concert versions on Discogs, Amazon, etc.

TLDR - is there a way to search for the “best” vinyl to weed out stuff sourced from CD or other substandard options?

If it’s an official release, it won’t be duplicated from a CD. That’s how many bootlegs are made though. However, the source could be digital since most modern music since the 90s has been recorded digitally and not on analog tape. That shouldn’t be confused with being sourced from a CD. An original digital source won’t be compressed like a CD and can sound excellent on vinyl.

[dcbc 14443]

On 12/18/2022 at 11:25 AM, Axle Hongsnort said:

TLDR - is there a way to search for the “best” vinyl to weed out stuff sourced from CD or other substandard options?

More often than not, googling "best vinyl version of album you're looking for" will lead you to a discussion at:

 

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv

 

It's how I sorted through getting good reissue pressings of the 1968--1972 Stones albums.

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

MoFi restocked I think around 1k each of some Miles Davis releases, including In A Silent Way (possibly my favorite Miles record), which is a $220 median record on Discogs (I’d had it in my want-list for years, unfortunately after it exploded in value).

Now it’s available at $40 until they last. They also have Sketches of Spain, Milestones, and A Tribute To Jack Johnson.

https://www.musicdirect.com/music/vinyl/miles-davis-in-a-silent-way-numbered-180g-vinyl-lp/

[BoomMF 1398]

On 12/25/2022 at 9:34 PM, Anton Chigurh said:

MoFi restocked I think around 1k each of some Miles Davis releases, including In A Silent Way (possibly my favorite Miles record), which is a $220 median record on Discogs (I’d had it in my want-list for years, unfortunately after it exploded in value).

Now it’s available at $40 until they last. They also have Sketches of Spain, Milestones, and A Tribute To Jack Johnson.

https://www.musicdirect.com/music/vinyl/miles-davis-in-a-silent-way-numbered-180g-vinyl-lp/

Thanks to your heads-up: Arrived today along with some other bougee pickups. Tonight's listening is all MoFi.

Edited January 2, 2023 by BoomMF

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

Still waiting on mine, damnit.

[Rip76 4917]

1 hour ago, BoomMF said:

Thanks to your heads-up: Arrived today along with some other bougee pickups. Tonight's listening is all MoFi.

I Robot.

Max volume 

[mdmost 42953]

20 hours ago, BoomMF said:

Thanks to your heads-up: Arrived today along with some other bougee pickups. Tonight's listening is all MoFi.

How much did you pay for the Bill Evans Trio?

[CooterBrown 17949]

We finally cleaned out the playroom since our youngest is done with toys and now I have some nice built in shelves that are perfect for vinyl storage.  Right now, my collection isn't even alphabetized and it is around 500 records.

Does anyone alphabetize by the first non-article word of the artist regardless if it's a band name or individual's name?  My first instinct was that, that is stupid. But, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. There are many artists in my collection where there is no last name (Baby Huey, Olivia Jean), not sure if there's a last name (Sun Ra), or the name is part of the band name (Steve Miller Band).  For consistency sake, wouldn't it make sense to to just alphabetize by the first word regardless if it's a band name or individual's name? If I'm gonna grab a PJ Harvey album off the shelf, my brain doesn't think "Harvey", it thinks "PJ Harvey".  

 

Edited January 3, 2023 by CooterBrown

[MAUFRAIS 6589]

That’s the way Discogs does it.

[CooterBrown 17949]

11 minutes ago, MAUFRAIS said:

That’s the way Discogs does it.

That's enough validation for me. 

I was thinking of also subdividing my collection by "genre":

• General 
• Austin Music
• World/Jazz 
• Fuzz Club
• Compilations/Soundtracks

[stc 1453]

alphabetically by genre is definitely easier if you've got 500 recods. i've got a bunch of genres that only make sense to me but that's all that really matters. 

[MAUFRAIS 6589]

Autobiographical?

No fucking way.

[CooterBrown 17949]

20 minutes ago, stc said:

alphabetically by genre is definitely easier if you've got 500 recods. i've got a bunch of genres that only make sense to me but that's all that really matters. 

Yeah, I almost added a Gen X sub but that's the majority of my General sub so it seemed redundant.

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

That's enough validation for me. 
I was thinking of also subdividing my collection by "genre":

• General 
• Austin Music
• World/Jazz 
• Fuzz Club
• Compilations/Soundtracks

I do split mine out into 3 groups, but may do it further.

Jazz
Soundtrack/electronic/ambient
Everything else

And I guess box sets are separated, too.

[tbone_ 14039]

So if you go out to buy vinyl today, how do you ensure your getting the real dynamic recording and not a compressed version pressed off a previous digital version?

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

So if you go out to buy vinyl today, how do you ensure your getting the real dynamic recording and not a compressed version pressed off a previous digital version?

It’s kind of a process. Learning which labels tend to use good mastering engineers and tape or DSD sources, using Discogs to see how people have rated it/commented on it, and reading Steve Hoffman and/or Reddit.

I like Mike Esposito’s YouTube channel for The ‘In’ Groove as well. I’ve learned a lot from him.

For moderns releases/reissues, anything mastered by Bernie Grundman, Ryan K. Smith, or Kevin Gray will be excellent. They typically only work with quality sources too, even when digital. Mike Bozzi, Chris Bellman (seems to be Bernie’s protégé), Krieg Wunderlich (does the MoFi vinyl releases) are all good, too.

Previous big names to look for are:

Rudy Van Gelder (if you get into jazz you’ll quickly learn about him) and Roy DuNann (west coast jazz) for jazz. These guys did it all, and also engineered and mixed their recordings.

Robert Ludwig (his original Led Zeppelin II cut is legendary). Also did Houses of the Holy, Back in Black, Band of Gypsys, The Nightfly, Brothers in Arms, and a ton more. However, once the loudness war started he kinda went off the deep end with it.

George Peckham (lots of UK pressings of many, many things, from individual Beatle solo work to Joy Division, but various US Zeppelin stuff was also done by him).

Doug Sax (did some of the Doors’ catalog, and a good amount of Pink Floyd).

Steve Hoffman (of the aforementioned Steve Hoffman Forum).

George Piros.

Wally Traugott.

Barry Diament.

Dennis Drake.

Lee Hulko.

And tons more. The recording is obviously the most important aspect, but a good recording can still sound shitty with a poor mastering.

Audiophile labels that come to mind first are Analogue Productions, Mobile Fidelity, Intervention Records, Speaker’s Corner, Impex. Anything else can be hit or miss, and it will be important to see who mastered it.

It can be complicated. You know, a lotta ins, a lotta outs, a lotta what-have-yous.

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

Another thing is to not buy any of the mostly European bootleg stuff from labels like WaxTime, DOL, DMM, 4 Men With Beards, etc. It’s all CD sourced.

[stc 1453]

14 hours ago, tbone_ said:

So if you go out to buy vinyl today, how do you ensure your getting the real dynamic recording and not a compressed version pressed off a previous digital version?

the real answer is they can't tell a difference but desperately want you to think they can 

[trza-hawk 269]

Its endless audiophile jargon and marketing blabber designed to get middle aged dudes to part with their spare change for a reissue of an album where you can usually pick up the pressing from the original era for less than ten bucks.

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

Its endless audiophile jargon and marketing blabber designed to get middle aged dudes to part with their spare change for a reissue of an album where you can usually pick up the pressing from the original era for less than ten bucks.

Many, if not most times, the original pressing is the best. That’s why I posted all the info that I did above on what to look for. Sometimes it is harder to find clean copies, though. It just kind of depends.

[tbone_ 14039]

Original pressing would be my 1st choice I think.

[dcbc 14443]

17 hours ago, tbone_ said:

So if you go out to buy vinyl today, how do you ensure your getting the real dynamic recording and not a compressed version pressed off a previous digital version?

I posted this above, but it's worth mentioning again.

 

More often than not, googling "best vinyl version of album you're looking for" will lead you to a discussion at:

 

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv

 

But as my son, who is building a very nice collection, recently reminded me, he has purchased several hard to find at a reasonable price albums in the last year, most of which were the version people said weren't the best versions.  And as he and I agree, the all sound stellar to our ears.

Edited January 4, 2023 by dcbc

[mdmost 42953]

Some originals are hard to come by unless you want to pay hundreds of dollars. I would imagine most vinyl on the market is cut from digital sources. There are companies that do a pretty good job of being truthful and transparent about where the vinyl is sourced from. Blue Note does a great job as you can see the mastering sessions on Instagram. Anything Analogue Productions does is fully analogue or they will definitely make it known if digital files were all that were provided. Some companies now only provide digital files for mastering like Sony Columbia. That's what gave away the whole MOFI controversy. Now, MOFI is truthful about if the mastering comes from a digital source. You're still getting incredible quality. 

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

Which is why mastering is the most important part!

[BoomMF 1398]

How much did you pay for the Bill Evans Trio?

$150 shipped. Still have eyes peeled for Sunday at the Village Vanguard but ffs.