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Would you buy a turntable? (1 Viewer)

Lee Scoggins

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Just curious if any members would consider buying a turntable these days...

Would a lot more music titles do it for you?

Would more economical tables work?

Would you stay digital no matter what?

Let me know your thoughts...I'm curious with the vinyl resurgence if anything can be done to expand the base of fans. I don't want to have an analog vs. digital debate...there are strengths and weaknesses to both formats.

So what is your view on analog?
 

Marc Colella

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Personally, I have no desire to buy a turntable regardless of the amount of content available for it.

There are advantages and disadvantage to vinyl with regards to sound quality, but overall it's just not convenient enough for me and I think many feel the same way. Convenience is the reason why MP3 has become so popular at the expense of sound quality.

I'm more than happy with CD and SACD, and only require MP3 for portable listening - I just can't fit vinyl into the equation.
 

Aaron Silverman

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Since I'd only be listening to LPs on my main system anyway, and I already have SACD and DVD-A capability, I have no need whatsoever for a turntable.

I think I still have a couple of old albums that were never released on CD, but nothing that I HAVE to listen to -- I could always make CDs of them myself if I really wanted to.
 

Lee Scoggins

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"Convenience is the reason why MP3 has become so popular at the expense of sound quality."

Sadly true, but I see a nice grassroots swell for vinyl lately. I notice a lot of high schoolers buying the wax these days. I wonder if this is a how to keep a hirez format alive. Warners is reissuing the Rhino catalog so I wonder if this gives a bit more longevity to the niche.

I'm under no illusions for expansion beyond a niche, but as much as I like SACD I see no major pop/rock being issued of note (MoFi is still good but few titles) and I don't like the sound of CDs in terms of resolution. My hope is that maybe the labels will embrace a retro-format like LP as profitable niche so we can have more software in high resolution quality.

I like DVDA and SACD but they seem to be shrinking from what I can tell. Vinyl, while a pain sometimes, seems to be something the younger generation likes and the sound quality is terrific. I also wonder if 16/44.1 CD can hold up well against iTunes.
 

ElevSkyMovie

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While I like vinyl (but wouldn't get back into it), I have a hard time calling it high resolution.
 

David Deeb

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I loved turntables & the sound they produced. I kept my high-end table & at least 50 albums, but they've been stored for 10 years. Can't imagine ever going back because of convenience of CDs and MP3s.

However, the saddest part of the turntable's demise is the demise of one of cartoon's greatest audio jokes on future generations. I.E. When cartoon characters like Ren and Stimpy get into a jam, they turn towards the camera and you a hear a sound effect of a needle dragging across an album. :laugh:

Truly a classic every time & kids probably have no idea what that sound is.
 

Michael Harris

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I bought what will most likely be my last turntable for about $450 three years ago. A nice manual Pioneer direct drive model. I have a large collection of classical LPs that would be too expensive to replace with CDs or for which CDs still haven't been issued. I am in the process of using my turntable to convert some of my LPs into CDs.

One thing I discovered is that it is increasingly difficult to find amps with a proper phono input. A few months ago I assisted my parents in buying a new receiver and found only two with a phono input.
 

ChristopherG

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Maybe, if the one I have breaks down. I don't use it a lot but it is fun occasionally to fire up some vinyl and show the kids the way it used to be. It is very hard to give up the convenience that digital music has brought, though.
 

Jerome Grate

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I just inherited one, and with my CD recorder, I plan to use it to transfer albums to cd then to ipod. 100s and 100s of songs not even on CD that I really like and this will give me the opportunity to get them on CD.
 

Matt Fisher

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I'm actually just starting to get into vinyl...there happen to be a number of music stores selling (often exclusively) records here in Brooklyn and the other boroughs, so I thought it would be a fun hobby. I don't plan on spending crazy money...I plan to pick up either a used player on craigslist or buying something in the $100-150 range at Guitar Center, J&R or the like. I don't plan to get top notch sound out of these as I'm just going to buy a cheap receiver and bookshelf speakers and set this up in my bedroom. I also still buy a fair amount of CDs from independent artists, so I figure this might be something different, I hear it's a different experience listening to vinyl.
 

KurtEP

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I've had a ProJect for a number of years now. I love the sound, and when I'm in the mood to screw around with vinyl, nothing else will do. I enjoy tossing an album on and just listening to a side without the temptation to skip around like I always do with other formats. Plus, I'm kind of old school in that I think a stereo rack looks incomplete without a turntable on top.

That said, I'd prefer to have everything I own in SACD...
 

KurtEP

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I had an incredibly difficult time as well. I think I ended up getting my rack from some airline magazine or sky mall, I can't remember which.
 

Aaron Silverman

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I wonder how much of that is due to actual interest in vinyl as an audiophile format as opposed to interest in it for DJing purposes.
 

Lee Scoggins

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I think it's three things. I talk to the kids from time to time and some say they prefer the sound, some say they are doing needledrops to iPod from albums they like, and some are DJs.
 

RobertR

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Regardless of anecdotes, I seriously doubt that more than a very small fraction of one percent of kids have any interest in vinyl, and very few even know what it is. I predict that it will have essentially zero viability once the generations that grew up with it are gone.
 

Marc Colella

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When you mention that kids are DJs, are you referring to record-scratching type of DJs? (I'm more out of touch with kids than I thought... I feel so old).
htf_images_smilies_blush.gif
 

Danny Tse

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Yes, I would....if I have the extra $$$ laying around. Until then, I am in the process of connecting my Technics TT to my new Sony TA-S7 integrated amp and its build-in MC phono pre-amp.

As for software, I am always involved in various formats....if not vinyl, then CD, or SACD. And I just added DVD-A with the purchased of an Oppo 970.
 

Jon_Are

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I still have my circa late 70s Pioneer turntable and somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500 lps.

And while I admit I rarely fire it up these days, I couldn't bear the though of parting with it (nor the albums).

Once in a while I'll glance through a few of the records and surprise myself by what I have; for example, the other day I was taken aback when I discovered the depth of my Neil Young catalog.

I'd like to attribute this to the vastness of my collection, rather than old age setting in. :D

Jon
 

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