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Is it worth starting to collect vinyl at 28?

Started by MoonDust, November 12, 2018, 06:41:33 PM

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MoonDust

Never had vinyl before. Never had a record player.

Is it worth starting now?

Or in the age of Spotify and YouTube will I eventually feel the novelty has worn off and I've wasted my money? It occurred to me recently that I don't have decent audio output for my music. I either have my phone or my laptop, neither of which have fantastic speakers.

So I was thinking I should buy some decent speakers, but then the thought occurred that I could get something novel along with them. At least novel for me.

Bad idea? Should I just stick with speakers?

Also, how do record players work? Online shops just seem to show the turntable. I'm assuming speakers can be attached to them, even the ones that have built in speakers?

Shit Good Nose

Dude, 28...you're still a child (28 you were, etc)

MoonDust


daf

#3
Here's my tip - Skip all the new re-issues and buy second hand

New re-issues :
1. FAR too expensive (£29.99? Get knotted!)
2. Mastered from digital files (often with 'loudness wars' low dynamic range baked into it)
3. A tiny number of pressing plants that don't know what they're doing - so most new vinyl is PLAGUED with endless pressing errors.

Used vinyl (up to 1990 or so) :
1. Dirt cheap (usually £5 - £10)
2. 100% analogue chain - with much better dynamic range
3. Loads of pressing plants with decades worth of experience - rarely ANY pressing defects.

One further thing, heavy 180 gram vinyl is a gimmick - it looks nice, but has ZERO effect on the sound - absolute ZERO.

Even thin Dynaflex pressings from the 1970s will usually knock spots off modern pressings - it's all in the mastering and cutting - not the thickness of the disc.

Sebastian Cobb

That and don't buy a shit crossley deck or something.

MoonDust

So what decks are good? And what speakers? Are speakers normally separate?

Shit Good Nose

Unless you get one of those lolretro all-in-one decks from Argos or Manstore, you'll need a separate amp and speakers.

Deck-wise go for a second hand Technics, Marantz, Denon or Linn all from the 90s/early 00s - better value for money and bang for buck compared to most decks around now.


Insert video here of whichever stand-up did the "so let me get this straight - you put a NEEDLE on a piece of PLASTIC!?!?!?"

MoonDust

I will probably hit the shops tomorrow. Although as yet have no idea where to look. (Not seen many second places in Germany.)

Shit Good Nose

I would do eBay for the deck.  Others will be better off recommending speakers and amp as I've massively lost touch there.

Sebastian Cobb

NAD amps are good and cheap on ebay and the like.

My mate got a NAD amp and some B&W speakers for around the £150 mark recently.

Do Germans use Gumtree? That's usually good for hifi being sold locally.

daf

I've got an Audio Technica - which is a Technics knock off - though unlike the Technics, it will also play 78s. *

One important thing is the stylus - if they have one, the turntables will likely come with the cheapest one fitted.

They can be VERY expensive (hundreds of pounds!), but I went for the best I could find without paying silly money - the AT95e which was around £35.

- - - - - - - - - - -
*
you'll need a dedicated 78 stylus for this - I bought one already mounted in it's own head-shell so I don't need to rewire the bugger everytime I fancy some Leslie Sarony - just unscrew, swap & play on Macduff!)

BlodwynPig

Quote from: MoonDust on November 12, 2018, 06:41:33 PM
Never had vinyl before. Never had a record player.

Is it worth starting now?

Or in the age of Spotify and YouTube will I eventually feel the novelty has worn off and I've wasted my money? It occurred to me recently that I don't have decent audio output for my music. I either have my phone or my laptop, neither of which have fantastic speakers.

So I was thinking I should buy some decent speakers, but then the thought occurred that I could get something novel along with them. At least novel for me.

Bad idea? Should I just stick with speakers?

Also, how do record players work? Online shops just seem to show the turntable. I'm assuming speakers can be attached to them, even the ones that have built in speakers?

Although Kane Jones has first dibs, you can have my 3000 or so LP collection if you can promise (non-financial) more than Kane can.

Get a deck that can change speeds easily, mine dosn't. so to change speed I have to take off the platter and manually move the belt.

Also how much storage space to you have. Vinyl is dead heavy and will take up a lot of space. If your going into the realms of charity shop and car boot hunting get a good Record sized bag you can put your finds in.

MoonDust

This is all beginning to sound like massive hassle. You have to change the needles? I had no idea.

You don't have the change the needles if you don't want to. Only if your after the very best sound. Listening to Vinyl isn't about convience though, its about giving the whole process of music a bit more respect. To pop a record takes a bit more effort, which means your going to end up being more selective with what you buy and listen too, but your morel ikely to listen to an album all the way through as you let it run out.

MoonDust

Also as a side note, looking at Bluetooth speakers: when did all speakers become cylindrical in shape? Genuinely missed that happening. Speakers have always been box shaped with the round vibrating things on one side. When did they all become tubes and eggs??


Did you step into a branch of Anne Summers by mistake?

MoonDust

Quote from: Special K on November 12, 2018, 08:22:39 PM
https://youtu.be/TxQqWSnsHoA

This is genuinely my fear of the whole idea.

Quote from: Delete Delete Delete on November 12, 2018, 08:23:07 PM
Did you step into a branch of Anne Summers by mistake?

You say that but Google "Bluetooth speakers". Telling you. Cylinders everywhere.


MoonDust

I wasn't complaining about their shape. I'm just genuinely surprised that seems to be the common shape now. Like I didn't notice the change. How do they work? Does sound come out in all directions?

What are you intending to listen to on Vinyl? Just curious.

MoonDust

Most likely vinyl versions of the more older music I currently like. 90s and before.

I assume some of the big hitters like Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Led Zepplin etc? I think you should check out some of the prices of the Records you like on Ebay first then decide if its worth it for you.

manticore

Moondust:
QuoteAlso, how do record players work? Online shops just seem to show the turntable. I'm assuming speakers can be attached to them, even the ones that have built in speakers?

QuoteYou have to change the needles? I had no idea.

I love this, it warms my heart.

Moondust I'm exactly twice your age so you must take my advice when I tell you to start off like I did in 1977 with a secondhand Dansette or similar model possibly with the addition of a sophisticated second speaker for stereo sound. Then in a few years you could advance to one of those Music Centres that are so cool though a bit bourgeois, and have the added feature of an integrated cassette player/recorder so you can make complitation tapes and the like.

Mark E Smith said some time around 1979 that he made music to sound good coming out of a Dansette, but then that is the sort of thing he said.

I would look on Discogs as well as Ebay to get an idea of the kind of prices you would be paying for LPs. Discogs is a better place to buy vinyl in my experience.

Kane Jones

Quote from: BlodwynPig on November 12, 2018, 08:13:53 PM
Although Kane Jones has first dibs, you can have my 3000 or so LP collection if you can promise (non-financial) more than Kane can.

I will kiss each record goodnight individually before bedtime. Add that to my list of promises.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: Kane Jones on November 12, 2018, 10:22:25 PM
I will kiss each record goodnight individually before bedtime. Add that to my list of promises.

Seems Moondust is one of those young cocks that like to piss in the face of a gift horse.

The collection is yours.

Nowhere Man

Quote from: BlodwynPig on November 12, 2018, 10:41:26 PM
Seems Moondust is one of those young cocks that like to piss in the face of a gift horse.

Young? Steady on, he's 28, might not be worth starting a new hobby considering his doddery old age.

sardines

It is really the wrong time to get into vinyl if it is only for the medium itself.
10-20 years ago you could pick up good quality second hand vinyl for virtually nothing. It was a way of exploring music at minimum loss. Now record stores overprice any old shit and the market is flooded with expensive dubious reissues.
That said a lot of the best new music is still vinyl only (in terms of physical format) but that is the only reason to get into it.

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: Delete Delete Delete on November 12, 2018, 08:42:53 PM
I assume some of the big hitters like Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Led Zepplin etc? I think you should check out some of the prices of the Records you like on Ebay first then decide if its worth it for you.

To echo what manticore said, I'd too go for discogs over ebay. My mate (price gouging cunt) buys stuff in junk shops, car boots and auctions and punts it on ebay. The clueless fuckers on there will pay £15 for a mediocre copy of Thriller; so many copies of that album were pressed charity shops were creaking with it at one point.