solderdude
Administrator
measureutternutter
Posts: 4,881
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Post by solderdude on Jun 4, 2018 4:53:58 GMT
usually the designs are quite simple. a single opamp with RIAA correction or just 2 transistors with RIAA correction.
The one you have now has a 2-stage opamp based correction where the RIAA correction is split into 2 parts. The advantage is slightly lower noise floor and more pleasant internal 'load' of the used opamps.
The more expensive RIAA amps often have switches (or jumpers) to select different input capacitances/resistances/gains.
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Crispy
very active
Madrigal music is playing - Voices can faintly be heard, "Please leave this patient undisturbed."
Posts: 776
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Post by Crispy on Jun 4, 2018 17:39:46 GMT
just listened to a couple of old Neil Diamond lp's bought from used record shop @ £2 a pop . only 4-5 tracks per side and no problems at all. so what you say is backed up by this. dont want to get too caught up in swapping carts but i have read that the Rega Exact cart tracks better than my Elys2. there is a member over on pfm selling a low used Exact at a very good price, so i am tempted by this. no re-alignment required due to Rega's 3 bolt fixing, so easy for a novice like me with poor eyesight and shaky hands. Save your money on a different cartridge and spend the money on some good records. Especially if your eyesight is poor with shaky hands?
Here's one to get you started, Sade - Diamond Life, on 180gram vinyl and from what I remember it was produced absolutely brilliantly and I never stopped playing it.
When I want a vinyl fix I just listen to something like Chris Rea who has put some pops and crackles at the begining of this track
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Rabbit
Administrator
Posts: 7,087
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Post by Rabbit on Jun 6, 2018 11:26:18 GMT
TBH, vinyl can be absolutely 'magical' but unfortunately, I only really discovered it by going as high as I could with the turntable and cartridge. Those two things dictate more or less what's coming out of your speakers to a greater extent than changing amplifiers. Speakers alter the sound quite a lot too but the basis of the sound is always at that front end.
I got onto a magic roundabout ……..
a) setup 1. b) change arm and/or cartridge. c) new cartridge showed defects in deck d) change deck e) back to b
Then you're in the loop.
In the end I went with a Linn Sondek, can't exactly remember what the arm was and some kind of Koetsu cartridge.
Then I started to notice just how poor the recordings could be in the first place!!
Back in the land of the living, you might be better to stick with what you have for some time before altering things that then point out other issues!!!
I started with a Dansette ………..onto a Garrard … onto a Technics (I think it was) onto a Rega…… planar 2 and 3 I think it was, …. then a couple of Thorens…. then a Sondek ….. then the ensuing Linn upgrades....
I was considering something better after going to a Heathrow Show but it was getting into daft money.
Let alone arms, cartridges, amps and speakers and yes ………. WIRE!!!!!
Actually, some wires did sound different to the speakers. One I hated was the solid core Mission. Cheap. Flat. bent and stayed in shape. Unfortunately, it also sounded slightly thin.
I got so fed up spending thousands that I went to digital from early on; especially with all the moving around that I had to do. Took a big drop in quality I guess as a result, but things have really improved massively since.
In fact, I think I still have my early 'rips' onto digital at 128Kbs which was considered ample in those days; especially as the memory of the players was so low.
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Post by ronzo56 on Jun 6, 2018 18:37:13 GMT
I gave a shot at returning to vinyl about 4 years ago. Got out my old Technics turntable. Turned it on, belt broke. Found a replacement. Cleaned and lubricated the deck. Then the adjustments. Finally ready to play. Two albums in and the needle broke off. New cart purchased. More adjustments. It took me about 3 weeks of listening to vinyl to get tired of flipping the record over, cleaning and the pops and clicks on some discs. Then I realized I needed to buy a record cleaning machine. Then I decided I needed to upgrade decks. I didn’t. Went back to digital. Yes vinyl can be marvelous, but I forgot how you can go down the rabbit hole spending more and more money. TBH, CD’s and digital files are easier and the sound has improved greatly since the early days. Vinyl is really a hobby now. I’m too lazy to work that hard to listen to 16 minutes of music before I have to get up. Been there. Done that.
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Rabbit
Administrator
Posts: 7,087
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Post by Rabbit on Jun 7, 2018 7:45:40 GMT
It can become a money drain and certainly was for me in the early days. I don’t like to spend massive money on a headphone these days tbh, but I was spending way beyond on vinyl gear in the 70’s and into the 80’s. It’s very easily done.
One thing I did get with the Sondek which was strange with regards to noise, is that the surface noise really didn’t feature that much and was kind of ‘dead’ sounding in comparison to the music, but the music itself was full.
The old Sondek with (I think a Rega arm and Koetsu cartridge) was pretty dead to snaps and pops which came out more like a ‘non-resonating’ noise if you see what I mean. I found with cheaper decks that surface noise was more ‘resonant’ and interfered with the music more for some reason.
But it wasn’t until the daft money had been spent that I noticed this. The Thorens that I had was pretty good, but I also noticed slight ‘wow’ and a sub-sonic rumble on big speakers. I tried changing the belt in case the old one had hardened and was transmitting motor noise too well, but I could never lose it.
When I got the Linn, it disappeared completely and on first listen, I thought that no bass would be there because of the lack of rumble. As soon as the music started though, it was there with real power and yet no rumble.
So I guess you do get what you pay for with turntables.
For me, the turntable and cartridge were the most important things as far as sound went. I could connect into tiny box size Missions which I had on a distribution switch for other rooms in the house and music still sounded full on them. With the big Missions, it was full with amazing bass weight and depth.
Some of the runs from my distribution box were ridiculously long too. Straight up into the attic and then down into bedrooms plus one into a di ing room. Speakers all over the place. Trouble was, you got 20 to 30 minutes before you had to go down and flip the record!!!
Then I got into room treatment in order to control the bass and realised tha5 speaker size and room size are also very critical. And so it goes o
There is something lovely about vinyl, but the comparative inconvenience and expense is a ‘downer’ for me. Also the fact that your music collection slowly degrades with wear and tear.
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shiro
quite active
Posts: 109
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Post by shiro on Jun 7, 2018 8:12:50 GMT
Bit OT perhaps, please forgive. My dad is trying to sell his extensive collection of vinyl classical music (opera, symphonic, piano, chamber music, you name it, several thousand records). All of them are in pristine condition as he kept buying new stuff and rarely listened to the older records he bought. So now that he's in his eighties, he's trying to recuperate some money with the current vinyl trend.
But it seems he's having trouble finding out how much these are worth. There's few sites where these are sold, and often the final price isn't listed.
Does anyone here know of sites where one can find out about the value of classical music vinyl? Any forums with fans or online databases? I'm not really in the know when it comes to vinyl, so any pointers would be much appreciated.
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Javier
Administrator
Digital bytes
Posts: 986
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Post by Javier on Jun 7, 2018 11:16:21 GMT
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oldson
extremely active
Posts: 1,677
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Post by oldson on Jun 7, 2018 18:04:35 GMT
TBH, vinyl can be absolutely 'magical' but unfortunately, I only really discovered it by going as high as I could with the turntable and cartridge. Those two things dictate more or less what's coming out of your speakers to a greater extent than changing amplifiers. Speakers alter the sound quite a lot too but the basis of the sound is always at that front end. I got onto a magic roundabout …….. a) setup 1. b) change arm and/or cartridge. c) new cartridge showed defects in deck d) change deck e) back to b Then you're in the loop. In the end I went with a Linn Sondek, can't exactly remember what the arm was and some kind of Koetsu cartridge. Then I started to notice just how poor the recordings could be in the first place!! Back in the land of the living, you might be better to stick with what you have for some time before altering things that then point out other issues!!! I started with a Dansette ………..onto a Garrard … onto a Technics (I think it was) onto a Rega…… planar 2 and 3 I think it was, …. then a couple of Thorens…. then a Sondek ….. then the ensuing Linn upgrades.... I was considering something better after going to a Heathrow Show but it was getting into daft money. Let alone arms, cartridges, amps and speakers and yes ………. WIRE!!!!! Actually, some wires did sound different to the speakers. One I hated was the solid core Mission. Cheap. Flat. bent and stayed in shape. Unfortunately, it also sounded slightly thin. I got so fed up spending thousands that I went to digital from early on; especially with all the moving around that I had to do. Took a big drop in quality I guess as a result, but things have really improved massively since. In fact, I think I still have my early 'rips' onto digital at 128Kbs which was considered ample in those days; especially as the memory of the players was so low. i will take some convincing on the "wire"
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oldson
extremely active
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Post by oldson on Jun 7, 2018 19:51:36 GMT
obviously there is little love for the vinyl concept here, but i am not deterred. will take on board the warnings about being drawn in to a money pit though.
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Crispy
very active
Madrigal music is playing - Voices can faintly be heard, "Please leave this patient undisturbed."
Posts: 776
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Post by Crispy on Jun 7, 2018 20:01:21 GMT
obviously there is little love for the vinyl concept here, but i am not deterred. will take on board the warnings about being drawn in to a money pit though. Simon. this is my mates vinyl set up - SME deck @ about £8,000 and god knows how much everything else cost?
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shiro
quite active
Posts: 109
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Post by shiro on Jun 8, 2018 7:38:24 GMT
I briefly passed by that site and found just a database, no price/value information. I'll check again, in case I missed it. Thanks!
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Javier
Administrator
Digital bytes
Posts: 986
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Post by Javier on Jun 8, 2018 14:40:20 GMT
I briefly passed by that site and found just a database, no price/value information. I'll check again, in case I missed it. Thanks! On the top menu check "Marketplace", there are thousands of CDs. vinyl, cassete, 8 track, DVDs, etc for sale. You can check how much an specific release of a recording is going for. It is proably the best collectors' wesite there is.
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Rabbit
Administrator
Posts: 7,087
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Post by Rabbit on Jun 8, 2018 21:09:31 GMT
Simon, in case it’s useful...
What Hi-Fi for July has a vinyl special.
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Post by ronzo56 on Jun 8, 2018 23:16:13 GMT
obviously there is little love for the vinyl concept here, but i am not deterred. will take on board the warnings about being drawn in to a money pit though. I would love to have a top-tier vinyl rig. As long as someone else paid for it, then paid to have someone set it up and maintain it. And gave me a monthly allowance for albums. The important part is that you are enjoying yourself. So I am looking forward to reading about your adventures in vinyl. If I ever win the lottery, I would probably join you.
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oldson
extremely active
Posts: 1,677
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Post by oldson on Jun 9, 2018 20:25:33 GMT
obviously there is little love for the vinyl concept here, but i am not deterred. will take on board the warnings about being drawn in to a money pit though. Simon. this is my mates vinyl set up - SME deck @ about £8,000 and god knows how much everything else cost? how the other half live!!!!!
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