Think about it: turntables are electro/mechanical devices that transform LPs' grooves into sound. OK, that's not exactly right, it's the phono cartridge's job, but the turntable provides the platform to make that happen.
Phono cartridges are incredibly sensitive transducers, so they don't just convert the grooves undulations into sound, cartridges can also pick up bad vibes from footsteps, dancing, etc, and even the rumble of the turntable's motor. Those background noises muddy the sound.
A Rega P3 Mk. 24 turntable
(Credit: Rega)The turntable's placement can negatively affect its sound quality. Wobbly furniture is a huge no-no; put the turntable on a solid shelf or stand. If you can move the cabinet, even a little with a push of your finger, try this: tightly wedge a few paperback books between the back of the furniture and the wall. The goal here is to eliminate any possible lateral movement. Wobble elimination can improve the turntable's sound; bass will be deeper, better defined and overall clarity will be enhanced.
Next, if you have a bubble level, use it to make sure the turntable platter is perfectly level (side-to-side, and front-to-back). If your turntable doesn't have adjustable feet, try placing coins under the feet to level the turntable.
If you have a belt-drive turntable and know how to remove the belt, take it off. Wash it with warm water to clean off debris that's accumulated over the years. Then put it back on. Might make a small difference.
The quality of your phono cartridge is not only very audible; an old or worn stylus (needle) can permanently damage record grooves. When in doubt, buy a new cartridge. I like Audio Technica's AT-95 ($50) and Grado's Prestige Black ($60). These two are standard-mount cartridges, and they will work on many turntables, but some 'tables require "P Mount" cartridges. If you're not sure, read the manual or check with the turntable manufacturer.
... Read moreIt's more than a little ironic; Linn Products, based in Glasgow, Scotland, burst onto the audiophile scene in the early 1970s with its LP-12 turntable. The LP-12 has never gone out of production and earlier this year it received a bunch of performance-enhancing upgrades.
When the CD was introduced in the early 1980s, Linn was a massive digital basher. The company spearheaded an anti-CD movement in the audiophile community. It wasn't just Linn; a sizable percentage of audiophiles worldwide didn't buy CD players through most of the 1980s.
A Linn DS hi-fi system
(Credit: Linn Products)Linn introduced CD players at the close of that decade, while it continued to make turntables, electronics, and speakers. Now, they're calling it quits.
Quoting from Linn's Web site, here's the straight scoop, "At Linn we have always been wholly committed to making systems that push the boundaries and deliver the highest possible audio performance. When we launched our first digital stream player, the flagship Klimax DS, we did so only once we had proven comprehensively that it outperformed the iconic Sondek CD12, our former reference digital source, in every way."
Linn's LP-12 turntable, introduced in 1972, is still in production.
(Credit: Linn Products)The press release continues, "This development saw Linn DS far exceed what was possible with traditional CD playing technology, both in terms of its audio performance and the convenience. Linn DS is now firmly established as the future of music and the only way to get the very best from your CD collection and enjoy downloads of the highest possible quality."
Linn may be out of the CD player business, but it has a full line of 24-bit/192 kHz sampling Digital Stream players.
More irony, Linn's record label will continue to release music on CD and SACD as well as LP and high-resolution downloads.
When the CD was introduced in 1982, everyone thought the LP's days were numbered, but it's still here. Now it's starting to look like the LP might outlast the CD.
(Credit:
Steve Guttenberg)
Of course "record stores" are also on the endangered species list; here in NYC, Tower, Virgin, and Sam Goody are long-gone, but J & R Music World in lower Manhattan is the last remaining full-size outfit. Smaller shops are hanging in there, too.
You can still buy CDs and LPs online, and vinyl's selection is getting better and better. So if you're a music lover, what should you buy, CD or LP? First, it depends on whether you can get the music you want on vinyl.
Sound quality issues aren't black and white. CD wins in terms of noise-free listening, though clean records, played on a decent turntable can sound amazingly quiet. But even then, there will be occasional clicks and pops. That's a deal breaker for some, but if you've never heard records played on a decent turntable, you don't know how quiet records can be.
LPs can sound warmer, fuller, and more natural than CDs, and way better than low-bit MP3 and AAC variants. LP sound seems to engage listeners in a very different way than digital recordings do. It's not that digital sounds bad, but vinyl is more fun to listen to. Music on LP seems more immediate and realistic than digital. Oh, and it's worth noting that most people who use vinyl actually listen to music, while digital listeners rarely do. Digital makes do as background sound. That's just the way it is. If you can't see yourself ever really listening to music--without talking, reading, working on the computer, etc--sure, CDs and MP3s are perfectly fine.
... Read more
Matt's turntable, amp, and speakers.
(Credit: Matt Calderone)What's the definition of a great hi-fi? It's the one you're listening to. Not just for background "listening," but actual, focused listening.
Investing a lot of money on a hi-fi isn't the only way to get there. In fact, spending as little as possible on decent gear is the best way to get acquainted with good sound. Who knows, you might become an audiophile.
My friend Matt Calderone might be on his way. He was given a used Denon DP-7F turntable, and recently bought a Kenwood KA-701 integrated stereo amplifier on eBay and a pair of Klipsch speakers through Craigslist. All told, he spent less than $200.
Calderone is 26 years old so I was curious about how and why he wound up with a hi-fi. He says he's always been interested in LPs, and he likes listening to them over a decent stereo, not computer speakers. Calderone thinks good speakers make a big difference.
It's not just that the sound is better, music engages on a different level when heard over a hi-fi. Calderone frequently winds up just sitting on the couch and get this, he listens to entire records! The music is the main focus; vinyl has that effect on some people. Calderone is going to add a CD player soon, but for now his system is analog only.
The hardest part of buying a used hi-fi is picking the right gear. If you're new to hi-fi ask an older relative who knows audio about which brands are worthy, but for starters I'd recommend steering clear of Sony and Bose products. I like Creek, Denon, NAD, Onkyo, Pioneer, and Yamaha amplifiers and receivers; look for used Advent, AR, Boston Acoustics, DCM, Epos, Infinity, Klipsch, Magnepan, Mirage, Monitor Audio, NHT, Polk, Snell, or Vandersteen speakers. For a few hundred bucks you can put together a very listenable used system.
... Read more
Inside the box you'll find four discs.
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)The Rolling Stones really were the world's greatest rock and roll band in 1969. That was 40 years ago, but if you need proof to verify the ancient claim, check out the "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones In Concert--40th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set."
The Stones' live shows of the '70s, '80s, '90s and '00s were spectacles of frenzied energy, extravagant sets, video projections, and lots of flash, but "Ya Ya" was the real deal. The five Rolling Stones were the show, and that was more than enough. If you're going to only buy one live Stones CD, get "Ya Ya."
The original album was recorded over two nights at Madison Square Garden; I was there at one of those shows. I had a great time and bought the LP as soon as it came out. Still have it.
Keith Richards and Mick Taylor's yin vs. yang guitar styles meshed perfectly on "Midnight Rambler" and "Sympathy For The Devil." Mick Jagger and Richards paid tribute to the man who invented rock and roll, Chuck Berry, with a romping "Little Queenie." The new box set includes the original version on CD, plus a five-song EP from the same shows, with unplugged performances of "Prodigal Son" and "You Gotta Move." Sound quality is really good for a 1960s-era live recording, but I prefer the sound of the single disc "Ya Ya" SACD that came out in 2002, at least when it's played on a SACD player.
... Read more
You're "feelin' groovy" but don't have a turntable or a place to plug one in? No problem, the Vinyl Killer, a.k.a., the Soundwagon can play your tunes!
Fidelity isn't a strong suit of the little toy and groove tracking can be hit or miss, but the little machine is a great gimmick. That it works at all is kind of amazing. I doubt anyone could devise a CD Killer to play a CD by driving over the pits.
I actually sold a few of these things back in the 1980s when I was a high-end audio salesguy. They went for $20 or $25, but I bought this one for $80 ten years ago.
Vinyl Killers are no longer made, but they're not hard to find on eBay.
(Credit:
Steve Guttenberg)
Vinyl is back, big time, but the fact is most folks, probably close to 99 percent of the under 40-set, haven't heard records.
For them, music is about portability and vinyl is a stay-at-home deal. Vinyl has more of a hands-on work ethic: you've got to cue the tonearm, lower the "needle," and when the side's over, turn it over or play another LP. Digital requires almost nothing from you; no wonder it's dominated the music scene for the last couple of decades.
Me, I'm having something of a vinyl fling right now. I've always owned a turntable, but there were times I played only CDs for months on end. I guess I didn't want to deal with the extra work of playing vinyl. Sad, but true.
As for LP vs. CD comparisons, I didn't do any. Trust me, you don't have to be a golden-eared audiophile to notice the two formats sound very different. Records are "warmer" and sound more like the sound of real instruments and voices; CDs almost always make them more detailed and brighter-sounding than they are in real life.
... Read moreCNET poll
What, you don't have a turntable? What's wrong with you?
When the CD was unveiled to the world in 1982 with the "Perfect Sound Forever" motto, everyone assumed the LP's days were numbered. Well, nearly three decades later, vinyl's hanging in there and the CD's future looks uncertain.
Vinyl appeals to oldsters who still covet their LP collections, and kids who are just now getting into the groove. To some vinyl sounds better, more musical than digital, and some just dig the more physical connection to the music vinyl provides.
(Credit:
Steve Guttenberg)
Margery just wants to have fun.
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)Women sometimes buy quality audio, but that doesn't make them audiophiles.
With rare exceptions, all the audiophiles I've known are men. The unifying mantra for audiophiles is that there's always something, maybe an amplifier or speaker just out a reach that might get them a little closer to the music. Audiophiles are gear junkies. They want to have Aretha Franklin or the New York Philharmonic or their favorite music sound like it's in the house. Audiophiles crave an emotional, visceral connection with their music.
That pretty much sums up Margery Budoff's audiophile urges. Like most audiophiles I know, Margery had an unusually strong affinity for music at a young age. She described herself as "A child musician with an industrial design fetish." Even as a little kid she loved the look of stuff, especially older, big and clunky 1950s and 1960s record players.
The first record Margery bought was "Telstar," then Dionne Warwick, then the Rolling Stones. The record player was the thing that could "Decipher the secret code encrypted in the records. I wanted to hear the sound in all its glory. That's how I became an audiophile."
... Read more
David with his Teac recorder.
Most audiophiles are 40+.
True, there's a small sprinkling of twentysomethings and thirtysomethings who love gear, but are there any teenage audiophiles? They're pretty rare, so when I heard about a 17-year-old with 1,500 LPs and a huge collection of analog tapes I had to talk to him.
David M has it bad.
When he was five, his father had Bose speakers. Maybe they were too big, so his dad tossed them out and little David threw a fit! By the time he was eight or nine he started putting together his own hi-fi.
Like a lot of audiophiles David doesn't think he's one. He said, "I've always loved music, and as I've bought better equipment I found I liked the music more. It cycled from there." He's read audiophile magazines like Stereophile since he was in the eighth grade. David sounds like an audiophile to me.
He's totally into it, "I'm all audio, all the time...I thought I was done when I had a Sansui receiver and JBL 4311 speakers, but I'm still on the upgrade path." He now regularly records concerts at his high school and of his friends' bands. I've listened to some of David's recordings and he's good. But David has yet to turn any of his friends into audiophiles; even most of his musician buddies aren't into sound quality. He said, "They don't care. Some of them have already lost some of their hearing." Yikes!
He has one friend with a decent turntable and a collection of records handed down from his parents, but that guy's no audiophile. David set up his ex-girlfriend with a nice hi-fi, and she's getting into vinyl and tape.
He's not turned on by much new music, or anything that's played on commercial radio stations. He likes folk music and obscure '70s pop, a bit of classical, some jazz. David says he's open to trying anything.
... Read more
