Should I Get A Turntable?

[John]

The way I see it is just enjoy the music
I am lucky I can hear music via different mediums and buy as many records as I buy CDs so if I have a choice I get it via vinyl iif it really good I get it via both mediums. I put all my music on file as it is a great way to access music and like the SQ I get
About a 6 months ago a guy on the forum said computer audio was not like fine wine, it give you the taste but would not give you all the different textures so I desided to meet up with him I did not expect him to like computer files (it was about meeting and having a bit of fun) but I wanted him to know it can be a fine wine experience too, afterwards he admitted it was fine wine.
You can get good sounds via loads of mediums what I think is great about this period of time is the amount of choice. For me its about hearing as much music as I can without any sense of fatique and pleanty of dynamics Today I will listen to music for most of the day and most of it today will be file based. The next time it might be vinyl. I enjoy both for different reasons

[Gordon Steadman]

Why are people getting excited.

The conversation, having wandered from the point of the thread a bit, it's now just a little debate about the pros & cons of various media. Hardly something to get hot under the collar about. Perhaps seeing a personal slight in commentary does not help. Lighten up or say nothing, that might work.

As for anybody getting "a visit from the boys". Oh come on!

A humour bypass anyone:scratch:

[Audio Al]

Testing Testing 1 2 3

Bev are you still with us ? :lol:

Or

OK who wants a fight :punch::lolsign:

[Gordon Steadman]

Testing Testing 1 2 3

Bev are you still with us ? :lol:

Or

OK who wants a fight :punch::lolsign:

The voice of reason? Its much too hot to fight and anyway, I'm feeling a bit mellow after some Coq au Vin and Merlot (sorry Chicken in wine and more red wine to drink - English version:eyebrows:)

[pjdowns]

Testing Testing 1 2 3

Bev are you still with us ? :lol:

Or

OK who wants a fight :punch::lolsign:

:rfl: :lol: :lolsign:

Brilliant Al, just brilliant :lolsign:

[WOStantonCS100]

As a side note, I am able to get "lost in the music" when listening to 24/192. It's really, really close IMHO to analogue. I'm not giving up my vinyl because that last 5 to 10% is still not quite there; but, like I said, it's enough to not consciously be thinking about the format.

Nevertheless, if we're going to fight about it, we might as well have proper music to go along with the activity. :D

gUB9M-1284I

[julesd68]

Thanks guys for all your thoughts, nostalgic or otherwise.. I'm going to hold off looking too seriously into a turntable at the moment, but I may well come back to the idea

I think my next step may well be some sort of streaming system as I think this will give me the most new music quickly and, hopefully, least expensively. Any thoughts greatly received :):)

hi Bev

I think it's a shame you won't be giving vinyl a try since you are obviously intrigued by what it has to offer. I would have taken up Audio Al's very kind offer of a deck loan to get a feel for it.

However if your priority is picking up new music cheaply I can understand why you would look elsewhere. Also your Audio Note amp would deserve a really good mid-range deck and phono-stage IMO and then there's the RCM when you develop a vinyl habit.

Do I regret making vinyl my replay system of choice? Not for a second...

[MikeMusic]

I mean what would the point be of going out shopping with the wife and kids (or wife or girlfriend) if you couldn't sneak off to a few charity shops to seek out some vinyl, my last outing was Chester about 3-4 weeks ago, I walked by a totally unassuming shop that had a small 7" single in the bottom corner of the window, intrigued I went in and they had about 5 racks of LP's, most up my street 80's funk and soul and electronic thompson twins, depeche mode etc, I came out with about 30 LP's, not been that excited for quite a long time!
Hmm. I should get out more. We have so many charity shops in Shepperton alone

[hifi_dave]

Good luck with that.

We have 5 charity shops here in Saffron Walden, which I often visit and I've never bought anything. Their selections of vinyl and Cd are so dire, I wouldn't have any of them as a gift. I don't know where they get the stuff from - Mrs.Mills, Frank Ifield, Mantovani, Bert Kampfert, loads of MFP etc. Or do they sell off anything remotely interesting to dealers first..:scratch:

[MikeMusic]

Good luck with that.

We have 5 charity shops here in Saffron Walden, which I often visit and I've never bought anything. Their selections of vinyl and Cd are so dire, I wouldn't have any of them as a gift. I don't know where they get the stuff from - Mrs.Mills, Frank Ifield, Mantovani, Bert Kampfert, loads of MFP etc. Or do they sell off anything remotely interesting to dealers first..:scratch:

About my experience in chrity shops of a long time ago
I need to pop in and have a look

[losenotaminute]

There are 14 charity shops in Stockbridge, I think it is one of the highest densities anywhere. One of them is a specialist Oxfam music shop with hundreds of LPs and a stock that constantly changes. All LPs are inspected and graded before they go on sale and I only ever buy excellent or near mint, no problems so far. Price is usually 3 to 6 quid for near mint. It's a great way to discover new music or pick up the classic albums from an era when pop music was at its peak.

[YNWaN]

OK, didn't see that. The thread got so long and rambling that I lost interest half way through.

Yup, I didn't see that bit of info either; at least I know now not to bother reading it any further. If streaming is to be her preferred option I would have thought a new thread would be the way to go as the title of this one now bears no resemblance to the content.

[Audioman]

There are 14 charity shops in Stockbridge, I think it is one of the highest densities anywhere. One of them is a specialist Oxfam music shop with hundreds of LPs and a stock that constantly changes. All LPs are inspected and graded before they go on sale and I only ever buy excellent or near mint, no problems so far. Price is usually 3 to 6 quid for near mint. It's a great way to discover new music or pick up the classic albums from an era when pop music was at its peak.

Oxfam obviously are different up there. Ironic having cheap vinyl in an area that has £1m flats/houses.

[losenotaminute]

Oxfam obviously are different up there. Ironic having cheap vinyl in an area that has £1m flats/houses.

Yes indeed, plus a fair number of people in million pound properties have lost their jobs as they worked in the financial sector, so charity shops are doing very well at the moment.

I am a bit reluctant to spend money in Oxfam after the Telegraph's recent expose of the obscene salaries paid to charity executives. I hope that at least 10% of what I spend ends up helping those in need :steam:.

Lawrence

[walpurgis]

I hope that at least 10% of what I spend ends up helping those in need

You'll be lucky. I reckon nearer 1% to 3% of most charity takings actually goes in the right direction.

[loo]

You'll be lucky. I reckon nearer 1% to 3% of most charity takings actually goes in the right direction.

I think that's about right, some make big money though ,I have a friend who sold a prime retail property in a quaint Yorkshire town and was badgered by a well known charity to sell to them,he eventually folded after they offered 30% yes 30% more than his asking price:stalks::mental:

[MikeMusic]

You'll be lucky. I reckon nearer 1% to 3% of most charity takings actually goes in the right direction.

Unless Bill Gates in involved. he seems to be very involved with the people he supports.
Think he cares about the billions he gives away/invests

[Qwin]

Losenotaminute -

I wouldn't touch Oxfam vinyl with a barge pole.

I have black listed them.

Whatever price you see in Oxfam, go to a local record shop and buy the same album from a commercial dealer for half the price and in better condition. So much for charity, they are rip off merchants and I have told them so in writing.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Well, I think 'rip off merchants' is a bit strong.

I have a problem with the pricing policy that they have in many of their shops and I think it makes bad business sense for them in the long term, but they're not ripping anyone off. That implies dishonesty and they aren't being dishonest at all. A trader can charge whatever price they choose - they don't have a monopoly, so who's being ripped off? If you don't like the price then buy it somewhere else. If you are happy with the price, then you buy - no-one's having a gun held to their head.

I often browse but almost always walk away empty handed. I suspect that unfortunately for them, they will eventually decide that because they don't move records that have been priced by 'the man who knows about these things' that the shelf space is being wasted and they will use it for something else. A shame, as I would have spent hundreds of pounds in my local Oxfam by now if they had been priced realistically. Those six or seven pound albums are still on the shelves at forty quid....four years later in some cases. A true case of a bird in the hand being worth two in the bush.

[Qwin]

Chris -

I can only go from my experience of the many Oxfam shops I have visited around the North of England, From Keswick to York to Durham and many in between.

An example of the type of thing I am talking about - Oxfam at Seaham, Led Zep II, admitadly the sought after red and plum label, £15. Sounds a bargin, till you look at it, the cover was in very bad condition with stains on it and bits torn away. Slide out the record and you would think someone had rubed 60 grit sand paper accross it (no exaggeration) it would probably have ripped the tip off your cartridge if you had attempted to play it the scores were so deep. The shop managers justification for the price, "er well its a bit off Pop memorabilia".
I got a tidy copy of the same that plays very well for £30 and from a dealer. Oxfam seem to price their records from a central location then distribute them to the shops, but use top book prices based on optimistic grading. I have found that most dealers work well below book prices. Eg. I was offered a very collectable Beatles Album last week at a record shop for £400 (will Haggle) I played the album in the shop start middle and end both sides, was happy with what I considered the grading to be and book price was £1000, it was genuine with all the right credentials. I can't give too much away on that one because I might go back and buy it, needless to say, it was a Black and Gold Parlaphone label.

Another example was Oxfam in Keswick twelve months ago and a Beatles Rubber Soul album, 2nd pressing, fair condition, few scratches one skip, biro on sleeve. This was their own discription on the card with the record in a glass case £69.99. Five hundred yards away at Keswick Collectables they had one first pressing and three second pressings. Three were very good and at £30 each one second pressing exelent at £50. I played two of them and ended up buying the first (Loud) pressing. For those that arn't aware the first (loud) pressing was released buy mistake and was hastely withdrawn. The engineer was supposed to have used the wrong mix from the tapes and the levels are all over the place. Because it is rarer it is more valuable. The second pressing is the one that sounds as it should. Note that the Oxfam shop was very busy but the air was a buzz with talk about the prices, people were taking one look and walking out in disgust. I was there for half an our browsing and didn't see anyone buy a record. At Keswick Collectables, they sold seven records in less than half an hour - Busy Bank Holliday.

Sorry to get into that amount of detail but when it comes to pricing it effects it a lot. It just seems that if a record is in any way collectable, they stick a massive price tag on it at Oxfam. Even records that you are falling over at boot sales, like Michael Jacksons Thriller, or Fleetwood Mac's Rumers are top price at Oxfam. In contrast, I find the British Heart foundation to be very fair in their pricing.

[julesd68]

An example of the type of thing I am talking about - Oxfam at Seaham, Led Zep II, admitadly the sought after red and plum label, £15. Sounds a bargin, till you look at it, the cover was in very bad condition with stains on it and bits torn away. Slide out the record and you would think someone had rubed 60 grit sand paper accross it (no exaggeration) it would probably have ripped the tip off your cartridge if you had attempted to play it the scores were so deep.

Yes, I saw a plum Led Zep III in Manchester a week or so a go for around the same price - cover looked great but disc looked similarly unplayable. I do wonder what kind of efforts people make to get their vinyl in this kind of condition?? :scratch:

[AlfaGTV]

And to make things even worse, theres no telling if the apparently mistreated surface of the record even is audible when you play it! ;)
I have records that look like they're fresh of the pressing, sounds like frying bacon.. And i also have records that look like theyve been used as doormats, not a pop or click in earsight, just beautiful sounds...

Regards /Mike

[MikeMusic]

And to make things even worse, theres no telling if the apparently mistreated surface of the record even is audible when you play it! ;)
I have records that look like they're fresh of the pressing, sounds like frying bacon.. And i also have records that look like theyve been used as doormats, not a pop or click in earsight, just beautiful sounds...
Regards /Mike
I have seen a few like that. In the minority though I think

[twotone]

Yes, I saw a plum Led Zep III in Manchester a week or so a go for around the same price - cover looked great but disc looked similarly unplayable. I do wonder what kind of efforts people make to get their vinyl in this kind of condition?? :scratch:


Play them when they are drunk:cool:

Seriously I've a few records from the early seventies, my wife's Bowie and Roxy Music albums and some of my old singles, which are totally wrecked down to amount of times they have been played but i would never part with them.

My wife's maiden name is written on some of them from when she was twelve and thirteen, these are really not records anymore.