Jimbos Audio ramblings

[brian2957]

Some you win etc. Worth a try and it didn't cost anything. The best experiments

[Wakefield Turntables]

Keep experimenting it what helps make things fun!

[Jimbo]

Yeah your both right. You don't know until you try.

I have reverted back to small sorbathane discs under the motor feet (Not the turntable) and this by far has produced the best and most dramatic results. Lowers the vibration considerably but I think I could do better. This however would involve a cut out for the motor to sit on which is easier said than done as the compact laminate board is like glass/granite to cut!

[Jimbo]

Just a boring very dull update on the hum and buzz I was getting from the Pioneer SX590 when using phono stage. This has now been completely eliminated and the real culprit found. I thought it was to do with a cable which in one way is true. I found that the phono cable from the GL75 when moved into a different position stopped the noise but it the actual cause of the noise was from an LED light plug. This was in the same socket as the Pioneer receiver and once I switched it off all noise was eliminated.

So if you have any noise issues or potential poor digital performance remove any LED light plugged into or near your system and hopeful things will improve. Had the same issue in my main system at Christmas with the lights plugged into the same ring main. This just goes to show how much these type of unfiltered devices can dump large amounts of noise into your system.

I am now off to try and find something that may quieten down my normal lamps plugged into the ring main or I could just sit in the dark with candles!?

[brian2957]

Good you got it sorted mate. That old Pioneer is a lovely looking amp from the days when vinyl was king and I'm sure the built in phono stage is very good indeed

[Jimbo]

Good you got it sorted mate. That old Pioneer is a lovely looking amp from the days when vinyl was king and I'm sure the built in phono stage is very good indeed

Sounds great and always seems just right. There is definitely a synergy with the GL75 and AT95e. Radio isn't too bad either.

[Jimbo]

Another guest round last night to listen to the system. He had a look through my record collection and was surprisingly knowledgeable about many of the LPs I spin quite regularly. He had abandoned vinyl many many years ago and had only listened to some digital formats for the past 40 years but still had a considerable record collection - more of which later!

So we kicked off with some Ry Cooder and his first reaction was "those are fantastic speakers". I agreed they were OK but of course it is the sum of all the parts that creates the finished SQ. He thought valves were a bit anachronistic and was surprised it was a modern amp but with NOS valves - fair enough. However his biggest surprise was how great vinyl sounded. He had not heard a record since 1980 and was stunned at what could be dragged out of those grooves. He reminded me of myself back in 2015 when I listened to vinyl again after a 25 year absence.

So although we were only going to have a casual listening session it turned out to be quite intense as I upped the anti with ever increasing sonic spectaculars. 4 hours later we eventually had to call it a day but before my guest left we had a quick chat about some of his record collection. Now he had been collecting records from the late 60's onwards till he stopped in 1981 but even a casual recollection of what was in storage had him staying for another hour as I introduced him to Discogs and the first album he wanted to look at was King Crimson - In the court of the Crimson king. So he had a near mint copy £550. He had original pressings of Beatles stuff and other unimaginable treasures - ZEP! So you can imagine the disbelief he had when he saw some of the prices. He muttered about original Floyd pressings including DSOTM.

I bet he didn't sleep last night, I certainly didn't as this record collection could be coming my way for a perusal!

[Pigmy Pony]

Another guest round last night to listen to the system. He had a look through my record collection and was surprisingly knowledgeable about many of the LPs I spin quite regularly. He had abandoned vinyl many many years ago and had only listened to some digital formats for the past 40 years but still had a considerable record collection - more of which later!

So we kicked off with some Ry Cooder and his first reaction was "those are fantastic speakers". I agreed they were OK but of course it is the sum of all the parts that creates the finished SQ. He thought valves were a bit anachronistic and was surprised it was a modern amp but with NOS valves - fair enough. However his biggest surprise was how great vinyl sounded. He had not heard a record since 1980 and was stunned at what could be dragged out of those grooves. He reminded me of myself back in 2015 when I listened to vinyl again after a 25 year absence.

So although we were only going to have a casual listening session it turned out to be quite intense as I upped the anti with ever increasing sonic spectaculars. 4 hours later we eventually had to call it a day but before my guest left we had a quick chat about some of his record collection. Now he had been collecting records from the late 60's onwards till he stopped in 1981 but even a casual recollection of what was in storage had him staying for another hour as I introduced him to Discogs and the first album he wanted to look at was King Crimson - In the court of the Crimson king. So he had a near mint copy £550. He had original pressings of Beatles stuff and other unimaginable treasures - ZEP! So you can imagine the disbelief he had when he saw some of the prices. He muttered about original Floyd pressings including DSOTM.

I bet he didn't sleep last night, I certainly didn't as this record collection could be coming my way for a perusal!

Oh dear. The correct order would be:

1. Perusal
2. Purchase
3. Introduce him to Discogs so he can get values of the ones you didn't want anyway

[Jimbo]

I didn't think that one through did I Steve ?

[Jimbo]

Got me thinking about vinyl and the escalating price that now seems to be happening on the back of Greedflation. Obviously 10 years ago or so you could buy bucket fulls of vinyl records second hand for absolutely peanuts. I used to go to a local indoor market where there were two record stores and the owner would price up the LPs at ridiculously low prices usual around £4 an album and that was for the good stuff. I would grab 10-15 records and instead of adding up their price the owner would just sell it as a job lot usually about £20..for about 10 records. And I was buying the classic stuff which now fetches eye watering prices.

If I had know then what I know now I could have hoovered up huge amounts of the really great releases and sold on for a fortune but hey ho didn't have a crystal ball. But now most of the really good stuff and classic recordings are priced way above what I would call reasonable and now the newly released stuff is starting to escalate in price. Most new vinyl a few years back rarely exceeded £20 but now it is priced up at £30-£40.

So with most of the worlds population streaming everything for nothing what does the record industry think will happen when young folk who are already strapped for cash are then being asked to stump up £30 for a record which is not guaranteed to be perfectly produced. I have bought so much stuff that has had to go back for various reasons and simple gave up trying to get a nice clean copy of Pink Floyd Endless River. The industry is in danger I feel of killing off its sales with high pricing of records as folk will simply buy fewer or none at all.

But it still has a long way to catch up with Mint or Near mint classic albums available via Discogs looking at some of the prices so maybe new stuff is actually good value?