I had the same thoughts about coloured vinyl, but on newer releases the SQ seems good to me.
Lots of good turntables are getting a mention here. Listening to a few different choices would be good, but may be tricky if (as I and others suggest) you aim at a second-hand mid-range turntable and not a new budget deck.
Can anyone suggest dealers in York who may be able to help? I am loath to suggest a trip to Cymbiosis n the grounds of distance alone, but it might be a day we’ll spent.
1 Like
Not York I know…but the guys at The Audioroom in Hull are v helpful and will always go the extra mile to help.
Darren is the owner…why not give them a call ?
Steve w.
2 Likes
York- The Sound Organisation
Stockton- Hifi Sound.
Personal expo of both and excellent- hifi sound especially for preloved kit
1 Like
Thanks for the further input. Interesting direct drive suggestions. Technics SL1210 was the only deck of note that I had heard off until the last 5 years. A product of growing up in the 90s when everyone wanted to be a DJ I suppose! I had never really associated them with high quality reproduction though to be honest. Researching a little this morning, the 1210G in black is certainly a sexy piece of kit!
Sound Organisation (York) are my dealers and have been excellent. It sounds like as a next step I should call them for a chat and set up a demo. I know they stock Rega and Linn decks, at least.
Dealers near-ish York - if you don’t mind a half hour drive, check out the guys at DNA Audio in Otley. They know their stuff and owned and ran by a former Naim factory bod. Stock a range of decent decks from Linn, Rega, Technics, SME and Well Tempered IIRC.
3 Likes
You can benefit from this being an old man’s hobby - we die, and the dealers who supplied us may well know of kit that is now for sale.
That route probably delivers more Linns and Regas than Verteres or WTs, but in any case calling a couple of the dealers suggested here would be a smart next step.
2 Likes
Sorry, but I must insist that you add a tiny splash of delicious water to release the full potential of those fine single malts. It’s the law 
1 Like
I would also consider looking for a used (new if you want to spend) nottingham analog space deck, either with their own arm or one from rega. If you like the looks, than it’s a truly no nonsense deck requiring minimal setup and maintenance. Oh and they can sound very good.
I 100% wouldn’t bother if I didn’t already have a load of records. Even fairly cheap streaming set ups can sound very good indeed. Think Roon and Tidal via a Bluesound Node and a half decent dac.
2 Likes
To me, the answer to your question is in the post itself: you already have a great starting point - your father’s and your father-in-law’s collections. I would buy a decent turntable (nowadays you can find one for any budget and if you are not sure you will stay with vinyl, I would not spend much, but on the other hand, all the fun starts above 1000/1500 euro) and a vinyl cleaning machine (a proper one for wet cleaning) and start with those collections first. You won’t even have to create one of your
I stream (both on line and from my local NAS), I have both CDs and LPs. I only buy LPs if I really want to, and I find now that modern music LPs are less and less rewarding. They do not create the vibe which I get from old vinyl. Also, the prices for new vinyl are becoming just unaffordable. As a matter of fact, I am considering starting buying CDs again. They still sound great on proper gear. As for the streaming, it is extremely convenient, it sounds good (I guess, because I never went further than Spotify), but it has it’s cons. You are tempted to jump from one artist/album to another all the time, and you never actually own the music, and this does make a difference. For some music, at least. So, to me, if you consider yourself a music lover, then you must have a physical collection, it does not have to be enormous.
1 Like
Hahaha. Oh snap! I scoffed and turned my nose up at anything direct drive. Made fun of any 1210 I saw in a shop window. Slung an SL-D2 I inherited in a skip. After all it was Technics rubbish innit.
25 years later. Both my decks are direct drive. One is a 1200GR. And I don’t even have any house music for them. Right now I’m spinning Kenny Rogers!
1 Like
Picture disc - yes, to avoid if you want also to listen to it, not only to look at it; but why coloured?
Blockquote
If you had never had vinyl, would you start now? And would I be crazy to start a vinyl collection now with the costs involved, questions over quality and availability via other mediums?
Blockquote
I started buying vinyl, more or less from scratch, about 4 years ago; I had swithered over whether to do so for at least a couple of years before that. I bought a mate’s unused LP12 off him, spent a bit to get it up to date (Akurate spec, as it was) and off I went. I now have a Rega P10 with Aura phono stage and around 600 records (I started with about 20 I had kept from when I was a teenager). I have a mix of new and used LPs and have had to return some, for sure, either due to pressing faults or poor descriptors on Discogs (the platform is not immune from those who over-rate the quality of the stuff they sell).
My vinyl set-up compares very favourably with my ND555 and often sounds preferable in the way it presents the music. I still listen to the ND555 more though, simply because there is so much more of what I like to listen to on Qobuz and it would be too expensive to buy on vinyl, everything I have ripped and stream. But, the vinyl experience is one I am very pleased I pursued, despite its foibles, because when it’s good, it’s very, very good. There is no denying, it takes some effort but only you can decide whether you have the time/money/patience to pursue it.
Cheers,
Ian
5 Likes
It would be great if you share your experience. Honestly, I do not think that a short demo in a store will show any considerable difference between good streaming and vinyl. I think vinyl is beyond sheer acoustic experience.
Even back in the day I believe a (small?) niche of enthusiasts rated the 1200 highly in HiFi terms. With the relaunch of Technics in the late twenty teens their decks have received a fair amount of praise.
You don’t talk about budget, but I auditioned three decent decks recently, Gyro SE, Origin Live Aurora and Technics. Over two sessions, with my own amp/phono stage and speakers. Came away with the Technics. They all sounded great, and comparable, even if there were pretty big differences in presentation. Same cartridge across all three too.
The Technics is very very easy to live with.
Definitely go listen to some decks, I had a great time doing so. The stage in the NSC222 is I believe a close derivative of that in my XS3. It’s a good phono stage, but make sure the dealer is sure of the compatibility with the cartridge on any demo TT.
I have a lot of house music on vinyl from my formative years, but right now some nice new Ghanaian highlife is spinning, and sounding awesome 8)
2 Likes
It’s a view. The father of a former girlfriend from Glasgow once explained that ‘the only thing you put in a whisky is another whisky’.
3 Likes
Ok, not my personal preference but certainly a popular and reasonable choice. Just don’t make me put it in a bullet blender for frozen margaritas.
2 Likes
I’ve always liked mine with two slightly cracked Ice Balls. Don’t like cubes as the clinking corners irritate me 
My two favourites are ‘The Balvenie Malt’ and ‘Oban’, but not exclusively😁
PS… Sorry to the OP for the extended thread hijack
3 Likes
There’s an entire thread on whisky! Before getting back to the actual topic…
As well as the classic island/ highland/ lowland choices, can I suggest Taketsuru from Japan, plus Lark, Nant and Sullivan’s Cove from Tasmania?
Back to turntables. Could we have comments from those who have heard it on the 222 phono stage? If I were shopping today, I wouldn’t hesitate to get a Dynavector P75 mk4, and to get separates that can out-perform the excellent Nova, but box count as well as cost may be relevant.
1 Like