Turntable: does it make sense to start from scratch now?

The short answer to the OP’s question is “No”.

Like it or not, streaming is the way forward for the masses. And they are the ones that matter for “the industry”, not a few audiophiles.

And before you all start the flame wars, we have 2500 or so CDs, 700 odd LPs, and I bought my Sondek in '82, and it is still attached to one or other of our systems (currently the Naim).

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Financially - probably not. In terms of pure VFM - probably not. Emotionally/for the pleasure of collecting and playing your music on vinyl - absolutely yes! Very subjective, of course, but I’m really happy I went back to vinyl (had kept some 200 albums IIRC). I also stream on Sonos and my Qb in the kitchen when friends are over, when cooking or when checking out new music. Still have all my CDs too, but never play them; they’re losing to the sound and nostalgia of vinyl and the convenience of streaming, and I tend to focus on one serious source at a time.

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While true, how does it affect someone who wants to play vinyl? Not really, as far as I can see.

I disagree.

Streaming is marketing. It’s the new radio play. The pay is pitiful but it gets attention to an artist’s work.

Gig tickets and merchandise are the money spinners. (Well, relatively speaking.) For those who can get it, copyright use too eg in movies, online videos, etc.

Anyway, vinyl is a great opportunity to monetise content. And it can’t be copied. For as long as people want a tactile experience, vinyl will rule. The only pitfalls I can see are an inevitable backlash against the use of resources to make vinyl records and their environmental impact, but technology should be able to solve most of that to keep it attractive.

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There are more;

  1. Storage issues where space is concerned
  2. Limited selection of music on vinyl
  3. Crackling, hiss or pops
  4. Inability to select or change tracks from your listening chair
  5. Costly cartridge replacement especially if it is a premium model
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No. I think the great revival of vinyl is a marketing scheme from the former big recording industry to sell some more useless physical media. Sadly many people are falling into the trap.

If i were you, would have started digitizing my cds out of boredom. 700cds are alot of music, you can sadly losten one cd at a time. Being able to create long playlists, by just queuing many cds is really very enjoyable. You can listen to the whole discography of a band without ever standing up :).

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And getting the punters to shell out each month to rent music they might already own isn’t?

My turntable remains my primary source component because if it ever breaks down, I can get it fixed, I don’t need a PhD in network administration to get it to work, and my LPs have all the metadata I need conveniently printed on the sleeve and on the labels.

But to answer the original poster’s question: If I didn’t already have a record collection to play on it, I wouldn’t start from scratch with a turntable now.

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None of these is a new challenge. (Indeed, limited selection is becoming less of an issue.)

Yes … just a degree in mechanical engineering :smiley: … much easier to than debugging a software issue :smiley:

It doesn’t need to make sense. A hobby should be an emotional decision.

If you want the experience of vinyl, go for it. I got into it properly last year and I’ve had a great time sifting through used records in shops, buying records at gigs, buying from Bandcamp, buying new in stores. I can find it all on Spotify but, for me, it’s not the same.

It’s not about the sound quality or convenience. Streaming is easier and less susceptible to vinyl issues. But the issues with vinyl are part of the appeal. I like listening to a 22min side, flipping it and hearing the other side. I like hearing the record as the artist planned it. I like the risk that a record I buy might not be perfect, or indeed might work our better than I expected. I like sharing my records with my friends and sharing the cover, liner notes, etc.

All of this is possible with streaming. But the ownership I feel over the physical medium, for me, strengthens my connection to the artist and their music.

If this appeals to you, and you can afford the extra cost compared with streaming (both in terms of kit and the cost of acquiring the records) then of course, start afresh with vinyl.

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It can’t be useless if someone finds use for it (which I do). I don’t think I’ve fallen into a trap, either. I’ve made a conscious decision about buying and listening to vinyl, weighing the pros and cons. That assessment is, of course, personal and subjective - but labelling the media as useless and saying people who buy it have fallen into a trap is somewhat pejorative.

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From my point of view it is useless. But if you like it, more power to you. Nevertheless I am not going to recommend it.

Indeed, more power to me - and recommendations not wanted.

Curious, as most of your expressed appeal is anathema to me! Whereas I do like the ‘magic’ of the stylus entering the groove and starting to play, a technology that has been around for well over a century but still fascinating (though less ‘magic’ involved than digitising music), and I do think LP sleeves are far more satisfying to hold and read than CDs or a screen device (and in the days of sharing with friends they were indeed enjoyable physical things to pass around) the other aspects are negative:

Having to flip the record every 20 minutes or so is annoying, especially when it breaks up what should be long continuous pieces.

Leaving aside the fact that with some LPs track order was determined by the side length limitation rather than the artist’s intention, likewise total recording length of no more than about 45 min, chopping up pieces longer than 22 minutes is certainly not what the artist intended. With streaming the entirety of an album can be played in the order of the album is the simplest and natural way to play an album, not just “possible” as you put it (which almost invariably is the only way I do it) - though for those inclined differently streaming does make it not only possible but easy to choose to play in a different order, or play only certain tracks.

I hate being saddled with the hassle of trying to resolve a problem with product that is faulty on purchase (though as for imperfect recordings, sadly they are far from uncommon in every medium).

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I wouldn’t completely agree with this.

For sure, many artists felt constrained by this limitation of the format. But many embraced (and embrace) it and wrote music to suit the format, giving us distinct A and B sides and careful consideration into order of play, etc. The limitations a physical format imposes become part of the artist’s work. I enjoy hearing how they have worked with the limitations.

It’s a little like painting in a particular medium. If you decide, for example, to produce a print then there are certain constraints on what you can do. Part of the attraction to a work is how the artist worked with those limitations.

That said, I think sometimes a desire for perceived quality trumps practicality. Some albums are delivered as four sides of 45rpm, for example. In practice this means 2-3 songs per side and often a lot of spare recording space for an album that would otherwise fit on two sides of 33rpm.

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Indeed (and I didn’t suggest all found it a constraint), though few of the albums I know have been constructed with a each side naturally standing on its own, other than where the split is to fit one long track on one side and either another long track of collection of shorter tracks on the other which is a constraint of the medium and more often than not a constraint on artistic choice even if that constraint becomes part of the final art. Even where deliberate, choosing what would have been only one side to play when streaming isn’t difficult, and is infinitely preferable in my book to having enforced breaks every 20 minutes in long compositions.

The Space Ritual by Hawkwind is across 4 sides with a fade from the end of side 1 and a fade in on side 2, where The Awakening ends and Lord Of Light begins. It’s a live performance, one track runs into the next. From first hearing that fade out > flip LP > play side 2 in about 1974 it felt wrong. Hearing it without the break when I first heard it on a stream (Tidal maybe) it was just great. That’ll do for me.

Btw I’m not convinced by those who claim to enjoy reading the LP’s sleeve whilst listening, as virtually everyone who puts a picture in the various threads on here seems to go to great lengths to position the sleeve awkwardly in the direct eyeline somewhere near the TT, or propped self-consciously against the Fraim. It seems an odd thing to do with an LP sleeve, but it takes all sorts I suppose.

Lol. I never position the sleeve self consciously anywhere

Except when I’m taking a pic for the forum obviously.

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Exactly.
Forum pics only.

I do find these now-playing stands a little odd - like, I’d forget? :smile:

But… they make a nice display, I guess.

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It was tongue in cheek; ‘look at my wondrous stereo, and while you’re at it bow to my amazing taste in music with this oddly positioned LP sleeve.’