Just a basic question. Maybe it has been asked before ( or not ).

Does anyone here collect/like vinyl ?

After many years ( maybe 10+ ) I bought a new Pioneer turntable ( PL-30, new model ) this week after getting my salary
and I must say this was the best purchase this year next to the X0 I bought in June.
Some of my old records sound just great ( Santana ), some of the newer Hip-Hop stuff does not sound that good but it surely
depends on the master but my old Czechslovakian Supraphon vinyl ( Beethoven ) sounds just great. Anyway many records can
be bought for very little money and it is an interesting hobby to be pursued.

i'm cool with it.

about four or five years ago, i obtained my first PIONEER model TT, a 1975 entry-level PL-112D.
i made a brace of minor upgrades, from rubber-cored isolator feet to ferrite RFI blockers
to an aftermarket set of OFC headshell leads and a vintage AUDIO TECHNICA Cartridge/Styli;
















i wouldn't mind stepping up to the TOTL Direct Drive PL-510A someday, but for the meantime, the PL-112D satisfies...

i do.

Being a music fan I've purchased vinyl for over 30 years.
I originally used my Dad's turntable (a direct drive Technics) as I didn't have one of my own but have used a Rega Planar for the last 23 years.

I like vinyl. Just a really nice feeling to the sound. I own a Pioneer PL-320, along with the matching stereo rack. Haven't been able to listen to vinyl for some time, as the turn table have some issues... When I turn it on, the arm will raise and lower it self continuously. If I try to move it over to the record, it will right away move it back to resting position and raise and lower it self again. Would love to get it repaired, but electronics workshops are a thing of the past these days unfortunately.

Most modern music have had the dynamics cut away in order to make the sound "louder". Kind of ruins it in my opinion. The same effect is done to TV commercials if someone wonder why they sound louder. Old vinyl records do not have this and sound much better. Also some stuff that doesn't exist on modern media is to be found as well. Either forgotten bands, or track listings not available today because of legal reasons. Vinyl in general is quite charming in my opinion.

I also bought a hand cranked phonograph that plays 78-records. Really nice to hear Glenn Millers "In the Mood" playing on it.

Vinyl liked here as well. I have a TT, Tannoy/Micro TM-33 in my office at work .
I also have a Sansui Sr-4050c that I enjoy at home .

Same here, I kept my parents' vinyls but got rid of the ones I destroyed as a kid playing them on low quality turntables.

And years later I'm back at buying some more, either reissues or old releases anytime I get to spend some time in Japan second-hand shops.

Julien

I had this one hand made by Pro-Ject audio in Austria a couple years ago. I don't have a worthy phono amp for it, I haven't achieved its full potential yet. Late next summer, I am going tube pre-amp + phono amp. I need to spend some 10-15 more hours on tweaking the cartridge, I don't think I have it above %95 accuracy. The damn alignment tools are very expensive grrr....

I have a Stanton DJ turntable with SPDIF out. Strange, I know, but it works, & plays 33 / 45 / 78 (I have a second headshell & cartridge with a SP needle mounted). I need to replace the tonearm with something more suitable, though -- the stock one is straight, which is fine for DJs but not so great for anything else.

I shed a few tears when I found out Technics discontinued the legendary SL-1200. I had the pleasure of owning a pair of MK2s in early to mid 2000s when I was in college. I deeply regret selling them after college, now they are wicked expensive. I hate digital djing, there is no feeling. I could feel where the bass kicked in on the grooves of the Lp. I could feel the torque on the 12" platter, give it a small spin to catch up or rub on its side to slow down. Digital makes djing much more affordable but there is no feel anymore.

The 1200 is coming back, so rejoice.

I enjoy analog DJing, but the capabilities of Traktor (what I'm using now) are so vast that honestly I consider the whole digital/analog debate a false dichotomy. DJ-ing has evolved completely into a hybrid of production and DJing. Being able to grab the record is something really special, but being able to loop four decks infinitely, trigger cue points, carry 60,000 songs that weigh nothing, and match keys at any temp with no audible stretch is just...so great. Being able to drop literally anything onto a deck without scouring the earth for a record of it is pretty cool too.

Don't get me wrong, two of my TTs are part of my recording setup, I just feel kinda like I lived that, and it was fun, but I only do it for nostalgia now, usually scratch. I use a Kontrol S4 for everything I do on the radio and its totally great. One of the best purchases I've ever made.

I am sure it all depends on what you spin. For me it was tech house and minimal techno. Beat matching was the most important for minimal techno and vinyls were the best for that at the era. Cdjs were what was available in digital.

Absolutely!

It all started back in primary school when a relative passed on their old HMV radiogram. Later (still PS age) I managed to convince mum to let me use my 'birthday savings' on a Hanimex 3-in-1. Came to call those kind of cheap vinyl-shaving turntables 'cake-mixers' later on

There was another one or two in-between but the first really 'serious' TT was an old (70-80's) Linn fitted with no less than an FR-64fx. One of the scores of my life, early 90's working in a Hi-Fi shop, someone brought it in - 'obsolete' thanks to CD. Offered to purchase it, he left it for me to check out (cartridge was destroyed) and said he'd be back to work out a price. Never saw him again; took it home after about six months or so. I still have it.

A few years ago had saved like crazy for an o/s holiday and told myself what was left at the end could spoil myself:



The result - an Origin Live Calypso TT with Conqueror Tonearm. The ZYX R50 cartridge moved over from the Fidelity Research and I'm using a Graham Slee Elevator and Reflex head/pre-amps.

Love the sound of well set up vinyl. Can't actually sit in front of the speakers and listen to CD for any great length of time, but with good vinyl I can sit for hours just enjoying the music. Never really dabbled much in DVD-A or SACD.

Just had to send the tonearm back to the UK for some minor repairs recently, have got things up and running again, but like substance I've many hours of listening and tweaking to get things 'just right' again. Problem is with some recent additions it's hard to get to the TT for anything that fiddly right now:



Need some major re-organisation!!

I do.



Dual 728Q with Shure 380E.

The Shure i obtained NOS this year.
I bought a Cambridge Azur 651P this year.
With a good record it sounds better than my cd players.

The tt i bought for fl. 20,- on a small fair. The cartridge's attachment nook was broken off, having the cartridge hanging to one side a bit.
Years ago, also the capacitor near the on/off switch blew, yellow smoke came through the front.
It appeared exactly a new button with a capacitor attached to it, you could by in Germany off the internet. So i did. I fiddled with a different cartridge TKS 145E, but the TKS 380E NOS i bought this year snugged on better to the tonearm and sounds good. There appears to be also a DN120E mc cartridge for this model; wonder what that would sound like.

currently in use: [ PL990 stored away]

I started grabbing vinyl again a couple years ago. I really like trying to find 12" maxi singles with extended mixes (that are RARELY released on any digital format in an official capacity.)

I found this one of an obscure R&B tune that popped back into my head a few years ago . . .



. . . and WOW! The sound off of that is really damn good. I pretty much use it as a reference disk because the sound is so good.

Sl-1200 mk2 with Shure m97xe cartridge, upgraded to Jico SAS n97xe diamond stylus. I also just found a second 1200 I'm in the process of restoring.

Got the bug in college after discovering the loudness war and many many hours of college AM DJing. Started collecting only 1st presses, hot cuts, imports and the best original issues I could find of what I liked. I generally avoid reissues.

I cherish my father's vinyl collection.
He was a very proud man and took great care for everything he owned. I assured him by the time he passed away I would take care of the collection. About the only thing I could do to make him smile at the time when the man realized he was losing the battle to cancer. sure there are more important things to life then "stuff" but it represent him after death in what a man he was in life. Playing the records reminds me of him enjoying the music with me sitting on his lap as a boy.
I dare say that these are in immaculate condition. they look like brand new. My father told me once that if I could find a fingerprint or a scratch I could keep the record. I never got one

These days I use a OEM Akiyama Acura turntable. Direct drive OEM chassis built like a tank direct drive. Nothing fancy but a great performer with the ortofon pro element. I regret the player doesn't come with a dust cover.
Own many first pressings like 'with the Beatles' that my father bought when they got released. I especially like the Help cover.
On a more modern note I like the Frankie goes to hollywood albums and the Pet shop boys extended dance version of Always on my mind. those sound way better then cd's
have about 400 records not all superrare collectible wise but worth a fortune to me.

I play records on a weekly basis.

So yes,

I like them

Part of the appeal of 12" singles was that you could get INSANE amplitude. The combination of 45rpm (in the UK anyway) and more physical space than you'd ever need for something less than six minutes meant you could have grooves that were like...I don't know, 1mm or more? Amplitude city.

There is a weird record label called Slow to Speak that seems to only issue bootlegs of things you could easily get legit copies of elsewhere. One of this a 12" 45RPM edition of Peter Gabriel's Games Without Frontiers. The back side is supposedly some unreleased ambient stuff, but I think they made it just so some guy could have an immaculate edition of his favorite song.

The highest quality record I own is probably the recent 45RPM edition of Rumors. The US version, not the Euro one, which is apparently completely different. It's not my favorite album ever made, but sonically it's way beyond anything else I have.

I once watched a thing about the band New Order where some newer recording artist was gushing over their legacy (which is most of what those documentaries usually are) and saying how the original 12" of Blue Monday is probably the loudest record ever cut. I don't doubt it. You can almost SEE the bass kicks just by looking at the record.

BTW, New Order has an EIGHT LP box set of their newest record out this month. Mine has shipped but I haven't received it yet.