Hi-Fi Corner - Vinyl, CD, Cassettes and the rest

Habbinalan

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At the suggestion of Vanni and Aber gas - a thread for dead and/or resurected formats and the cultural gems they preserve or inspire.

Among the dusty piles of pirated cassettes I have stashed away is a full set of the John Lennon Story, as broadcast on BBC Radio, that I sat and recorded each broadcast, and a selection of Radio 1 In Concert Broadcasts, including some of the best actually recorded by connection to an old (very) Murphy wireless.

Pride of collection is a bunch of cassettes, picked up in a Philadelphia junk store, to play in our rented Pontiac Bonneville (no "compacts") hired for a vacation around Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It was August 1995, the month Jerry Garcia died, so included Best of The Grateful Dead, along with The Yardbirds Hidden Treasures. Hearing them again brings back memories of Mifflinburg, Intercourse and Cape May.
 
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eightiesrobin

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During my midlife crisis (ongoing) I bought some second-hand hifi. Now I can't pass a charity shop without looking for LPs, a curse IMO.
 

mnb089mnb

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I'm thinking of getting one so I can buy utter crap in charity shops.

I also own a typewriter.

I'm such a dick.
 

Aber gas

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It's quite odd what has become expensive vinyl wise. I can pick up some old indie/ rock stuff ridiculously cheap but ska/ punk/ oi is eye wateringly expensive.
Saying all that, I did once buy some poor sap's incredible record collection for £20 at a car boot sale. His mum was selling it and in her words " it's a load of dusty, old crap cluttering up my attic, make me an offer" I did and high fived myself on the way back to the car with my treasure.
 

SALTIRE

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I suppose old Queen and Jean-Michel Jarre tapes aren't worth anything? No, probably not, they might be as degraded as me these days anyway and like myself need chucking out.
 

SALTIRE

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God, you're old.
Lol yeah I am!

Thats the only vinyl single I had which I nicked from a mate! :lol:

I've actually got hundreds of old vinyl records my mum collected over the years and my grandad had a lot of old records too we still have sitting there. Dunno what to do with them tbh.
 

Aber gas

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Lol yeah I am!

Thats the only vinyl single I had which I knicked from a mate! :lol:

I've actually got hundreds of old vinyl records my mum collected over the years and my grandad had a lot of old records too we still have sitting there. Dunno what to do with them tbh.
I like buying records.. if you just catalogue and photograph them all. I'll have a look.
 

SALTIRE

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I like buying records.. if you just catalogue and photograph them all. I'll have a look.
The records will be from Elvis, Neil Diamond, Roy Orbison and Sinatra stuff which I dunno if you'll be into tbh! But if I do get round to cataloguing them, I'll keep you in mind :)
 

Pliny Harris

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Oh FINE. Just a quick one before I go to bed.

Cassettes seem to have staged a real revival. I've always known noise acts to release stuff on them, but indie bands do it a lot now at DIY gigs too. If the average tape there is £5, the average CD £10 and the LP £15 then the tape option can often win out. The downsides to that are a usual lack of download codes with tapes and only having tape decks in set parts of the home, plus the USB tape ripper I have is a bit crappy and will only transfer to mp3 if you physically hold the play button down through the entire track's duration, one after another. Plus mucky worn tape is much less salvageable/listenable than a dirty/damaged rekkerd. One of my favourite Hallowe'en cossies ever was when a friend came wearing armour plates made of old given away vinyl warmed up in the oven to shape, and some sort of chainmail of old tapes with the reels hanging from him, which he'd play through a portable player at whatever speed his fingers dragged the loose tape through, often backwards. So you got this demonic subliminal stuff from Abba playing as he clunked around. Two thumbs up.

Vinyl's always my preferred go-to. Practically every positive to vinyl on its own sounds a bit petty or fetishistic, but put together there are dozens, and they beat every other music format on all but convenience. I've always "levelled up" digital copies of things to physical copies as I've found them and that's always felt worthwhile.

Good shelves of vinyl and even tapes/CDs are an absolute solace for me, as much as a good bookshelf. It really is one of the finest pleasures in life, physically rooting through the music, or literature, of someone you (are about to) admire. As I said I'm about to turn in, and the three genres of "good dream" I have are running the fells, watching my team win, and leafing through records.

It's a lifelong habit and however sad it is when somebody gives up their physical collection, it's nice to scavenge.
 

Aber gas

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Oh FINE. Just a quick one before I go to bed.

Cassettes seem to have staged a real revival. I've always known noise acts to release stuff on them, but indie bands do it a lot now at DIY gigs too. If the average tape there is £5, the average CD £10 and the LP £15 then the tape option can often win out. The downsides to that are a usual lack of download codes with tapes and only having tape decks in set parts of the home, plus the USB tape ripper I have is a bit crappy and will only transfer to mp3 if you physically hold the play button down through the entire track's duration, one after another. Plus mucky worn tape is much less salvageable/listenable than a dirty/damaged rekkerd. One of my favourite Hallowe'en cossies ever was when a friend came wearing armour plates made of old given away vinyl warmed up in the oven to shape, and some sort of chainmail of old tapes with the reels hanging from him, which he'd play through a portable player at whatever speed his fingers dragged the loose tape through, often backwards. So you got this demonic subliminal stuff from Abba playing as he clunked around. Two thumbs up.

Vinyl's always my preferred go-to. Practically every positive to vinyl on its own sounds a bit petty or fetishistic, but put together there are dozens, and they beat every other music format on all but convenience. I've always "levelled up" digital copies of things to physical copies as I've found them and that's always felt worthwhile.

Good shelves of vinyl and even tapes/CDs are an absolute solace for me, as much as a good bookshelf. It really is one of the finest pleasures in life, physically rooting through the music, or literature, of someone you (are about to) admire. As I said I'm about to turn in, and the three genres of "good dream" I have are running the fells, watching my team win, and leafing through records.

It's a lifelong habit and however sad it is when somebody gives up their physical collection, it's nice to scavenge.
When are you coming back to the politics forum? It's lonely.
 

Aber gas

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The records will be from Elvis, Neil Diamond, Roy Orbison and Sinatra stuff which I dunno if you'll be into tbh! But if I do get round to cataloguing them, I'll keep you in mind :)
I dunno then mate. I'll definitely have a look though.
 

eightiesrobin

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So can we post pics of turntables too?

Saltire - I'd have a look too.
 

Techno Natch

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Interested in what soundsystem's you all have in place as I might get around to investing at some point.
 

eightiesrobin

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I've shown you mine.....
Edit to add....Should have dusted it first, and look at the fluff ball on the stylus! Good job you can't see the pieces of cardboard under each corner to level it.
 

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Martino Knockavelli

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. One of my favourite Hallowe'en cossies ever was when a friend came wearing armour plates made of old given away vinyl warmed up in the oven to shape, and some sort of chainmail of old tapes with the reels hanging from him, which he'd play through a portable player at whatever speed his fingers dragged the loose tape through, often backwards. So you got this demonic subliminal stuff from Abba playing as he clunked around. Two thumbs up.


> wont embed
 

Habbinalan

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Interested in what soundsystem's you all have in place as I might get around to investing at some point.
"Sound System" might be stretching it a bit but I did invest in a new Rega RP3 turntable a few years back. I got a Rega Phono pre-amp at the same time - to get some of my vinyl more easily accessible. It's such a faff that I've hardly used it, apart from producing some otherwise inaccessible music (The Spinners - Silver in the Stubble and similar) for my father-in-law's funeral.

Otherwise, an old Denon PMA 707 amp, a Denon DRW 750 double cassette deck (from those old school days of pirating) and a JVC XL E34X CD player. The speakers are a pair of Wharfedale Dentons that I bought at Uni in the days of full grants and regular well paid vacation jobs. The tuner has been consigned to the garage for some years now but it was essential for recording some of my best cassettes from the days of John Peel and BBC In Concert.

I regularly consider up-dating but will probably keep this combination until it fails. We have a Panasonic mini hi-fi system in the back/garden room and I'd probably replace that from scratch if I ever felt a serious urge to spend some money.

At some stage, I might get the camera out and address the needs of the nosier amongst us. I've been meaning to do something like that for insurance purposes for years. The "catalogue" that a marginal OCD mate did when he stopped over decades ago is well out of date now.
 
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Vanni

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I've shown you mine.....
Edit to add....Should have dusted it first, and look at the fluff ball on the stylus! Good job you can't see the pieces of cardboard under each corner to level it.

Careful pal, the stylus on your Denon cart isn't replaceable but I'm sure you know this. Otherwise, very nice looking Thorens there :thumbs: And yes, mine has cardboard under it too ;)
 

Vanni

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As for my gear, I'm a vintage gear type of guy simply because vintage is better than today's offerings, except when it comes to speakers that is. Honestly, I can't even remember how many turntables and amps have passed through my hands because whenever I see any type of gear in decent condition (talking charity shop/car boot sales and the like here) I just have to get it.

First and foremost, I like Sansui turntables a lot and have had loads of their stuff at one point or other in my life. Presently I have an SR626 (which needs seeing to) and an SR525, which I'm planning on re-veneering so that it look like an SR-636. Btw the 636 is only the 525 in a wood finish. Not my pics but this is how it looks now and how it will look when I find some time -

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image.php


I'll talk about my other gear (and the other turntables) on another day.

ps oops forgot about the carts I'm running on these decks - An Ortofon Super OM20, though I also have an OM10 somewhere, and a Nagaoka MP-110.
 

eightiesrobin

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Careful pal, the stylus on your Denon cart isn't replaceable but I'm sure you know this. Otherwise, very nice looking Thorens there :thumbs: And yes, mine has cardboard under it too ;)

Impressive cart recognition there. It's well due for replacement really - just having a look online and I see prices have gone up quite sharply since I bought mine three years ago. I'm tempted to try something different, but I know I'll hate it to start with, as it will sound different.

Like Vanni, all my gear is vintage, except speakers. I've had a few turntables before the Thorens, and my first midlife crisis amp was a NAD 3020. I sold that and upgraded to a 3130, as it has a moving coil phono switch.


zzzzz, boring myself now, sorry
 

Vanni

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Impressive cart recognition there. It's well due for replacement really - just having a look online and I see prices have gone up quite sharply since I bought mine three years ago. I'm tempted to try something different, but I know I'll hate it to start with, as it will sound different.

I'm no expert Robin! But it's not so hard to spot a Denon cart as they look different to other carts. Plus, I was interested in getting one for myself only a year ago or so, but like you say prices have gone way up and I don't like to spend a lot of money on a cart with a non replaceable stylus.

and oh, you're not boring us at all. You know who bores me to death? Those audiophile forums! I mean I check 'em out sometimes but only to see what they're saying on a particular cart. I certainly do not contribute :lol:
 

eightiesrobin

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I got the Denon cart on the strength of a recommendation on vinylengine - something to do with tonearm mass or somesuch. I had OM10 and OM20 carts on a Dual 505 I had - I liked them a lot, but they weren't a good fit for the Thorens apparently, so they got sold.
 

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