Anyone still spinning vinyl?

I had a series of Technics turntables starting in 1974. Before that it was Garrard A70 (1966) and Dual 1219 (1971). My current turntable is an SL-QL1 linear-tracking unit from around 1987 or so. (Photo from the web; mine's plastic cover is scratched pretty bad.)

Most of my listening is CDs, but I have several hundred LPs and 45s that I listen to as well.

Absolutely, there is nothing better than pouring a whiskey and spinning some vinyl. When I upgraded my system I picked up a Bluenote Bellagio turntable.

Nothing sounds as full and smooth as analog music on a quality system - Unlimited bandwidth
All digital music equipment tries to sound like analog. No analog equipment tries to sound digital. Enjoy the vinyl it if you've got it

Gritty wrote

Nothing sounds as full and smooth as analog music on a quality system - Unlimited bandwidth
All digital music equipment tries to sound like analog. No analog equipment tries to sound digital. Enjoy the vinyl it if you've got it

We have a few hundred vinyl albums, it has become an event to spin them....and that's ok. I have to say that I am fully enthralled with Paul Simon Graceland. Just nothing like it.

Love ‘em. I’m sure I have a better picture than this, but it’s all I have handy from selling the house. I’ve got a display case of sorts I picked up at Ikea that happens to fit them nicely as seen in the left side of this picture. I’ve got more, but those are the greats. Fillmore East - Allman Bros, CSN, Zeppelin, Jimi… Wife made me pack away the record player for the sale. It used to sit on the buffet with speakers.

I have some of my records in storage in the attic but most have been lost. Not even sure what's in there anymore. These days I listen to CDs, the radio and MTV Classic.

spazzyfry123 wrote

Love ‘em. I’m sure I have a better picture than this, but it’s all I have handy from selling the house. I’ve got a display case of sorts I picked up at Ikea that happens to fit them nicely as seen in the left side of this picture. I’ve got more, but those are the greats. Fillmore East - Allman Bros, CSN, Zeppelin, Jimi… Wife made me pack away the record player for the sale. It used to sit on the buffet with speakers.

Any record storage has to be sturdy: those suckers are heavy!

Mainly digital these days but still have a few hundred LPs. Play vinyl every now and then.

Llarry wrote

I had a series of Technics turntables starting in 1971. My current turntable is an SL-QL1 linear-tracking unit from around 1987 or so. (Photo from the web; mine's plastic cover is scratched pretty bad.)

Most of my listening is CDs, but I have several hundred LPs and 45s that I listen to as well.

Jiff is quite good as a cutting compound for scratched TT lids. Try the side first but I used to use it on my sl1200s back in the day.

Haven’t seen an SL linear tracking TT for a few years 😀

NealfromNZ wrote

Jiff is quite good as a cutting compound for scratched TT lids. Try the side first but I used to use it on my sl1200s back in the day.

Haven’t seen an SL linear tracking TT for a few years 😀

What is Jiff?

My turntable malfunctioned around 1989 when only a couple of years old; fortunately I was able to have it repaired and it has been solid for 30+ years now.

When stationed in the Philippines 1980-82, I took advantage of the very reasonable prices on custom-made furniture to have an audio cabinet made. It was designed to accommodate preamp, power amp, tuner, cassette deck, open-reel tape deck and turntable as well as storage for LPs, open-reel tapes, cassette tapes and accessories.

I actually had worked on the design for a couple of years just in case, incorporating elements of Chinese design that I got from a couple of books on the subject.

Then came CDs and my careful planning of what goes where went out the window! For the past few years I stored CD box sets in the phono record storage spaces. I'm reorganizing and may bring the LPs back.

The cabinet is made of Philippine Narra wood, an exotic tropical wood that is now endangered, I believe. The cabinet is in two pieces, which is a good thing since it is quite heavy. The round design of the brass handles on the top and the wooden designs in the middle of the bottom doors are Long Life. I had a 1/3 wide companion piece made in the same style but without glass doors; the round piece on the bottom doors is Double Happiness.

The audio system changed over the years as well; for reasons that I now regret I got rid of the separates and bought a nice Yamaha surround-sound receiver. The open reel bit the dust and I sold it for twenty bucks last year and dumped 60+ open reel tapes in the trash. My somewhat high-end Yamaha cassette went away, too, but I then bought another on eBay.

The one component that has stayed for 40+ years is a pair of Acoustic Research AR90 tower speakers; cosmetically a bit challenged but still sound great to me.

Llarry wrote

What is Jiff?

My turntable malfunctioned around 1989 when only a couple of years old; fortunately I was able to have it repaired and it has been solid for 30+ years now.

Sorry , different product name in USA

https://www.amazon.com/Cif-Cream-Cleaner-Original-500ml/dp/B0125VK38U

NealfromNZ wrote

Sorry , different product name in USA

https://www.amazon.com/Cif-Cream-Cleaner-Original-500ml/dp/B0125VK38U

Many thanks, Neal -- I will give it a go.

Im old school, accumulated about more 3k of them with 3 tables rotating, and combined with modern world

Murf the Surf wrote

When I upgraded my system I picked up a Bluenote Bellagio turntable.

I remember seeing it with your McIntosh amp. Gorgeous TT.

NealfromNZ wrote

Play vinyl every now and then.

That's a cool player. Nice top of the line granite Kenwood with SME 3009.

I restarted playing records little over 20 years ago (around 2000).
I like tinkering on the players.
I have quite a few Sony Biotracers (electronically dampened arms) that I really like (but they are very complex to fix/service/maintain). And I have a few other decks like a dual 721 and a Garrard 401.

Too bad records have become so expensive.

Here's one of my turntables (Sony PS-X75 Biotracer) in a rather messy pic:

Yep. Still spinning vinyl. Here's my current setup.

VPI HW19 Jr with MKIII platter upgrade resting on Audioquest sorbothane feet
Audioquest PT9 tonearm
Sumiko Blue Point Special EVO III high output moving coil cartridge connected with pure silver tonearm leads
Vincent Audio PHO 700 vacuum tube phono preamp

Lady Jane wrote

I inherited my Dad's TT and record collection. It's a 1979 Technics SL-1510 MK2 he bought at the PX in Germany. The cartridge is original but he had a few extra stylus. He had the turntable upgraded with an external power supply and dedicated phono/pre-amp section that can be plugged-in directly to a power amp.

There's something about old LPs. Show yours.

You may want to consider replacing the cartridge due to age. The rubber in the cartridge that helps suspend the needle are most likely dried out and stiff. It'll definitely affect the sound quality outside of a worn needle. There used to be a company called Needle Doctor who was the go to for getting all things done vinyl such as rebuilding of cartridges. Unfortunately, he closed up shop in 2019 and there is no other business out there that does what he did.

I don't listen regularly, but I have a Dual 1219 and the majority of my albums from growing up (60's to 80's).

There are a couple of releases that if I'm going to sit down and listen to that I will absolutely pull out the vinyl versions of such as the original Jesus Christ Superstar or the first CSN album.

zx10guy wrote

The rubber in the cartridge that helps suspend the needle are most likely dried out and stiff.

That very much differs from cartridge to cartridge.
For instance I have a AT3600L stylus from the early 80's and a brand new one, and their compliance is only 1 or 2mm/N apart.

I don't have the Shure V15IV in the picture but I do have the V15III, and that suspension virtually doesn't get hard.
Not all suspensions get hard, a lot of them get softer.
If any, it gets softer, but it's hard to tell if it has as compliance data of that time is not that accurate. They're high compliance to begin with.

Rebuilding cartridges and stylii is pretty expensive, and usually is done at the same time as a retip. For a shure, it's usually cheaper to get a new quality stylus (originals are not available anymore), like a Jico SAS.

zx10guy wrote

You may want to consider replacing the cartridge due to age. The rubber in the cartridge that helps suspend the needle are most likely dried out and stiff. It'll definitely affect the sound quality outside of a worn needle. There used to be a company called Needle Doctor who was the go to for getting all things done vinyl such as rebuilding of cartridges. Unfortunately, he closed up shop in 2019 and there is no other business out there that does what he did.

The other thing to note ( great to see Shure V15s again “ ) is that the shape of some of the older stylus do cause more wear on the vinyl. My Kenwood ran a V15 mk3 for many years, but changed it to a Dynavector Moving Coil DV-20 X on the account of the more friendly stylus ( and price point to an extent) It works out to be a nice combo with the TT and tone arm.


Great to see some of these top of the line ( at the time 😀 ) Japanese turn tables are still in operation!