Getting back into vinyl

CurtP · 05-27-2020, 07:58 AM

It's been decades since I've listened to vinyl. Back then it was on a Pioneer PL-12D with a lower end Audio-Technica cartridge, Pioneer 2-channel receiver and homemade speakers with Peerless woofers and soft-dome tweeters. Just ordered a Fluance RT85 that comes with a Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge. Seems that the consensus is it's a good value for the money. I was also looking at a U-Turn Audio Orbit Custom, but the specs are better on the Fluance. If I end up not liking the Fluance, I'll send it back and get the Orbit.

Moving around speakers now. Decided to take the big Klipsch RP-280F floor standers up to the media room and put the RP-160M bookshelves in their place. Receiver is a Denon AVR-X6200W. Will be used for CD playback too, but I haven't decided if I'm going to bring the Denon DVD-3800 out of retirement and use it or just stick with the Oppo UDP-203.

And I don't have a single vinyl record or CD to play. All my CDs are still up in IL and the vinyl is long gone. Guess it's time to hit thrift store, eBay and Amazon. One of the first albums I'll be looking for is Dire Straits Brothers in Arms.

Hoping to enjoy music again.

dbf73 · 05-27-2020, 10:41 AM

Enjoy. One thing I never regretted was keeping my vinyl

CurtP · 05-27-2020, 01:03 PM

Wow - that's awesome! What's your setup, if you don't mind me asking? I set a $500 budget for a turntable, whether new or vintage. Didn't find anything worthwhile vintage that wouldn't need something of significant cost, like a cartridge or servicing, so started looking at new. My only concern is the Fluance Reference Series are made in Taiwan, but I've been seeing some quality stuff come from Taiwan in the last few years. Orbit is assembled in USA with quite a bit sourced here, but I didn't like their flat acrylic platter (among other things).

Seems the sweet spot for new turntables is $1500. I may go down that path eventually, but wanted to get my feet wet first.

I'm not even sure what happened. Recently everything has been like compressed crap to me and I've stopped listening to anything. But everything I listen to, I stream. So it's not surprising it sounds awful. But even the music I've downloaded from iTunes sounds bad.

I still have a few hundred CDs that I'll get next time I go visit my dad. Ex wife took my record player and records with her in 1991.

I am accepting vinyl donations

dbf73 · 05-28-2020, 08:35 AM

I have a VPI Prime Signature tt w a Lyra Kleos cartridge. End of the upgrade path for me. In the past I had a Rega Planar 3 and a VPI Classic. This works great for me. You can find good turntable reviews in Stereophile and Absolute Sound. There is a syndicated column called Sound Advice Written by Don Lindich which has solid recs for good entry level gear. Rest of system is McIntosh pre, Classe power amp and Rockport speakers. Also Auralic DAC. The various Schiit electronics are truly great value for the money if you need a phono pre or DAC. Good luck

CurtP · 05-28-2020, 09:02 AM

I've been looking for years trying to figure out which Pioneer receiver I had. Finally tracked it down this morning: Pioneer SX-V200

CurtP · 05-28-2020, 09:14 AM

On a roll! My first CD player was a MultiTech MD140. The back and bottom were constructed with fiberboard

CurtP · 05-28-2020, 09:15 AM

Front.

CurtP · 05-28-2020, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dbf73

I have a VPI Prime Signature tt w a Lyra Kleos cartridge. End of the upgrade path for me. In the past I had a Rega Planar 3 and a VPI Classic. This works great for me. You can find good turntable reviews in Stereophile and Absolute Sound. There is a syndicated column called Sound Advice Written by Don Lindich which has solid recs for good entry level gear. Rest of system is McIntosh pre, Classe power amp and Rockport speakers. Also Auralic DAC. The various Schiit electronics are truly great value for the money if you need a phono pre or DAC. Good luck

911URGE · 05-29-2020, 12:06 AM

I still have my JVC QL-Y5F turntable with a Shure Type V15 cartridge. I have all of my vinyl including half speed masters and my very first album when I was a child - The Banana Splits.

All my amps, preamps and speakers are gone but I do have a nice vintage NAD Integrated Amp I can use and some smaller Klipsch speakers. It may be fun to hook some of this up again and have some fun.

Thanks for the reminder!

CurtP · 05-29-2020, 07:45 AM

And just to round things out, my cassette deck was a Technics RS-B11W. Part of me wants to build this setup again out of nostalgia, but it was terrible. Dad bought me the receiver and helped me build the speaker enclosures. The drivers were from a hole-in-the-wall electronic shop in Sarasota Fl, the turntable was found in an abandoned mobile home and the cassette deck was from a pawn shop. I was cranking up Accept, The Power Station, watching MTV on C-Band and plowing the fields with a International Harvester 5488 FWA after school. Life was good.

Kurt R · 05-29-2020, 07:15 PM

I thought this was going to be about vinyl graphics.
I never had anything that fancy. A Pioneer belt drive turntable, Sansui 7070 receiver, a Sanyo tape deck, and some Knight Kit speakers I got at an auction. It got me through college. There's a couple milk crates of vinyl in the basement, haven't had them out in years.

CurtP · 05-30-2020, 01:34 PM

The turntable arrived last night. I ordered it in walnut, and I'm surprised how nice it looks. The acrylic platter has considerable heft. A couple things bother me about it though. The hinges are plastic. I doubt they'll be an issue, but I miss the metal ones that were on my Pioneer PL-12D and how it locked into metal brackets attached to the lid. I also wish the finish was a matte instead of gloss. There's no peg for the 45 RPM adapter to sit on when not in use. I *really* do not like the external power adapter - makes it feel more like a toy. And my #1 pet peeve, which is absolutely silly - why an external belt? It has a switch for the speed, so it doesn't have to be manually moved.

However, it sounds fantastic! I picked up a couple of 180g albums before it arrived so I'd have something to play. The more I play it, the better it sounds. I can see how this could turn from a hobby to an obsession. I'm hoping I can build a substantial collection before wanting to upgrade. I think it's a good fit considering the level of the rest of my equipment.

Definitely need to get some cleaning gear. One recommendation I had was to use microfiber and all it does is create static.

dbf73 · 05-30-2020, 01:53 PM

Suggest either the Spinclean system or the Disc Doctor fluid and brushes combo

CurtP · 05-30-2020, 05:46 PM

I have the Spin-Clean MkII deluxe kit in my Amazon cart. I have been looking at the RCMs and almost pulled the trigger this morning on the Pro-Ject VC-S, but it costs as much as my TT. Okki Nokki doesn't appear to be available here anymore and the MkVI Record Doctor is still $300. Is an RCM worth it over a Spin-Clean?

dbf73 · 05-31-2020, 11:16 AM

For a long time I used the Disk Doctor fluid and brushes to clean and then a relatively cheap vacuum machine to dry. This worked well until I sprung for an ultrasonic machine. There are some DIY ultrasonic setups that might be best bang for buck

05-27-2020, 07:58 AM	#1
CurtP Super User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 3,539 Thanks: 675 Thanked 597 Times in 425 Posts	Getting back into vinyl It's been decades since I've listened to vinyl. Back then it was on a Pioneer PL-12D with a lower end Audio-Technica cartridge, Pioneer 2-channel receiver and homemade speakers with Peerless woofers and soft-dome tweeters. Just ordered a Fluance RT85 that comes with a Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge. Seems that the consensus is it's a good value for the money. I was also looking at a U-Turn Audio Orbit Custom, but the specs are better on the Fluance. If I end up not liking the Fluance, I'll send it back and get the Orbit. Moving around speakers now. Decided to take the big Klipsch RP-280F floor standers up to the media room and put the RP-160M bookshelves in their place. Receiver is a Denon AVR-X6200W. Will be used for CD playback too, but I haven't decided if I'm going to bring the Denon DVD-3800 out of retirement and use it or just stick with the Oppo UDP-203. And I don't have a single vinyl record or CD to play. All my CDs are still up in IL and the vinyl is long gone. Guess it's time to hit thrift store, eBay and Amazon. One of the first albums I'll be looking for is Dire Straits Brothers in Arms. Hoping to enjoy music again.

05-27-2020, 01:03 PM	#3
CurtP Super User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 3,539 Thanks: 675 Thanked 597 Times in 425 Posts	Wow - that's awesome! What's your setup, if you don't mind me asking? I set a $500 budget for a turntable, whether new or vintage. Didn't find anything worthwhile vintage that wouldn't need something of significant cost, like a cartridge or servicing, so started looking at new. My only concern is the Fluance Reference Series are made in Taiwan, but I've been seeing some quality stuff come from Taiwan in the last few years. Orbit is assembled in USA with quite a bit sourced here, but I didn't like their flat acrylic platter (among other things). Seems the sweet spot for new turntables is $1500. I may go down that path eventually, but wanted to get my feet wet first. I'm not even sure what happened. Recently everything has been like compressed crap to me and I've stopped listening to anything. But everything I listen to, I stream. So it's not surprising it sounds awful. But even the music I've downloaded from iTunes sounds bad. I still have a few hundred CDs that I'll get next time I go visit my dad. Ex wife took my record player and records with her in 1991. I am accepting vinyl donations

05-29-2020, 07:15 PM	#11
Kurt R User Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: La Crosse, WI Posts: 1,383 Thanks: 42 Thanked 322 Times in 205 Posts	I thought this was going to be about vinyl graphics. I never had anything that fancy. A Pioneer belt drive turntable, Sansui 7070 receiver, a Sanyo tape deck, and some Knight Kit speakers I got at an auction. It got me through college. There's a couple milk crates of vinyl in the basement, haven't had them out in years.

05-30-2020, 01:34 PM	#12
CurtP Super User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 3,539 Thanks: 675 Thanked 597 Times in 425 Posts	The turntable arrived last night. I ordered it in walnut, and I'm surprised how nice it looks. The acrylic platter has considerable heft. A couple things bother me about it though. The hinges are plastic. I doubt they'll be an issue, but I miss the metal ones that were on my Pioneer PL-12D and how it locked into metal brackets attached to the lid. I also wish the finish was a matte instead of gloss. There's no peg for the 45 RPM adapter to sit on when not in use. I really do not like the external power adapter - makes it feel more like a toy. And my #1 pet peeve, which is absolutely silly - why an external belt? It has a switch for the speed, so it doesn't have to be manually moved. However, it sounds fantastic! I picked up a couple of 180g albums before it arrived so I'd have something to play. The more I play it, the better it sounds. I can see how this could turn from a hobby to an obsession. I'm hoping I can build a substantial collection before wanting to upgrade. I think it's a good fit considering the level of the rest of my equipment. Definitely need to get some cleaning gear. One recommendation I had was to use microfiber and all it does is create static.

05-30-2020, 05:46 PM	#14
CurtP Super User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 3,539 Thanks: 675 Thanked 597 Times in 425 Posts	I have the Spin-Clean MkII deluxe kit in my Amazon cart. I have been looking at the RCMs and almost pulled the trigger this morning on the Pro-Ject VC-S, but it costs as much as my TT. Okki Nokki doesn't appear to be available here anymore and the MkVI Record Doctor is still $300. Is an RCM worth it over a Spin-Clean?