{"id":642,"date":"2010-06-25T14:30:30","date_gmt":"2010-06-25T20:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cis-nc.com\/wordpress\/?p=642"},"modified":"2010-06-25T14:30:30","modified_gmt":"2010-06-25T20:30:30","slug":"sharing-in-the-vinyl-groove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cis-nc.com\/wordpress\/cisncuser\/audio-systems\/sharing-in-the-vinyl-groove\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharing in the Vinyl Groove"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"C.I.S.<\/a>It’s easy to get swept back into the world of analog by adding turntables and a slew of cheap records to your audio rig.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This website is usually for discussing new technology. Recently, though, I rediscovered an old technology that still qualifies as new for many readers, and one that I can\u2019t recommend enough as an addition to your audio system, especially if you consider it mid-to-high end: vinyl.<\/p>\n

A Sony turntable I bought 10 years ago served me well at the time but had long been removed from my theater system when I got lazy about replacing its bum needle. Plus I\u2019d become enamored with surround sound. But thanks to some electronics and speaker upgrades, and reading constant vinyl evangelism from Stereophile\u2019s thirtysomething (my age) blogger Stephen Mejias and his \u201cElements of Our Enthusiasm,\u201d the analog bug began biting again.<\/p>\n

But aren\u2019t turntables, cartridges and needles the kind of pricey gear that only so-called \u201caudiophiles\u201d invest in, you\u2019re thinking? Yes, there are many types of \u2019tables, and cost can quickly escalate well into the thousands.<\/p>\n

This time around, I figured I\u2019d start at the very entry level. After a $50 Technics turntable find on Craigslist and $100 Cambridge Audio phono preamplifier purchase (you\u2019ll need one if your processor or receiver lacks a phono stage), I wasn\u2019t into the vinyl experiment for much money.<\/p>\n

Plus, there are several respectable turntables in the sub-$400 range should I decide to upgrade. In fact, Mejias moderates the Stereophile forums, including an \u201cEntry Level\u201d thread with a sticky post called \u201cSince this comes up a lot. Turntables under or $1,000\u201d with all kinds of great turntable suggestions.<\/p>\n

As much as I enjoyed spinning records 10 years ago, the analog epiphany really cold-cocked me this time. Perhaps my job as a custom electronics writer\/editor has given me a greater appreciation of sound quality (especially when it comes to hearing demos at tradeshows), but listening to old LPs through this new setup was nothing short of nirvana. It didn\u2019t matter that some albums crackled more than Rice Krispies\u2014the instruments also snapped and popped a whole lot better, too.<\/p>\n

Even while lacking the \u201cgolden ears\u201d of some reviewers, it was easy for me\u2014and my wife\u2014to hear the differences between CD and vinyl versions of songs. The vinyl soundstage was wider, instrumentation was more defined, bass was tighter, hi-hat drum cymbals were thicker and livelier, and dynamic range was fuller. \u201cI wonder if more people would the like music they say they hate if they listened to it this way,\u201d my wife said after I forced Yes\u2019 prog classic Roundabout on her.<\/p>\n

And record hunting is almost as fun as record playing. I\u2019ve bought LPs purely for the artwork; some include fancy lyrics booklets; Bookends came with a giant Simon and Garfunkel poster! You can discover gems at flea markets, tag sales, the Salvation Army and, if you\u2019re fortunate, a local record shop. At Divinyl Revolution in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., this weekend I picked up 14 albums for $24.99, the majority of which cost $1\u2014or the equivalent of a single, compressed song download from iTunes.<\/p>\n

Not to mention that when I went to the Craigslist seller\u2019s home to pick up the turntable, he gave me a small stack of records, including perhaps the most listened-to LP of all-time, Pink Floyd\u2019s Dark Side of the Moon, with a sweet Dark Side pyramids poster up its sleeve. How\u2019s that for good karma?<\/p>\n

We know records have been making a comeback in recent years, to the point where Best Buy has added shelf space for vinyl and artists are appealing to younger-generation listeners by releasing vinyl albums that include free digital downloads of the same in MP3 format.<\/p>\n

Of course, it\u2019s places like Divinyl Revolution that predominantly keep the format alive and well. Even in summer tourist destinations like Saratoga, record shopping is a year-round excursion. \u201cThis is the only place like it, for about 40 miles in each direction,\u201d explained super-cute shop proprietor Brittany Nasser, who\u2019s kind of the anti-Jack Black in High Fidelity. \u201cWe have a bunch of loyal customers who can\u2019t wait to hear what just came into the store.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll look forward to visiting again next summer.<\/p>\n

by Arlen Schweiger
\nhttp:\/\/www.electronichouse.com\/article\/sharing_in_the_vinyl_groove\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Custom Installation Services, LLC <\/a>–\u00a0Charlotte \u2019s Home Theater & Technology Experts!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s easy to get swept back into the world of analog by adding turntables and a slew of cheap records to your audio rig. This website is usually for discussing new technology. Recently, though, I rediscovered an old technology that still qualifies as new for many readers, and one that I can\u2019t recommend enough as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,528,700,355,43],"tags":[534,358,84,814,449,538,541,498,639,427,463,354,1078,337,518,453,86,474,144],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cis-nc.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cis-nc.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cis-nc.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cis-nc.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cis-nc.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.cis-nc.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":645,"href":"https:\/\/www.cis-nc.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642\/revisions\/645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cis-nc.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cis-nc.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cis-nc.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}