33 1/3

shrugs · April-5th-2003, 09:28 AM

This place needs a forum for all thangs vinyl. Could be a spot to ask about turntables, cartridges, tonearms, setup, new reissues, or old classics.
I hauled in some great classical lp's yesterday. Listened to a Willhelm Backhaus Beethoven Sonatas lp before bed last night. I am going to give it a good cleaning before I play it again because there was some surface noise that is obviously from dirt or mold build up. The lp's looked like they had probably been in storage for a long time. I have been making my own cleaner and then rinsing with distilled water. It works better than any cleaner I have purchased.

hermann · April-5th-2003, 10:31 AM

I use dish washing agent in lower concentration with about 30 Celsius water and it works fine.
So I bath them complete !

shrugs · April-5th-2003, 10:38 AM

Regular water has stuff in it that will damage the cantilever and the cartridge. It will also leave behind crud on the vinyl.

Tanager · April-5th-2003, 11:08 AM

1) Damned good to see you here at last, Shrugs.

2) I have an old Onkyo turntable, nothing great, I'm sure, but it still works, AFAIK. I haven't used it in a while, but I was thinking of borrowing some vinyl from the library (most of mine got trashed/tossed in a move) and listening...

But I'm pretty sure I own ballpoint pens which are sharper than this stylus. The cartridge is whatever cheapie came with it, should I replace that? Is there a decent cartridge for < $100?

shrugs · April-5th-2003, 12:21 PM

What model is it?

Tanager · April-5th-2003, 07:57 PM

TT: Onkyo CP-1046F (bought in 86)
Cartridge: AudioTechnica PM7000 (original with the TT)

shrugs · April-6th-2003, 09:58 AM

I would contact the folks at www.needledoctor.com
They should be able to help you out.

willy · April-6th-2003, 11:43 AM

Glad you started this thread Shrugs, as I am a vinyl enthusiast myself.

For cleaning records I use the Disc Doctor record cleaning solution, distilled water, and the VPI HW-16.5 record cleaning machine. It works wonders.

Also, a good stylus cleaner is invaluable. I personally use the Lyra Stylus Performance Treatment.

Now listening to Bill Evans: "Waltz for Debby" on 45RPM LPs. This is definitely the best this historic session has ever sounded (IMO).

shrugs · April-6th-2003, 02:18 PM

the Waltz For Debby OJC lp sounds pretty darn great if you ask me. I haven't sprung for any of the 45rpm reissues. I can get far too many used lp's for what they want for the 45rpm's.

willy · April-6th-2003, 08:16 PM

You're right. This session sounds pretty darn great on the original CD too. It does get even better with the Analogue Productions LPs, 45RPM LPs, or SACD though.

shrugs · April-7th-2003, 03:07 PM

word is there's some QC problems with Classics. buyer beware. Or be patient because you might have to send it back.

Chris D · April-7th-2003, 03:53 PM

I'm all with shrugs on the quality of OJC vinyl. Most pressings are clean and well-nuanced, and you can usually find them for $10 or less.

The VPIs are great machines, but you can get similar results with the FAR cheaper (and manual) Disc Doctor manufactured by Nitty Gritty for the Audio Advisor. Got mine 10 years ago, and the only maintenance I've had to do is replacing the felt strips every year or so. It rocks hard.

willy · April-8th-2003, 09:09 PM

Personally, I think the 1961 Evans Vanguard gig sounds great no matter what. The music was magical on that Sunday, and they were fortunate enough to a great sound to match. I was just trying to point out that there IS a difference in sound quality between the OJC lp and the Acoustic Sounds lp. A very big difference. Same goes with the OJC CD compared to the SACD. Even the CD layer on the SACDs of Sunday and Waltz blow the original CD away.

BTW-Sunday at the Village Vanguard is also available on 33 1/3 from Analogue Productions for $20. Much cheaper than the $50 for the 45 RPM version. It also sounds alot better than the OJC release.

A far as Classic Records is concerned (or is the Classics you're referring to Original Jazz Classics) I have a dozen or so releases and all sound incredible. Do you know which releases are supposed to be messed up?

shrugs · April-8th-2003, 09:24 PM

so you have all three and have compared them?

willy · April-8th-2003, 09:26 PM

I do, yes. I'm a Bill Evans freak (well, I'm a freak, regardless).

shrugs · April-8th-2003, 09:39 PM

and I thought I was weird when I bought Miles Smiles on SACd even though I have the Mosaic set.
Guess you would know on the Waltz For Debby. I still think that the OJC' s can't be beat for the price.
The QC issues I have heard about have dealt with crappy pressings. Warpage and noisage.

willy · April-8th-2003, 10:51 PM

You're talking about OJC problems, right? I bought Everybody Digs Bill Evans a few years ago on lp (OJC). Sound wan't bad, but it is warped in a bad way.

I also have Smiles on SACD as well as the box set. What do you think of the SACD? To me it sounds a little better than the CD box. The LP box put out by Mosiac (which I own. My buddy has the CD box) sounds best to me. Mosaic removed some of the annoying reverb on the horns. Sounds better and more like actually being present at the session (IMO).

shrugs · April-9th-2003, 11:39 AM

QC probelms are with the Classics lp's. Do a search at the Vinyl Asylum.
I prefer the lp's in the Mosaic sets to any of the Miles SACD's I have heard. Even when lp's are a little noisy, they pull me into the music much more than any SACD. And they can't compare with the bass and drums that you can tweak out of a good turntable.

Gordon B · April-28th-2003, 09:40 PM

I"ve overhauled my entire setup in the last couple of years, except for the turntable. Now I can't fully enjoy listening to records with my Planar 3 even with a new Blue Point Special cartridge. It's not that they sound bad, but my analog reproduction pales when compared to the digital.

I own:
SONY 777-ES SACD player
Musical Fidelity A3 Upsampling DAC
Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista M3 Integrated Amp

The M3 has its own phono stage.

I probably won't buy a new turntable for 6-9 months but I'm starting to think about it. Any suggestions? I'm willing to spend $2-3K for the table/arm/cartridge.

FWIW, the A3 is phenomenal, at least when paired with the 777.

Chris D · April-29th-2003, 01:26 PM

Gordon,
Check with me before you get rid of that Rega!

shrugs · April-29th-2003, 05:10 PM

Gordon,
Look into the Nottingham decks.

Gordon B · April-29th-2003, 08:51 PM

Damnit shrugs, you know your stuff. I have an audiophle friend at work. He helped me pick out most of my current system. Bill told me today that Nottingham has the only Sterophile rated class B table in my price range. He also suggested the VPI Scout. Do you have any opinion about that one?

shrugs · April-29th-2003, 09:13 PM

the Scout is very popular too. I have heard lots of great things about it. However, if I were to go VPI then I would buy used. There are always VPI rigs going for a lot less than what they are worth over at Audiogon. I see Nottinghams too but not nearly as often. And there is a Dealer database there that could possibly hook you up with a great deal and then you could get a high output Moving Coil cartridge too.
I am stil happy with my Linn LP 12. There's a reason why the LP 12 has such a large following. But you have to be able to set it up on your own IMO. The shops charge around $75 or so to do it and only a handful are well spoken of. Plus, if you change the height of the arm or change the cartridge out, you have to lightly tweak the suspension.
Dmitry has a Nottingham. I'll tell him to post over here. I have an extra LP 12 that I am going to sell in the future and I may just get a Nottingham with the $$. God knows I have enough records!

Dmitry · May-1st-2003, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by shrugs
Dmitry has a Nottingham. I'll tell him to post over here. I have an extra LP 12 that I am going to sell in the future and I may just get a Nottingham with the $$. God knows I have enough records!

Yeah, I got a Spacedeck. Nice table, easy to set up, for some reason people recommend it be coupled with a Moerch t/arm. I got a Roksan Tabriz arm and a Dynavector cart. Sounds sweet.
Is it the best in that price range? Beats me. I'll keep mine for a long time. Perhaps the only way up is a cartridge upgrade.
Monitor audiogon, they pop up rather infrequently.

Gordon B · May-8th-2003, 05:15 PM

I found a great used deal on the VPI HW19mk IV and decided to pounce on it.

Here's what's included:

* HW19 mk. IV Table
* SAMA Stand Alone Motor Assembly
* Super Armboard
* VPI PLC - Power Line conditioner.
* VPI Clamp
* SME IV Tonearm T
* SME Tonearm Cable - SME -> RCA connection (made by Van den Hull).

I may buy the Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood cartridge. It's offered new for $399 on ebay. It's a $850 retail moving magnet cartridge that got a great stereotimes review.

Chris D · May-8th-2003, 05:56 PM

So whattya gonna do with the Rega, Gordon?

shrugs · May-8th-2003, 06:57 PM

Gordon, I would be choosy before putting a cart on that puppy. Find out what people are using on that setup.
What was the owner using?
I see so many people under cart that turntables. It's like putting cheesy radials on a corvette. If you're gonna shell out the $$ for the table, get a cart that matches it. It will be worth it in the long run.
Can you use a moving coil cart?

shrugs · May-8th-2003, 06:58 PM

and the hell with the rags man. Find out what the fiends are using.

I just put an EKOS II on my Linn and it is in a whole different league. I picked it up used from a dealer in Canada for way less than retail. I wouldn't have bought it if the Ittok's weren't getting so much $$ on the used market. So I'll hopefully sell my Ittok soon. The difference is amazing. Not only in sound but in tracking as well. I have records that I know have surface noise but now it has been greatly reduced. It's got me thinking I need to sit down soon and sell 90% of my cd's.

shrugs · May-8th-2003, 07:22 PM

Gordon B · May-8th-2003, 09:09 PM

Chris, a friend may be interested in my Rega Planar 3, which incidentally has a virtually new Sumiko Blue Point Special Cartridge but if it turns out that he isn't interested I'll sell it to you at a very reasonable price. I also bought a new platter from musicdirect recently.

The seller (from audiogon ,btw) had a Benz Reference, now OOP. He also had a Clearaudio.

Shrugs, Any idea which cartridge would be compatible with the phono stage in my Musical Fidelity Nu Vista M3 Integrated? Do you think I'll end up having to buy a new phono stage? I'd rather not because I 'd have to stack it on top of the Nu Vista.