[jilgiljongiljing]

Yes!!!! I went and picked up a new Rega P1 yesterday. I am so friggin excited I can hardly control myself!

I've been accumulating some used records from a few garage sales and the occasional visit to a used LP store and have a few dozen decent records to get started. I've been intrigued and really eager to get into vinyl for a while now, but always kinda pushed it off for later because I was just not sure how good it would be.

I went to a local store yesterday and auditioned the P1, I got to listen to the Mofi pressing of Abraxas and was instantly struck by the naturalness of the sound. I am a completely vinyl n00b and this was the first time I heard a decent rig, I was totally expecting pops, clicks, hiss and a muddy unrefined sound. But if being here on headfi has taught me anything, its that I can trust not only my ears but your ears as well, and you guys know good sound when you hear it, which is why I saved up for a vinyl entry knowing that I would be blown away when I hear a good setup.

I also grabbed a copy of the new release for Appetite for Destruction by GNR, I set it up today and briefly tried it out, (again thinking I would hear an unrefined sound, cos I just have an entry level Onkyo receiver and Primus speakers, not the high end tube amp and speakers that the local store was using) but man I was blown away again! Damn! The sound was well defined smooth and clean.

I'm waiting to go home today evening, start wiping the other records in my collection and give em a go.

Just wanted to share my enthusiasm with you guys, the guys who got me really hooked onto audio as a serious hobby.

If any of you have any tips for a complete vinyl n00b like myself, I would really appreciate it. For starters, record player maintenance and care, record cleaning, maintenance and tips for usage. Anything will help!

Now to patiently wait for another 4 hours to get home.

 

[Stevtt]

Welcome to vinyl.

 

[LostChild1]

I think Stevtt summed it up.

You'll never go back now

 

[jilgiljongiljing]

update, tried a few records.

Its not all good news, but some good news, the Dark side of the moon I have pops, crackles like crazy its just completely crappy. I have to see if I can get it cleaned.

Now listening to Michael Jackson - Thriller, sounds fantastic, so much better than the lossless version I have on my computer, this just has a foot tapping quality to it that doesnt make me want to skip to the next song, its awesome.

Same story with Police- Synchronicity that I tried before, clean sound, great dynamics and a beautiful...dare I say warm presentation thats just inviting, this is so cool.

I just wish all the stuff I have sounds clean like these two, so far one crappy record, 3 good ones.

 

[Listens2tubes]

First, welcome to the dark side.

My favorite places to buy records are Garage sales, Estate sales, Goodwill stores, Salvation Army Stores (both have websites) and the occasional passerby on the street.

Actually that's not a joke I have become known as the Lp collector around the town I work in and have been stopped on the street to answer questions of value and such.

Now this leads to cleaning tose gems. Hands down the best cleaning method is using a vacuum record cleaner. I use the KAB EV-1, available from KAB Electroacoustics It is very affordable and effective. I have tried sticky rollers and every dry brush made and for those early pressing you can't get em clean without a machine.

Enjoy!

 

[-=Germania=-]

I started in October - so I am pretty new as well.


Try cleaning your needle with a Mr. Clean Magic eraser before each play to clean the needle, or just at the beginning of each sitting.

Do wet cleanings every once in a while with any number of mixes on the internet.

GET A CARBON DRY BRUSH!!!!!! This will get rid of soooo many pops and crackles because it de-statics and can get in the middle of each groove to swipe out dust.

 

[Suntory_Times]

Once you go vinyl, you'll never go back.

ps: if you can find a good copy of dark side of the moon it sounds wonderous on vinyl (it's one of my favourite vinyls, so much so I have two for some reason

).

 

[LostChild1]

I agree with listens2tubes, you're going to maybe need to vacuum your copy of DSOTM, but not with your household vacuum cleaner P) but you don't necessarily need to go out and buy your own. Try and find a record shop near you, as the one near my house will vacuum clean your records for 50cents a pop (And that's canadian cents

) so it's worth looking into going that route than spending hundred on a vacuum of your own..

 

[grawk]

I got a steamer from walgreens for $30 that works REALLY well for cleaning up used vinyl. That plus craigslist combine for some great deals in music.

 

[apatN]

Sounds great, yes. But I don't I will ever make the switch.
Computer/CD are just so much easier to enjoy.

 

[omegaman]

Vinyl is the future

What kept you so long.

 

[jilgiljongiljing]

What kept me so long...good one...

I was intimidated by the whole thing. The internet works both ways, it can help you learn so much, at the same time, end up being very intimidating for someone who is just getting started out. I didn't know what was right, what was wrong, and to make things worse, its not exactly as simple as hitting play on the computer, theres so much involved to make sure you get good sound.

But then I found some of my favourite albums on Vinyl for a few bucks. This was the motivation I needed. I found Dark Side of the moon, Gaucho, Aja, The Wall, Animals, Aqualung, Brothers in Arms, Van Halen, Thriller, and several other artists and albums that I knew I would be interested in listening to. This was the kick I needed to figure it out and get into it.

Germania, thanks for the advice, I need all the advice I can get on getting the best sound possible without having to invest in one of these cleaning machines, cos I don't know if I'll be able to justify that just yet.

Have you used any of the record cleaning products yet?

Grawk, steamer from walgreens? Can you give me more details and procedure? I have one right next to my house.

 

[grawk]

AudiogoN Forums: Deep Cleaning Records With Steam?

 

[LostChild1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jilgiljongiljing /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was intimidated by the whole thing. The internet works both ways, it can help you learn so much, at the same time, end up being very intimidating for someone who is just getting started out.

I hear that!

I've had this feeling so many times, and I'm getting it again trying to learn about Tube Amps.

It's going to be a long process I can imagine.

 

[memepool]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Listens2tubes /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hands down the best cleaning method is using a vacuum record cleaner. I use the KAB EV-1, available from KAB Electroacoustics It is very affordable and effective.

I also use a Nitty Gritty so this KAB version is seconded as the most affordable entry level verson. You soon will learn to spot what's playable and what's not at charity stores and when you compare the cost of new repressings of all these classic records, a Record Cleaning Machine a good investment.
Don't worry about the Pink Floyd, all these LPs sold in the bucket loads so finding them 2nd hand isn't too hard...