[Gojira]

But what about all those crackles and pops?

I used to have a relatively small record collection in the late 70s to early 80s but now I only have one extremely rare, out of print LP (a movie soundtrack that was no longer available on CD). I tried to record the tracks to my computer, but I hadn't heard a record in like 20 years or so and I had forgotten how noisy they could be. One of these days I do plan to transfer it to my computer and clean up the digital tracks with Sound Forge or Cool Edit, but for now it just sits in its sleeve unplayed. I don't have a preamp for my father's old Philips turntable, so maybe that was part of the problem

.

I prefer newer music, so vinyl is not a realistic option for me anyway.

 

[drewski]

For this thread, I'm more curious about what analog rig people would put together with a $500 budget to beat out a $500 CD player (let's put aside things like the shortcomings of analog or the conveniences of CD). It's all personal opinion, but with all the people saying that if they would choose a similar priced analog system over digital, I really want to know what they'd choose to put together with a $500 budget. So far from this thread, the only under $500 combinations is the entry level Music Hall or the Sumiko tables . My opinion only, but I personally would chose any of the CD players mentioned in my original thread over either of those tables and ANY phono stage for both headphones and speaker systems. And I've analyzed those tables on some very high end systems using $100 phono stages to $7000 phono stages.

Also, to make things clear, I am a huge supporter of analog and I love my analog rig (VPI Scout, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood, Acoustech Phono stage). When you hear a properly set up analog rig, it really hits you and you realize what you're in this hobby for!

Thanks for all the feedback!

 

[tanfenton]

Drewski:

Check my profile. =)

NGF

 

[zimmer]

drewski-
I might agree with you regarding your specific example. I have yet to hear a Exposure unit but if they are still Naim-like then your example at 500 clams is probably a great deal on a good piece.
One of my concerns about digital (esp single box units) is the longer term life expectancy of the piece. Now I am sure that people have stories about players that are nearing their 20th birthday while still cranking-out the tunes. I've had acouple crap-out just out of warranty. Worse still is when the transport is no longer supported. Does digital seem like a comfortable situation when you've put several thousand on a unit that is possibly dead in the water within a handful of years? (No, this doesn't apply to your example, which is more reasonably priced)
Sure, vinyl can be worse. I've heard stories about multi-thousand $ cartridges that didn't even survive setup. But in general the piece can still remain serviceable even if you need to replace an arm/motor/cartridge with passing years.
No, this doesn't have much to do with sonics themselves. Yet some of us might be influenced by such matters indirectly or even psycologically.

 

[drewski]

Quote:

Originally posted by zimmer drewski- I might agree with you regarding your specific example. I have yet to hear a Exposure unit but if they are still Naim-like then your example at 500 clams is probably a great deal on a good piece.

Naim may not be the best comparison considering when I listened to a Naim rig a few months ago, the optional power supply that they used cost about the same as a used car!

But it definitely was a good sounding system!

You are right, there are a lot of reliability issues with digital sources these days. I still have my first Magnavox/Philips CD player from the 1980's and it still works, but I also know that these days, most CD players are built to last maybe 5 years at the most. I've been lucky enough that only my DVD players have crapped out on me- none of my higher end CD players have ever given me problems. Also, resale of turntables are much better- I've owned several decent analog rigs over the years and they've always kept their value.

Quote:

Originally posted by tanfenton Drewski: Check my profile. =)

I did, but I'm not familiar with the B&O tables/cartridges, so I'll have to take your word for it. What phono stage are you using? I'm really curious now about the B&O tables, but to be honest, I think we may have different tastes in what we look for from 2 channel music reproduction (not a bad thing, just different from what I've gathered from reading some of your posts). I sometimes think that I enjoy this hobby more for the gadgets and gear more than the music itself! You seem to have your priorities right and focus much more on the music!

 

[tanfenton]

Drewski:

Lately I haven't bothered with separates. I've been sending the signal straight through my H-K A-300 or VoM 1448... sometimes one of H-K's '70s "twin-powered" receivers since the VoM is on its last leg. Some of my old stuff is highly rewarding; thanks for respecting my opinion.

NGF