Cure my vinylphobia?

[crazyface]

I like the way vinyl sounds. I like that there's tons of it for cheap. I'm sure there's tons of brilliant stuff on vinyl that I could never get on CD. But one thing prevents me from collecting and listening:

Records go bad the more you listen to them.

Isn't that so?
Every time the little needle goes 'round, it scrapes off more and more of that wonderful sound, until after a few hundred plays you've ruined your record. I just couldn't enjoy a record, knowing that I was destroying it every time I listened.

Are there any compounds/technologies that lessen this? Is there any way around it?

Thanks!

 

[Duggeh]

So long as you let the vinyl rest between plays, and your turntable is set up correctly and yo have a decent (not worn) needle, record wear should be insignificant. Think about how long records have been around for and they are still going.

 

[crazyface]

What's your take, Duggeh? Is the vinyl sound worth the trouble?

 

[steviebee]

Duggeh's spot on....so long as your kwipment is OK, your vinyl will be too...

Obviously, treat your LPs with a bit of care, & don't go mad with the deo or hairspray (thinking of my lovely wife here!)......I'm still happily playing records I bought in the 60s!

 

[jsaliga]

It's worth the trouble if you want access to recordings that are ONLY available on vinyl. It is also worth it if you want good quality recordings of material from redbook CDs early days, where many of those discs were poorly mastered.

I'm fairly comfortable with the sound quality of many CDs today. But ever since I invested in a high quality headphone setup and good amp I have been dismayed at how poor many of my older CDs really sound. I have probably marked about 100 discs in my collection as unlistenable, at least for serious critical listening sessions. Whenever possible I buy SACD or DVD-A instead of redbook.

So I am investing in vinyl again. Not to replace CDs, but to supplant them. I will be buying mostly audiophile vinyl in 180g or 200g reissues and vintage vinyl of recordings that I want that are not available on CD.

--Jerome

 

[bigshot]

Record wear just isn't an issue for a good turntable in proper alignment. You'll grow old and die, or grow tired of the record long before it wears out. Besides, even if records wore out quickly, you don't have to pay more than a couple of bucks for them. Just go out and buy another record.

See ya
Steve

 

[Roam]

Yes they do wear a little bit every time they're played, however the amount of wear is negligible. I have from university (which was over 35 years ago) which have been played countless thousands of times by now and they still sound incredibly good. Bottom line, if the turntable is setup correctly and the needle & records are kept clean, your LPs and 45s will likely outlast you.

 

[Redo]

It's all fine and dandy sounding until you hear of how some people keep their Vinyl's clean. I personally use D4, but it's by no means up to par with some of the contraptions vinyl junkies use. Things such as turntable vacuum cleaning machines or dish soap and a good clean water wash. Both of those are out of my league, and I just deal with whatever the D4 doesn't get.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Vinyl degrades on playback in the same way that the fingers of passerby tend to polish bronze statues--it takes a lot of people over the course of many years, and the majority of the statue is unaffected.

 

[crazyface]

Thanks everyone, my fears have been to put to rest.

but now i blame you all for the money i'm going to be spending on turntable/LPs >:~(

oh well at least this endeavor is likely to prove more rewarding than the recent misadventure into laserdiscs :]

 

[infinitesymphony]

Great!

As others have said, vinyl is a wonderful journey as long as you can appreciate older music--most of the best finds will be from before the '80s. By the time I was old enough to buy music, it was all on cassette or CD, so recently I've been buying some of my favorite earlier music on vinyl for cheap. Usually the improvements are subtle, or it just sounds different due to a different master or the playback method. When you do find a record that's a huge improvement, the whole ordeal will have been worthwhile.

I think I may have found my first "huge improvement" record when Sting's Dream of the Blue Turtles arrived yesterday. The CD sounds like it was made using primitive A/D technology in comparison.

 

[JadeEast]

Different stylus shapes ride differently in the groove of a
record so many times old records that have
been played with a conical stylus have areas that have
never been touched. A smaller profile stylus can
get at these virgin areas. Micro-line stylus are well known for
digging down into the groove. I always prefer a cart that
requires low weight to track for the idea that there will
be less pressure and heat. Hygiene helps keep records
live long simple cleaning solutions and brushes are available
to help you keep things up from quite a few places, you
can go as far a dedicated record cleaning machine but
a good brush really is one of the best vinyl tweaks
out there.