[The Quality Guru]

I've heard some talking about LP's that modern musicians record onto. (esp. Radiohead) Are there a lot of vinyl/LP equivalents to today's CD's? For example, if James Taylor or Sheryl Crow or Eric Clapton were to come out with a new album, is it likely to be on the vinyl medium as well or am I totally misinformed and most modern musicans only record on CD?

If I can get a lot of modern music on LP's, then what are some good turntables for around $500 or a bit more? Good phono amp? I've heard the VPI Junior mentioned (is this it? http://show.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/sh....Ast26AAAAAAvpi)

What about vintage or modern Linn turntables? What are some other staple audiophile turntable brands that I also ought to look into?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Hirsch]

That's the VPI Jr. alright, but by the time you put an arm and cartridge on it, you're looking at twice your budget. I'd recommend the Music Hall MMF-5 in the $500 range. Demo or used units can be found for less. If you're willing to go up in price, the MMF-7 is a very nice table. I got a demo unit for $600. The advantage (or disadvantage) to the VPI is that it has a great upgrade path. You can improve it almost as long as you're making enough money and have the desire to do so. The Music Halls are finished products at their price point. If you want to upgrade, you buy a new table.

 

[jopi]

You can get some new releases on vinyl, but by far not all. It's usually the more mainstream established folks who also put out an album in vinyl. It's also mostly available in Europe only and has to be imported, which costs a little bit more.

I've bought the newest Paul McCartney double LP a couple of month ago and I'm waiting for Peter Gabriel's newest release to be available in the US (any week now).
Coldplay's newest release is also available on LP.

 

[aeberbach]

How about a Planar 2, comes with an arm at just under $500. Or a Music Hall MMF-2.1 at $269? I don't know anything about turntables but there are some that seem affordable in my new musicdirect catalog. There are also plenty that seem insanely expensive... For those prices I could equip a machine shop and learn to make my own

 

[dave-the-rave]

I've still got my lovely AR ES-1 with Linn Basik arm from 1984. What's truly maddening, however, is that new vinyl tends to cost twice as much as CD.

 

[TimSchirmer]

That's odd... where are you getting vinyl from? Most of the stuff I get at record stores costs like 10$ for a new, sealed LP.

You must be buying from somewhere that keeps 1st releases or something.

 

[The Quality Guru]

Thanks Hirsch, jopi, aeberbach, dave, and Tim for the advice and comments! Also, what are some good phono amps that you guys have auditioned and/or used? Thanks.

From where do you guys buy these newly released LP's? What about jazz remasters on vinyl? They do have those, correct? If so, how does a remaster sound on vinyl compared to say, SACD?

 

[gloco]

Quote:

Originally posted by TimSchirmer That's odd... where are you getting vinyl from? Most of the stuff I get at record stores costs like 10$ for a new, sealed LP. You must be buying from somewhere that keeps 1st releases or something.

What kind of new Lp's are you buying? All the new stuff i see in stores runs for $15 and up usually. Some as high as $30 which really sucks, especially when its for one LP. I picked up RHCP's "by the way" on 2LP for $20.

 

[insanefred]

A lot of the new vinyl I'm buying at the moment is the same price, or cheaper than the CD equivalent. Being in the UK, that's about $20 (rip-off Britain!) I've found that a significant proportion of artists are releasing on vinyl (well, the ones I'd listen to, anyway) it's just a matter of finding it.
Andrew

 

[Audio Redneck]

The Rega Planer2 is my vote for a table as it is the one I am saving up for. The Music Hall family are the close second. There are several places that sell new vinyl in the US.

www.redtrumpet.com is one that I recommend as I have bought from them. They also sell quality used vinyl and new equipment.

Its often surprising whats available on vinyl these days.

 

[kerelybonto]

You just missed a perfect condition dealer's demo Music Hall MMF-7 with Grado green cart and full warranty for less than $500 on eBay. I thought about picking it up myself, but I have no money, so ...

I've been semi-seriously looking for a turntable for the last couple months and have noticed that there are some great deals to be had, regardless of your price range, if you look long and hard enough. Read up on the advice people at fora like this one and Audio Asylum give you, then start looking for the deals.

kerely

 

[carlo]

Q-Guru,

When looking at new LP releases be wary of what medium (digital or analog) the master was recorded on, otherwise you may be buying an album whose sonics leave much to be desired. At times large (and to a lesser extent small) labels cut corners and treat an LP release like a promotional piece - if you're looking for the highest fidelity don't be afraid to email the label and ask about it.

Price is dependent on press count, domestic or imported (like beer), and the quality of the work (transfer and the stock/weight of the actual lp). I buy locally because Southern California is a haven of record stores, however when I was living in NYC the cost of records in the village were out of control. If you live in a place that doesn't have a lot of record stores its very possible that the prices will be high - in which case Music Direct will take the time to let you know the sonics of a particular remaster/release and Sundazed (low prices, great music, great dedication to staying as close to the master as possible) and Classic records (expensive but it can be worth it) have high quality catalogs.

As kerely said there's a hell of a lot of info in the archives here and on AA about equipment.

best,
carlo.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Here in the Chicago area (well, actually I had to buy new vinyl in Chicago's North Loop shopping district) vinyl albums (as a group) cost almost exactly the same amount of $$$ on average as their corresponding CD releases.

 

[sberger]

depending on the pressing, new albums can cost ya some serious dough...but you absolutely can find new pressings for as little as 10 bucks, and some of them are excellent, like the ones from prestige.

 

[BoyElroy]

I had a VPI jr./AQ PT8/Audio Research PH3/Grado Platinum/Sumiko BP Special setup for a number of years and ended up selling the lot last year. The VPI was okay, but it lacked the bass 'n bounce of a good Rega Planar 3 rig and didn't have the oh-so-quiet background of the higher end VPI's.

If I had to go back to analogue, I would probably get a used Rega Planar 3 and a Grado cartridge. The RB300 arm can't be beat for the price and you can get some good deals on the older Planar 3's since the new 3's came out last year.

You can also get a good deal on used solid state mm phono preamps like the old Audio Alchemy phono preamp for around $100.