[Daryn Alexander]

So I noticed in Waterloo Records today (yes, I know. I live in Austin and don't have vinyl. A sin), that vinyl is pretty. What all do I need to play it on headphones? If I get a headphone amplifier with a preamp out, what does this mean? Would I then plug an amplifier into that? And what are cartridges?

I keep searching threads for answers, but just come up with pops and hisses.

Any help would be nice. Thanks.

 

[Azure]

Cartridge: Wikipedia

I'm no vinyl expert, but I'm pretty sure you need a phono stage in order to run a vinyl rig.

 

[krmathis]

We mean LP's or Gramophone records.
They are made out PVC (vinyl), hence we call them vinyl or vinyl records.

A picture showing a "vinyl":

 

[jwilldermood]

You will need a turntable with a decent cartridge connected to a phono preamp and then connect that to your headphone amp/preamp. The preamp out could then go to an amplifier if you wanted to listen on speakers.

 

[Publius]

Don't they have listening turntables at Waterloo? At least, they did at 33 Degrees, and they do at Amoeba, and IIRC they have listening CD players. Some other places in town may also allow you to listen to vinyl onsite (Antone's, End of an Ear probably).

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daryn Alexander /img/forum/go_quote.gif So I noticed in Waterloo Records today (yes, I know. I live in Austin and don't have vinyl. A sin), that vinyl is pretty. What all do I need to play it on headphones? If I get a headphone amplifier with a preamp out, what does this mean? Would I then plug an amplifier into that? And what are cartridges? I keep searching threads for answers, but just come up with pops and hisses. Any help would be nice. Thanks.

Ah You need vinyl in your life. There are several parts you need:

1. The actual turntable. This has the platter the record sits on, the plinth the platter is mounted on, a motor to turn the platter, and usually an arm.

2. The arm. The arm sometimes comes separate from the deck. With some players, you can mix and match arms on your deck. Sort of like swapping wheels and tires on your car- you get different performance from different ones.

3. Attached to the end of the arm is the cartridge. This cartridge has the needle (or stylus) inside it attached to either a moving magnet or moving coil setup. I'm not going to go into the difference here, but it's fair to say you can get good sound from either.

4. Phono preamp. This is not your average preamp. In order to cut a record, a lot of the bass is severely attenuated. If it were not, the grooves would be too wide and it would cause other problems. So instead, they leave a little bass information in there and use a RIAA curve (yes, them. Back when they were good for something) to equalize the record. It's like using an equalizer to boost the low end, except it sticks to a standard formula used for all records.

My favorite vinyl resource is this guy:

http://www.furious.com/perfect/vinylanachronist.html

All the articles are a good read.

And get into vinyl. Inexpensive (well... it can be), and highly rewarding.

 

[proglife]

You do need it in your life and you won't know it until you have it. Buying a CD will become similar to buying bread or butter at the grocery store. Buying vinyl will be holy.

 

[Jemsic]

Well, it seems everybody else already answered your question

.

Good luck with vinyl! It's fun playing with old technology

.

 

[proglife]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jemsic /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, it seems everybody else already answered your question . Good luck with vinyl! It's fun playing with old technology .

What's a really interesting coincidence is that it appears that popular music was generally much better when vinyl was the main medium of home audio playblack compared to when and since the CD took over as the dominant medium.

It's pretty interesting to see that the majority of the best artists currently putting out music are releasing their albums on vinyl.

 

[Jemsic]

I fully agree, proglife

Except for all the rap artists that release on vinyl. Rap sucks .

There's a ton of AMAZING music these days, but it sure isn't popular...

 

[Daryn Alexander]

So turntable with cartridge/arm/needle etc. to preamp to headphone amp to headphones.

I just hate the way music has become. It's all too easy to double click on something or press play. I like a more involved experience to match the level of care taken in buying the equipment for the source. So if the source is a huge, elaborate disc with fold out pictures, special coloring, and a more involved process, I easily see the benefit in that.

 

[proglife]

yeah, that's nice, but the magic comes in listening.

I did yard work, house work and all sorts of cleaning all day today. The stereo was running CD's and iTunes all day. Towards dusk I started slowing down a bit. I put on an LP and it was instantly more enjoyable. There isn't a component upgrade that you could make that you would find as valuable as a modest analog front end.

enjoy!!!

 

[Azure]

I'm very curious about vinyl as well (The only vinyl I've ever heard in my whole life was when I were some nursery rhymes when I was in kindergarten). However, there are a few things keeping me from trying vinyl:

1. Music selection - I don't listen to the same kind of music as others around here; it seems that a reasonable chunk of Head-Fiers here listen to some form or variation of rock, jazz, or classical, which means they'll find vinyl of songs they like easily. I, on the other hand, have very selective tastes. I only like certain electronica/trance songs, while I find pretty much everything else boring. I dislike rock, jazz, and classical

2. Music availability - I don't want to "hunt" for my music. Some may say that that removes the joy of vinyl (finding those precious gems in the 99cent bin or whatever), but I just want to listen to the music.

3. Cost - I'd have to buy a turntable, a good cartridge, and a good phonostage, which I think would cost a lot just to get started. Combine that with having my funds saved up for a DAC.

4. Sound quality - Okay, I admit it. I can't get over the stereotype that all vinyl has hisses and pops and lacks detail compared to CDs. My headphones of choice are also the SA5000s, and it seems that there aren't many people here that use electrostats or SA5000s with their vinyl rigs.

 

[derekbmn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure /img/forum/go_quote.gif My headphones of choice are also the SA5000s, and it seems that there aren't many people here that use electrostats or SA5000s with their vinyl rigs.

I can assure you that revealing headphones in conjunction with a vinyl setup = a small slice of heaven.
The ticks and pops on even a modest, but well setup vinyl rig are on a completely different sonic plane than the music itself. Don't be intimidated by it ...your missing out on a lot of good music.

 

[mulveling]

Quote:

Originally Posted by derekbmn /img/forum/go_quote.gif I can assure you that revealing headphones in conjunction with a vinyl setup = a small slice of heaven. The ticks and pops on even a modest, but well setup vinyl rig are on a completely different sonic plane than the music itself. Don't be intimidated by it ...your missing out on a lot of good music.

I can reinforce this statement - I recently listened to part of the opera "Lucia di Lammermoore" on 35 year-old vinyl, with the Qualia 010 amp'd by a Rudistor RP7b. These discs have a slightly higher noise floor than average due to their age, but the overall result was still glorious.

However, Azure's statement that he doesn't like rock/classical/jazz is more troubling for his future vinyl prospects - as that's where the vast majority of the vinyl lies. He could still approch this as a chance to explore these new genres - the good stuff there isn't the stuff a casual sampler is likely to have been exposed to