Anybody still listen to LPs?
Thu, Oct 28 2010, 2:27PM
#2
RE: Anybody still listen to LPs?
Yes, very much so.
For ultimate listening pleasure it is LP everytime. The sound of music through my LP playback system is so much more tactile than any other digital source. The tone colours of the instruments are more vivid, the space and air around the instruments and the acoustic of the recording venue are such that I am able to suspend disbelief much more readily. Even late digital LPs can sound magnificent through vinyl.
The only downside is that all my recorded LP collection is stuck in a time-warp and little of the last 25 years in terms of performers, developments in Early Music performance, repertoire etc is available. It's a pity that rather than mining the archives, companies such as Speakers Corner would develop a relationship with current record labels such as Hyperion, Universal etc and produce vinyl issues of a spectrum of the finest of today's performers. They have produced one or two for Linn which are a real joy.
Sat, Oct 30 2010, 11:22PM
#3
RE: Anybody still listen to LPs?
My brothers and I used to go to a record shop in Hollywood in the 60s called Paradise Records. The owner was from England and he had all the latest 45s of The Yardbirds, The Who, Stones, etc. One day he gave us a demonstration of a portable record player that had just come on the market that was able to play back LPs with a sort of laser beam. He slid an LP into a slot and while the music played he swung the record player around in the air. No distortion. Perfect for the beach, he told us. I kid you not. We were stunned. Why wasn't this idea further researched? Why can't vinyl be more refined, have less-or no-clicks and pops? What about the Japanese turntable that costs about $20, 000 dollars and supposedly can play back old vinyls?
Sun, Oct 31 2010, 10:59PM
#4
RE: Anybody still listen to LPs?
My brothers and I used to go to a record shop in Hollywood in the 60s called Paradise Records. The owner was from England and he had all the latest 45s of The Yardbirds, The Who, Stones, etc. One day he gave us a demonstration of a portable record player that had just come on the market that was able to play back LPs with a sort of laser beam. He slid an LP into a slot and while the music played he swung the record player around in the air. No distortion. Perfect for the beach, he told us.
There's still a laser LP player available - the ELP Laser Turntable.
However, at 23kg it's far from 'portable' (and not the sort of thing you'd swing around easily), and at a starting price of €11,400 it's far from affordable (and not the sort of thing to take to the beach - not least as you'd also need an amp and speakers. And a mains supply/generator.).
Also, the laser turntable was only first developed in the 1980s (by a graduate student at Stanford called Robert S. Reis), so it seems unlikely there was a lightweight, portable and shock-resistant one available in the 1960s.
(Indeed, the first functioning laser wasn't created until 1960, and room-temperature diode lasers - the sort used in CD, DVD, etc, players - weren't developed until the 1970s.)
But I'd be really fascinated to know what it was that he demonstrated to you.
Sun, Oct 31 2010, 11:36PM
#5
RE: Anybody still listen to LPs?
It sounds a lot like those 'portable' players that arrived on market not long before cd came along and side-swiped the idea. If I recall correctly they used a stylus but a linear tracking system with a tensioning device designed to keep the needle and groove in contact with eachother. You inserted the record into a slot, as described. They were the classic singing dog invention, didn't work very well for very long and sounded awful, but the fact that they kind of did what they were supposed to do was amazing enough.
Sat, Dec 25 2010, 5:18PM
#6
RE: Anybody still listen to LPs?
Yes, each and every day I am listening to analogue long playing records with music from gregorian chant to Alfred Schnittke.
Best regards, Awg
Fri, Dec 3 2010, 8:58PM
#7
RE: Anybody still listen to LPs?
I recently did some A/B testing, whilst deciding what to do with my [late] father's hi-fi, which I original specified for him back in the 1970s. I had a few recordings to work with, where I have subsequently bought the CD for myself. Some had been "digitally remastered", which effectively eliminated them, but others, such as the Colin Davis/Jon Vickers "Peter Grimes", had not.
Listening was done with the original set-up - Garrad 401, Shure V15.2, SME 3009.2, Quad 33/303, KEF Concertos. I used a modern CD player, rather than my father's old B&O machine, which was an early implementation.
The characteristics were somewhat different. Soundstaging was never a strong point of that particular system in the room used, but both sources gave an open and "free" presentation. The vinyl was more mellow, but there was very slight rumble and the usual pops and clicks, which have always distressed me. After listening over a period of several weeks, I decided that any slight advantages from the analogue source were comprehensively outweighed by their disadvantages and decided to sell. I am currently upgrading my own system and mourning the loss of some treasured LPs, collected (mainly by me) during the 70s and early 80s.
There is no doubt that it is much harder nowadays to get good recordings than was previously the case. 9 times out of 10 "digital remastering" of back catalogue items from the big boys is the kiss of death, but smaller labels are doing better. Hyperion and Linn both come to mind - and often the more recent performances are (to me) preferable. Also, the 60s sound is too laid-back for me now, although modern mid-range audiophile systems often go too far the other way (e.g. see my comments on the Audiolab 8200a amplifier on the What HiFi? website)
If I had a record-cleaning machine, I might just feel differently...
Sat, Dec 4 2010, 6:37AM
#8
RE: Anybody still listen to LPs?
Yesterday I did play die Zauberflöte on Barclay, with Peter Hofmann as Tamino and te Kanawa as Tamina.
Sat, Dec 4 2010, 8:45AM
#9
RE: Anybody still listen to LPs?
I recently did some A/B testing, whilst deciding what to do with my [late] father's hi-fi, which I original specified for him back in the 1970s. I had a few recordings to work with, where I have subsequently bought the CD for myself. Some had been "digitally remastered", which effectively eliminated them, but others, such as the Colin Davis/Jon Vickers "Peter Grimes", had not.
After listening over a period of several weeks, I decided that any slight advantages from the analogue source were comprehensively outweighed by their disadvantages and decided to sell. I am currently upgrading my own system and mourning the loss of some treasured LPs, collected (mainly by me) during the 70s and early 80s.
I heartily empathise with your dilemma and analysis, GoldenEars. Those LPs, particularly for the period you specify, will be hard for any digital system to better, and are, in effect, irreplaceable. While I am delighted with the DS experience, I keep my Sondek LP12 in harness for just such gems in my collection. Vinyl might not have much of a future but in my case, I keep that aspect of the past alive.
Vic.
Fri, Dec 10 2010, 11:31PM
#10
RE: Anybody still listen to LPs?
Thanks tagalie for your input. Sorry it so long to respond. Your suggestion that what my brothers and I saw and heard in that Hollywood record shop could well have been the way you described it: a linear tracking system, etc. It was definitely a prototype, fresh on the market. It might well have become a workable alternative to traditional turntables had it been further developped. Still could if someone would take the time to perfect it. The fact that the record was hidden inside would have made it less susceptible to dust and dirt as well. I often wonder why this technology wasn't improved upon. Was it just another example of "let the market decide"? As far as analogue vs. digital is concerned, I still think vinyl records have a better sound quality than cds.
To spiderjon,
Any relation to Spider John Koehner? Saw him play in Ottawa some 40 years ago.
Sat, Dec 11 2010, 12:04AM
#11
RE: Anybody still listen to LPs? Definition of analogue/digital
analogue
1. (of a device or system) in which the value of a data item (such as time) is represented by a continuously variable physical quantity that can be measured
1 : something that is analogous or similar to something else
digital
2. Property of representing values as discrete numbers rather than a continuous spectrum
Sums it all rather well I think. Is our Universe analogue, digital, or both?
Sat, Dec 11 2010, 12:08AM
#12
RE: Anybody still listen to LPs?
To spiderjon,
Any relation to Spider John Koehner? Saw him play in Ottawa some 40 years ago.
This chap? Sadly not that I know of, no - he sounds like someone it'd be interesting to be related to.
Sun, Dec 12 2010, 2:39AM
#13
RE: Anybody still listen to LPs?
I often wonder why this technology wasn't improved upon. Was it just another example of "let the market decide"? As far as analogue vs. digital is concerned, I still think vinyl records have a better sound quality than cds.
Lots of teething troubles with the early examples and cd at that time was seen as the Second Coming so everyone lost interest.
Sun, Dec 12 2010, 6:52PM
#14
RE: Anybody still listen to LPs? Definition of analogue/digital
Boing007 wrote "is the universe analogue, digital or both"
Perhaps if one believes in Darwinism it is analogue; if one is a creationist it is digital. But then Fred Hoyle's steady state is perhaps analogue whilst the big bang is digital!
Mon, Dec 13 2010, 11:56AM
#15
RE: Anybody still listen to LPs? Definition of analogue/digital
Anyone who's still reading this thread might find this cartoon amusing.
I guess quality is limited by the PC's somewhat basic DAC & audio stages
It will be yes, particularly because of the fairly horrendous noise floor a PC can introduce.
The best solution, of course, is to untether it completely and use a wired/wireless network device like those already mentioned, but if you feel an investment like that is unwarranted, better at least to get the audio signal away from the PC, if only using a simple USB DAC like this. I've found that with my laptop, the normal 3.5mm headphone output is fairly unlistenable while plugged into the mains, but quite decent when running off battery; an offboard soundcard such as this isolates the audio signals quite well and can be a huge improvement.