Sony to make record albums again

Note - I didn't say "vinyl"


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/29/sony-making-records-30-years-abandoning-vinyl

That's interesting... I sold an Apple label copy of "Let It Be" yesterday (like is in link picture). That's OK as I still have MoFi's "The Beatles: Complete" half-speed master set. Younger people are eating up vinyl. There are several vinyl shops that have opened up around here in the past year that cater to the hipsters with cash to burn. I'm trying to take advantage of that on Craigslist.

Nobody is buying CDs as digital download squashed that business.

Last week another vinyl shop opened locally and they had an opening day sale so I grabbed a few titles, including one on Sony label. Quality of the Sony very good.

I was almost thinking that asking what the break-in procedure is for vinyl but I thought that would either sound dumb or snarky.

Dogstar wrote:I was almost thinking that asking what the break-in procedure is for vinyl but I thought that would either sound dumb or snarky.

New vinyl depends on who pressed it

Vinyl break in.... Actually MFSL recommended on the discs I purchased 30 - 35 years ago that a few plays may be needed to eliminate initial ticks and pops. Limited to their process of course.

"We do not de-horn our metal parts in order to prevent damage to high frequencies and transients. It may be necessary to play this disc several times, with your stylus acting as a polishing tool, to eliminate random pops and ticks."

arledgsc wrote:Vinyl break in.... Actually MFSL recommended on the discs I purchased 30 - 35 years ago that a few plays may be needed to eliminate initial ticks and pops.  Limited to their process of course.

"We do not de-horn our metal parts in order to prevent damage to high frequencies and transients. It may be necessary to play this disc several times, with your stylus acting as a polishing tool, to eliminate random pops and ticks."

Kinda like using a thread gauge as a thread die.

I'm a vinyl junkie. The new pressings are hit and miss -- even from the same issuer from the same masters/artists. Hopefully this will settle down as a century-old process revives itself.

The earlier MFSL discs with lack of de-horning are the best sounding. They were pressed on JVCs CD-4 quadraphonic disc line in Japan. CD-4 discs have the rear channels encoded in the 30kHz to 50Khz frequency range so required the best vinyl available and low manufacturing tolerances. The later GAIN2 discs pressed in the US just didn't have the same snap.

The best engineered disc I ever owned (no longer) was MFSL's 200-gram UHQR of "Dark Side of the Moon". That disc was so quiet you could hear tape hiss fade-in at the beginning of the starting track. Probably don't make 'em like that anymore.

Thought about investing in a vintage TT many times. The idea of going to the record store like back in the day of Tower Records has disappeared. I loved reading the bio on the back cover as well as looking at the artwork which was just as revelant as the band itself. It was their signature for most groups as to where they were coming from and the message they were trying to convey.
Not to mention another marketing appeal.
IMO the idea of storage, an expensive cartridge, pops and noise of vinyl that JUST HAPPENS and the whobble of a warped record discourages me. Mostly the storage issue.

I can hear the outcries now....this is my opinion and whoever enjoys the spin of a record...well that's cool...for you. I will never say never but for now streaming in quality hi-fi is the way to go for many reasons.
Below is and article if you are considering stepping into the pool of vinyl.



https://www.buzzfeed.com/perpetua/things-you-should-know-before-starting-a-vinyl-collection?utm_term=.pa4vVD8Ve#.uiNqmRrmj

Up until about year 2000 many vinyl discs sounded better than CD releases.  For years I recorded records to make CDs for playback in the car.  Digital audio has caught up greatly in the past 10 yrs or so.  The hi-rez sampling rates and better master tools (de-noise) help.  But vinyl records are as close as we can get to the analog tape masters.  And with deteriorating tape stock of the classic records from 40-50 years ago the old vinyl copies may be as good as it will ever get today.

But you are correct as the album cover artwork and release notes were a big draw.   Buy a new album and listen while you read/ look over the cover.

I used to be a disc jockey and slung records for 6 hours a day.  I have no real desire to do that again even in limited home use.  Vinyl takes a lot of effort and has continual maintenance costs. But they sound great even on average sound systems.

The mastering is what matters to me, there's some new digital masterings that sound better than the vinyl that was never re-issued. Then there's some mastering moves on digital that plain suck, in that case I'll take a few ticks here and there.

jfine wrote:The mastering is what matters to me, there's some new digital masterings that sound better than the vinyl that was never re-issued. Then there's some mastering moves on digital that plain suck, in that case I'll take a few ticks here and there.

I think it is a valid and accurate position to see proper recording/mixing/mastering as far more important to how any given recorded medium might sound, rather than whether it is vinyl, CD, tape or even a very high-end cassette played back on an equally high-end machine.

I keep all forms of vintage recorded media save for digital cassette (DCC), and find pleasure in all of them. From 4-minute cylinders to Diamond Discs to a 200-disc CD changer.

All God's children have a place in the choir.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHayfrUIJDM

Venturing into, or returning to, vinyl is a serious proposition. Gone are the good ole' days when the right yard sale would yield a serviceable turntable and un-played catalogue of Parlophone Beatles albums and you came home with change from a $20 bill.
If you really want to jump back into this black hole, some thoughts:
Nobody, and I mean nobody, manufactures a decent turntable anymore. Or maybe I didn't spend $1,000,000 on one and might could be set straight here . . . Pls advise. Mention VPI or Rega to me and I will send a death squad your direction. The VPI would not shed its rumble with a thousand bucks worth of sound-proofing, and the Rega spun backwards. I got less than half of what I'd squandered on these two machines on FleaBay and continue to offer apologies to the poor barsets who bought 'em.
I think bluemeanies proffered the best post on the topic, and to repeat it for those who might've missed:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/perpetua/things-you-should-know-before-starting-a-vinyl-collection?utm_term=.xcK4N7gd#.qoJOBo1r
Cartridge, needle and tone-arm technologies have improved, and yes, you can get good sound out of vinyl these days.
A quick consult with Dave at:
http://vinylnirvana.com/
won't bust your budget. I have one his restored Thorens and it suits me just fine.

I keep a Revox B795 and a Rabco ST8. Both are very fine, very quiet TTs that pass my feedback test.

Like this (but not this one):  https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/22/db/06/22db069272a37b06c88b6595b7b0f089.jpg  

And:  http://img.usaudiomart.com/uploads/large/1127417-harman-kardon-rabco-st8-linear-track-turntable.jpg  

Were I to use a standard tangental arm, I would stick with Thorens, distantly trailing to some of the Dual machines, or the later AR units with anti-skate. (Let's Clarify: The Dual and AR machines trail the Thorens - not the other way around).

By the way: How did Thorens get their start?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/450288850/black-forest-cuckoo-clock-vintage-deer?ref=market

And I did once pass a remark on liking such things - each of the kids has one, and the grand-kids are in line when they have their own places - should I live so long.

With thanks to the suppliers of the above images.

The single most expensive part of any vinyl playback system is the vinyl - therefore the first principle of Hippocrates must be followed:  First, do no harm.

Love the deer hunter cuckoo clock! Thorens was a cuckoo clock maker before venturing off into turntables?

arledgsc wrote:Love the deer hunter cuckoo clock!  Thorens was a cuckoo clock maker before venturing off into turntables?

They started by making music boxes, clockwork, clocks and mechanical equipment driven by clockwork. Also cigarette lighters and mechanical razors among other things.

http://www.theanalogdept.com/thorens_history.htm


Very similar to Dual (meaning their early TTs used both a clockwork and an electric motor depending on what one had. Dual is now effectively defunct (Korean/Chinese), whereas Thorens remains.

Great to hear that Sony is getting back into it. Seems a few new companies are jumping in. In case this hasn't been posted previously: https://thirdmanrecords.com/about/nashville-storefront/
Besides vinyl I'm looking for some new tape to play.

Peter W. wrote:
Very similar to Dual (meaning their early TTs  used both a clockwork and an electric motor depending on what one had.  Dual is now effectively defunct (Korean/Chinese), whereas Thorens remains.

The Dual trademark is found on all manner of cut-rate Asian junk such as cheap car stereos. It was sold as an asset during the final (of several) Dual bankruptcies...but the Koreans' ownership of the Dual name does not include its use on turntables. That was sold to someone else.

The short version of the Dual story: Dual was flying high in the 1970s and bought its competitor Perpetuum-Ebner. PE's turntable line was discontinued and Dual badge-engineered their own record changers to make "Perpetuum-Ebner" models. Dual then spun off PE's non-turntable businesses. Hard times followed for Dual...even as they churned out popular turntables, their finances faltered and the company declared itself insolvent. In the reorganization proceedings that followed, the non-turntable PE business bought the remains of Dual and changed its name from Perpetuum-Ebner to Dual. But that didn't help, and helped along by the advent of CD, Dual again faltered (it didn't help that their USA agents, United Audio, folded up without paying for a lot of product) and again declared bankruptcy. The company was then essentially liquidated. One of Dual's engineers, Alfred Fehrenbacher, founded his own company, Alfred Fehrenbacher GmbH, to buy Dual's tnen-current designs and the rights to the Dual name on turntables. He began production of Dual turntables in his own facilities and that production continues today, though the current Dual line is not exported to the USA. He has also undertaken some all-new designs, not related to the Duals of old.

You'd expect that although the analog LP and turntables are having a revival, there wouldn't be enough business for even a smaller company to survive by building Dual turntables. You'd be right. Alfred Fehrenbacher GmbH also builds turntables for others...including Thorens. Most "Thorens" turntables are rebadged Duals (one was a rebadged Pro-Ject).

Ernstmach wrote:Great to hear that Sony is getting back into it. Seems a few new companies are jumping in. In case this hasn't been posted previously: https://thirdmanrecords.com/about/nashville-storefront/
Besides vinyl I'm looking for some new tape to play.

Two outfits are still making good recording tape: ATR
https://atrtape.com/
here in the U.S. (nice people), and Pyral (the old BASF) nowadays out of France.
I try to find used empty metal reels off Fleabay and buy ATR tape in bulk "pancake" form, which saves some money.
Even the best mag tape has about a 10-year shelf life after which it can really junk up your heads, pinch-rollers, capstans, etc. so stay away from older or 2nd-hand tape, unless the reel is worth it.

Deepee99,
thanks for that link! I recently picked up some NIB reels from a guy on ebay. They run nice and true.
Will be a bit before I can use them since I dropped off my R2R to be serviced.
I'll check out that link.
Rock on!