Turntables - help me understand the appeal?

[JanesJr1]

I think it depends on what type of music you listen to and from what era. While people will argue about whether or not DAC's and Amp's have reached "transparency" I don't think anyone will argue that any "source" is even close to transparent. I listen to my TT a lot but not for any recent releases (recent being the last 20 years or so) that were recorded digitally.... while the mastering on some of these recent releases "may" be better on vinyl the digital-vinyl-analog conversion process is expensive and can only degrade the sound. Having said that I do collect "original non-remastered CD's" of digitally recorded music to avoid the "loudness wars" issues of most re-masters.

For older music however (Mid-1980's or older and especially Mid-1950's through the 1970s ) I will seek out the original vinyl pressings. For most of the music from this era the "best source" is going to be the original vinyl pressings. Master tapes very often were mishandled, lost or stolen and they degrade over time. By the time this older music was transferred to digital in the 1980's the combination of worn out tapes, less than careful transfers, and early digital technology made many of these recordings noticeably inferior to the original vinyl. Unfortunately technology can not "fix" worn out tapes so the vinyl remains the "best sources" for decades of recorded music. I do a lot of ABX between original pressings and modern digital and vinyl reissues and in most (not all of course) cases the original vinyl sounds better... sometimes a lot better. In addition I like to go to used record stores and go "treasure hunting" both for artists I know and ones that are new to me.

If you are at all interested in pre-1980's music I would highly recommend you get a TT and check it out for your self. I think you will be pleasantly surprised what the "state of the art" was for recordings made in the 60's and 70's ... much different than the versions you will hear over the steaming services.

I have LP's going back to the late 50's, and while I agree with the points made here, I do find a LOT of digital re-masters of older material that are sometimes vastly better than the LP's. (Admittedly, this is partly because LP re-pressings of non-classical material were often abysmal. Still, a careful digital re-master of preserved original master tapes can be eye-openingly good on occasion.) This is mostly (though not entirely) for still-popular artists. At the other extreme, I have many LP's (and CD's for that matter) that aren't even available in streaming services. Levimax is right that the only way to capture the full range of older music is to have TT's as well as streaming or CD.

In the end, I have sold my turntable, but sometimes wish I still had it for the hundreds of LP's I haven't been able to bring myself to sell.

Looking big picture: I find the streaming catalog amazing, a fantastic case of technology making that which was once expensive (buying hundreds of LP's and CD's for thousands of dollars) much cheaper ($7.99/mo. for >75 million cuts of lossless music on Amazon Music HD). An economist would call this a "hedonic" masterpiece of technology, meaning not only lower costs but additional quality, utility or pleasure, perhaps better than the improving cost/performance ratio of the PC since 1980. Not only that: the entry-level cost of a truly audiophile system is now down to a few hundred dollars (SOTA dac/amp plus good headphones or IEM's). Of course you can also go to a costly opposite extreme -- including turntables -- that has never been more extreme ... but ASR members can mostly use common sense and objective reviews in making such upgrades.

So I gave up access to some out print albums by selling my turntable, but have gained the entire world of recorded music for a relative pittance via streaming. Turntables don't have enough appeal for me in the end. Bring on the 74,990,000 recordings I haven't heard yet.

 

[JP]

I've this one in the "maybe one day I'll actually rebuild that" pile.

 

[aschen]

sure something similar has been said 1000 times already, but its OK to be nostalgic and have some fun. The guy on the internet who loves his turn table isn't hurting you.

I'll take a 911 69 S over a new Carrera and would gladly throw a truckload of apple watches into a lithium fire for a A Lange & Sohne

That being said 90% I listen to digital sources

 

[freemansteve]

On similar lines:

Being sick of my huge OLED 4K TV, I have designed a small LCD panel with a TV receiver attached. It displays only 400 lines in monochrome. The enclosure is big and heavy, mostly filled with bricks, and the corners of the screen have been rounded off, and a convex glass piece fitted at the front. It has a tuning knob and a volume knob too. There is a timer delay from when you switch it on to the point where a picture is displayed. VHF noise has been added, and every so often it loses sync, so you have to bang on the case to fix it (it has clever accelerometers built-in). The speaker is a small elliptical one, with a whopping 8KHz bandwidth. All this can be yours for only $9,999.99 ! A true bargain for aficionados !

Only having fun

 

[MaxBuck]

Much like mechanical watches and manual transmissions, the real joy of turntables is associated with what a pain in the ass they are to own and operate.

 

[egellings]

For me, the turntable I have is like a pet. It may occasionally pee on the carpet, but I still like it for what it is. And, contrary to some beliefs, it can sound good if done right.

 

[Sal1950]

There's not much out there that's as cool as a Cobra-Matic. I've seen a few in mint condition on the second hand market. In different configurations.

Man that Cobra in the pic is a beauty, love to own one but way beyond my pocketbook, I'm sure.
My 1950s RCA 45-EY-2 restoration is coming along. Case repairs are about finished accept for some final polishing, etc. Now just waiting for the parts to arrive to complete the TT and chassis repair/restore. Chassis will get all new caps and resistors as needed. TT getting new rubber everywhere, cleaned and lubed.
I had a couple of these back as a kid in the 50s, can't wait to step back in time and hear this one play as-new. Snap, crackle, pop, Rice Krispies. LOL

 

[Robin L]

 

[levimax]

My 1950s RCA 45-EY-2 restoration is coming along. Case repairs are about finished accept for some final polishing, etc. Now just waiting for the parts to arrive to complete the TT and chassis repair/restore. Chassis will get all new caps and resistors as needed. TT getting new rubber everywhere, cleaned and lubed.
I had a couple of these back as a kid in the 50s, can't wait to step back in time and hear this one play as-new. Snap, crackle, pop, Rice Krispies. LOL
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Nice... real metal gears and bushings! Is everything made out of copper?

 

[billyjoebob]

Much like mechanical watches and manual transmissions, the real joy of turntables is associated with what a pain in the ass they are to own and operate.

My technics table is NO more a pain in the ass operate than my CD player.
Only thing is, I have to flip it halfway thru......ehh.

 

[Vacceo]

For me it is a nostalgia factor with a lot of remembrance. My father died when I was 16. He left behind a huge, huge collection of vynils and I could not bring myself to sell them. Over the years, I have added some records to the collection, mostly from presents.

The method of reproduction is not convenient. The quality of sound is many often times questionable (if not directly terrible, such as the stuff I have from Slayer, Blasphemy, Carcass...) and it is a pain to keep the turntable in working order... But a huge part of my childhood is that crunchy sound. I know it is my brain playing tricks, some of them absolutely self-induced, but it gives me clear memories of my old man.

On a pure sound level, as weird as this may sound, I do enjoy the "cacophony" factor. I say cacophony because the extra distortion on records such as Slayer´s Reign in Blood can hardly be called "euphonic". For me, the extra noise and low-fi adds to the actual harsh sound of the music itself. And I have known terrible sound, I mean, I have been in several Venom gigs... The trend continues with a lot of records produced by Scott Burns (Sepultura´s Beneath the Remains, Cannibal Corpse´s Eaten Back to Life...); in vynil you get that extra noise that makes the overall listening experience a lot more fun.

 

[Sal1950]

Nice... real metal gears and bushings! Is everything made out of copper?

No, it's copper plated steel for improved RF shielding I believe.
They did things right back then.

 

[Cote Dazur]

This is to me a fascinating thread, so many interesting posts! To the OP question, what is the appeal?
To me there is a few reasons.
First and foremost, I enjoy listening to music from my LP. Having all that music on vinyl, yes I could stream it as well, but vinyl, on my system, sound so good to me, so why not indulge it? But this is not the only reason.
It is also because I have records, it would feel silly not listening to them. Would I buy new records today? Yes, but not because I find them superior, the last music I bought en vinyl, was because it is only available on vinyl.
I have met many people claiming vinyl superiority, many with a very poor turntable and pre-amp, some not even having a turntable, they are hurting vinyl more than helping.
Vinyl is a legitimate hi fi medium, I am glad to have discovered hi fi when vinyl was king, enjoyed it for years, digital took over as the new king, I enjoy it as well, but the great sound of vinyl when properly played, hold its place in a high end system and procure sonic bliss.
I hope the vinyl will keep striving for many years, as many might find how enjoyable it can be and how rewarding it can feel, not as a superior medium, but as a wonderful alternative.

 

[Sal1950]

Vinyl is a legitimate hi fi medium, I am glad to have discovered hi fi when vinyl was king, enjoyed it for years, digital took over as the new king, I enjoy it as well, but the great sound of vinyl when properly played, hold its place in a high end system and procure sonic bliss.

Yea, OK, sure.
SNAP out of it...LOL

 

[billyjoebob]

in vynil you get that extra noise that makes the overall listening experience a lot more fun.

What is this extra noise you speak of?

 

[billyjoebob]

Yea, OK, sure.
SNAP out of it...LOL
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You must have some real ****** records!

 

[Sal1950]

You must have some real ****** records!

Nope, mine were just the normal examples.
Same as yours and everyone else here.

 

[rwortman]

Nope, mine were just the normal examples.
Same as yours and everyone else here.

After inheriting a few other people’s record collections and having a reasonable sample of used records,I can say that records originally purchased by me are not normal examples.

 

[Sal1950]

After inheriting a few other people’s record collections and having a reasonable sample of used records,I can say that records originally purchased by me are not normal examples.

I can guarantee you that no-body ever treated their LP's with a higher respect than me.
Please save me the fairy tales about your noise-free LP

 

[billyjoebob]

Nope, mine were just the normal examples.
Same as yours and everyone else here.

No snap crackle and pop here!