Return from the digital age or not?

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Hi girls and guys,

With the release of Apple Music, the newest in streaming software, I was considering......is this the time to return to vinyl?

Don't get me wrong I'm very impressed with Apples new service and have already discovered a wealth of music. But depth, quality and craftsmanship is nowhere to be seen.

I' am therefore thinking of taking the pludge into vinyl world. I previously owned a great hifi system Marantz, Kef so on but sold them to fully embrace the digital streaming age. Although I have and will continue to enjoy this, it's not enough. I miss the artwork, smell, crack, excitment.

Long story short I'm after some advice. I' am considering either a rega or pro ject turntables. Would also like a rega brio r amp and unsure yet about speakers.

Budget is questionable as this is a long project. If its worth doing, it's worth doing right.

I listern to most music but do enjoy a bit of blues, rock n roll, and hop hop.

Please help me fello music lovers. Bring back a digital dude to the dark side of vinyl.

 

[The_Lhc]

You need amp and speakers as well? What are you actually listening to your digital music on?

I don't understand the reference to craftsmanship though, presumably you mean the ability to create a cardboard sleeve? It's not exactly William Morris is it? Don't get me wrong, I love vinyl, I've got enough of it but comments like this leave me distinctly underwhelmed.

I don't know why you'd want vinyl with a "crack" in it either?

 

[thescarletpronster]

Hi Barry, and welcome to the forum.

I' am considering either a rega or pro ject turntables. Would also like a rega brio r amp and unsure yet about speakers.

Sounds as though you've pinned down the TTs worth considering in that price bracket. I've been very happy with my RP3 (now upgraded to a Nagaoka MP-200 cartridge) and Brio-R amp. I tested the amp against the Marantz PM6005 (or possibly 6004 - it was 2.5 years ago) against the Brio-R, and found no comparison - the Brio helps make the music sound closer to live instruments playing in the room than a standard flat recording. If you can afford it, the extra £150 is definitely worth it.

I can't compare the RP3 with equivalent Pro-Ject TTs, but the RP3 does partner very well with the Brio-R. Pro-Jects are very highly regarded, though, and others will be able to tell you more about them.

In the end I plumped for a slightly more expensive pair of speakers. I went for Monitor Audio Silver RX6 at £800. It meant my budget went a few hundred over what I had planned on, but as you say this is a long-term decision and I may well be using them for 15-20 years (unless I come into some serious money) so it was worth going with what I enjoy listening to. I didn't compare any cheaper speakers because I thought they sounded so fabulous with the RP3 and Brio-R that I didn't want to risk downgrading that sound at all, so I bought 'em.

Now, you're not going down a cheap road here. Records are expensive, full stop. You can still find second-hand bargains, but even in the second-hand market prices for a lot of things have gone up a lot as more and more people have got back into buying records. Im lucky in that I had managed to keep all my records so wasn't in the position some people have found themselves in of re-buying all the records they had when they were younger. I had been mostly listening to CDs for 15 years or so, and must admit I enjoy playing records more. I find I listen to the music more carefully, for one thing.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do.

 

[Frank Harvey]

We have many customers who's only sources are digital music streaming and vinyl. Most tend to use the music streaming to discover new artists and for background listening, and break out the vinyl for more serious listening sessions.

With a Brio-R, the perfect mate is an RP3 turntable, and you can probably pick up the outgoing RS3 speakers if you want to keep the budget down, or wait and see how the newer RX3 improves things, which will be available within the next few months.

The good thing about vinyl (or any other physical format for that matter) is that you pay for it once and you own it. Barring a catastrophic house fire or unruly children, it will last you long enough to pass on to your children/grandchildren - the main drawback with these music streaming services is that if they cease to exist, so does your 'life in music'. When you pick up any record from your collection, you know where you bought it from or who gave it to you. It reminds you of some point in your life - how many people have you heard recite a story of where and when they got a particular record from? Just this week, someone came in for a demo, popped a CD on the system they were listening to, and the first thing I said was, "this was the first 12" single I ever bought".

A music collection that tells a story of its owner isn't too disimmilar to a photographic scrapbook - more and more people are choosing to keep their photos on computers rather than own physical photographs laid out in one of those big old fashioned books. Just bear in mind, computers break, as do backups, and one day you may be left with nothing.

 

[MajorFubar]

Sounds like you've got an itch you need to scratch, which is fair enough. You've got some good usual contenders lined up for turntable choices. I would advise a word of caution, though. For a start you don't sound like you've got an existing record collection; if that's the case have a proper word with yourself regarding whether you really do want to start building a brand new media collection largely justified (from your text) by romantic notions. There's no right and wrong answer nor am I trying to put you off, but once you're done admiring the big artwork and smelling the packets there's a fair bit of commitment involved with vinyl ownership, including care of your records, cleaning, storage, setting up the TT correctly, the spiral of endless tweakery trying to get it to sound 'just so'. Both the used and new vinyl markets can be minefields in their own right, the former in terms of finding records in great condition, and the latter in terms of variable quality control. Just make sure you approach this venture with your eyes absolutely wide open.

 

[cheeseboy]

A music collection that tells a story of its owner isn't too disimmilar to a photographic scrapbook - more and more people are choosing to keep their photos on computers rather than own physical photographs laid out in one of those big old fashioned books. Just bear in mind, computers break, as do backups, and one day you may be left with nothing.

whilst I agree, just to play devils advocate, the advantage of having things digitally, especially with clolud storage is that if you are heaven forbid unlucky enough to have a fire, you've still got all your music/pictures, whereas if it's all just physical, then chances are it'll all go up in smoke. Ditto theft. Best policy - do both

 

[thescarletpronster]

I don't know why you'd want vinyl with a "crack" in it either?

Hehe! I reckon he meant 'craic'.

 

[Infiniteloop]

I'm really in the same boat as you but I've been planning my return for a while. I bought a Devialet 200 last year (It has a great phono stage as one of the founder members of Devialet is a serious Vinyl fan) with the intention of getting a TT for it as well as enjoying all the digital functionality and the trult great sound. I've looked at lots of TT's and am pretty sure it's going to be a Roksan Xerxes 20 plus. I rather like the Michell Gyro SE too.

 

[CnoEvil]

Vinyl is a vocation - enjoy.

 

[Lost Angeles]

Vinyl records do bring back great memories. Hard Lovin' Man off Deep Purple In Rock now I have a great memory of that track,but you'll have to guess.

 

[ifor]

I' am considering either a rega or pro ject turntables.

Be adventurous, don't follow the sheep!

 

[thescarletpronster]

Be adventurous, don't follow the sheep!

No, just buy what you think sounds best!