I’ve been seriously considering vinyl lately, with the major push being a video I watched fairly recently by David Mellor who is/was involved in production. He pointed out the “loudness wars” started in digital and ruin the sound (my paraphrase) while pointing out that has to be reduced when mastering vinyl because it simply can’t accommodate the “practice.” I think it’s this video: Why your audio is bad and why you can't do anything about it - YouTube
On top of that, I recall reading this post on Grimm’s site, mentioning a potential standard to curtail the loudness war , but I have no idea if the standard has been adopted or is in the process of being adopted on a large scale.
Assuming the loudness war is eventually resolved, we should all benefit. Until then, I’m back to considering some sort of moderately inexpensive vinyl setup.
You should pull the trigger. Going in just have clear expectations and a realistic budget in mind. Depending on your preamp pursuing vinyl may not be too difficult or expensive.
My electronics closet is behind the “front wall” of my room. There’s no room in there to accommodate a turntable, so in addition to the turntable itself I’ll need a stand of some sort, a phono preamp since it’ll be a 12-15 foot run of interconnects back to the preamp, which is far too long for the low-level turntable output, and of course the lengthy interconnects themselves… plus some sort of record cleaning device.
If the stand and turntable are located in the room, I’ll likely need to do something for isolation as well, which seems “not inexpensive” and more likely needed with an “inexpensive” turntable.
I’m betting this quickly exceeds $10k. Edit: but that 2M Black sure looks like good value!
Probably not in the cards based on your room and set-up limitations.
Just a thought, a wall mount turntable shelf may be a nice alternative to a dedicated turntable stand. For instance the Target turntable shelf is a solid option.
IME the Ortofon 2M Black works well with a moderate VPI set-up. I had one in a VPI Traveler, long gone and replaced by a Rega Planar 8.
If you go with a Rega TT and cartridge they use a 3-point mounting system that greatly simplifies setup. Rega is also supported by a strong aftermarket presence for upgrades such as Groovetracer. I elevated the performance of my mid-level P5 to something closer to a P9 (top of the line at the time) with components like these.
If you’re current digital setup is less than $25k you should probably budget 2x whatever you have in the system to get vinyl magic that matches your digital. It costs a lot more to get that magic… but it may be worth it.
Great point. I bought a P3 and added a TTPSU and an Exact2 and the most recent Rega belt upgrade, and all the Groovemaster mods: delrin platter, Reference subplatter, counterweight, record weight. Took off the feet and use VooDoo Cable IsoPods, and all that sits on a PS Audio PowerBase. Sound is far improved from stock. I’d say the Reference subplatter and the PS Audio PowerBase made possibly the biggest improvements.
To each their own I suppose. The P8/Planar 8 is rather fine sounding to these ears, while the P10/Planar 10 is a nice step-up. Curious to hear what the Naia brings forth.
Mine is based on experience using both. If you use an RP10 or a P10, your appreciation for the P8 will diminish. Every once in a while the higher priced stuff is actually better. The motor speed controller makes less noise as it isn’t powered by a wall wart. That was my biggest dislike on the P8. Perhaps my only dislike.
As others have said, vinyl is a pain in the ass, the software is fragile and at the very least requires cleaning, and improvements in digital have been absolutely huge over the last 10-15 years.
But a really nice turntable satisfies the desire for an audio toy better than anything in a metal box is capable of, IMO. I sold all of my non-classical LPs years ago (except for audiophile records and a few collectables), and have been adding jazz and pop back into the collection very sparingly. I’d estimate that my listening time is probably 90% digital and 10% analog. So did I need to replace my Scout with a Prime 21+ a couple of months ago? No. Could I resist it? Also, no. It’s such a beautiful toy.
The regrettably late Art Dudley may have put it best in his Stereophile review of the original Aries Scout when he wrote, “Oh, I talk a good game with it comes to the whole music-lover-vs-audiophile thing. But I admit that when it comes to record players, I’m just another hardware junkie. I love turntables and tonearms for more than the musical enjoyment they give me. Turntables and tonearms are my favorite toys. I’m endlessly fascinated with the science behind them - at least partly because, as with theology and frankfurters, the real essence of the thing I’m trying to know is in fact unknowable.”
Playing records will not exempt you from the loudness wars unless you are only playing old records as the same digital masters used to create CD’s or and digital file are being used to create the records being pressed these days.
Watch the video I linked above, just a bit after the 9 minute mark. (The few minutes after that really gets into some good detail about the loudness issue, but his comment about vinyl is brief. It only resonated with me because I’ve been reading about the issue.)
Vinyl doesn’t eliminate the loudness wars. It does force them to reduce the effect for the transfer to vinyl though.
My hope is that the mastering engineers - and producing companies - for “non-pop” songs aren’t pushing as hard for “loudness.” Having a technical document like the one mentioned in the Grimm audio link I posted above could be helpful in addressing the matter.
No doubt the Planar 10 is a step up. I’d say the difference is more than just a wall wart. Still content with the Planar 8. I had initially intended to get the AMG Giro G9 Mk II with a Lyra Kleos SL, but I stumbled into a NIB bargain on the Planar 8 with the Apheta 3. As much as I liked the AMG Giro, I do like the simplicity of the Rega. Had a similar deal on a Planar 10 been available I would have gone for it. Yes I get it as one goes up the pricing scale within a brand their is a generally an improvement. I just stay within my budget.