"The Wizard of Vinyl Is In Kansas"

[rostasi]

I think stuff like this is filled with overwrought pronouncements but
I guess the guy found a way out of his previous life difficulties.
This should be free of a paywall - if not, you can try this link at "Option 3".

[Dub Modal]

Success story no doubt and I'm intrigued by the Marley LPs forthcoming. Thanks for the article links. 

[Dan Gould]

Guess I should have put my article share in the Vinyl forum.

 

 

[mjzee]

Thanks for posting this article.  I look at it all with some bemusement.  Having grown up with not a lot of money, and having most of my discretionary spending going to music, I’ve always been interested in hearing as much music as possible given my budget constraints.  Much of my formative listening in my early teens was on my brother’s $50 portable turntable, with the outer case detaching to reveal the stereo speakers.  Not audiophile by any means; but with hindsight I see that if you understand the music, your mind fills in many of the details that are barely audible, such as the bass.  This was even true of the 2-transistor and 6-transistor handheld radios I had as a child.  If I hear a Dave Clark 5 song today on my good stereo, it’s the same experience I had as a child.  So given an equal amount of money, I’d much rather buy 5 or 10 used CDs than one new audiophile LP.  

I went to an audio show two weekends ago in Dallas, where I saw mega-priced equipment and all the accoutrements (high-end cables, etc.).  Listening to these, I became strangely satisfied with my current system.  I saw that the demo’d systems were just being played very loudly, which isn’t my style.  I couldn’t listen at that volume for long periods of time.  I’d much rather have a more reasonable volume and listen for longer.  Different strokes.

An interesting reflection on this article is that most music demo’d was through Qobuz, who helped sponsor the show, and there were almost no turntables demo’d.

So this article describes a world that’s interesting but I’m not really a part of.  My curiosity was cured a few years ago when I bought some of the first Blue Note vinyl reissues and found one, Larry Young’s “Unity,” to be pressed off-center.  This brought back everything I disliked about vinyl.

So no format is perfect, but my ears and mind can probably compensate for most imperfections.  Just give me the music.

[JSngry]

How much wizardry was conveyed via scratchy 78s and even scratchier AM radios? So what exactly is he saving the world from?

[Brad]

4 hours ago, mjzee said:

Thanks for posting this article.  I look at it all with some bemusement.  Having grown up with not a lot of money, and having most of my discretionary spending going to music, I’ve always been interested in hearing as much music as possible given my budget constraints.  Much of my formative listening in my early teens was on my brother’s $50 portable turntable, with the outer case detaching to reveal the stereo speakers.  Not audiophile by any means; but with hindsight I see that if you understand the music, your mind fills in many of the details that are barely audible, such as the bass.  This was even true of the 2-transistor and 6-transistor handheld radios I had as a child.  If I hear a Dave Clark 5 song today on my good stereo, it’s the same experience I had as a child.  So given an equal amount of money, I’d much rather buy 5 or 10 used CDs than one new audiophile LP.  

I went to an audio show two weekends ago in Dallas, where I saw mega-priced equipment and all the accoutrements (high-end cables, etc.).  Listening to these, I became strangely satisfied with my current system.  I saw that the demo’d systems were just being played very loudly, which isn’t my style.  I couldn’t listen at that volume for long periods of time.  I’d much rather have a more reasonable volume and listen for longer.  Different strokes.

An interesting reflection on this article is that most music demo’d was through Qobuz, who helped sponsor the show, and there were almost no turntables demo’d.

So this article describes a world that’s interesting but I’m not really a part of.  My curiosity was cured a few years ago when I bought some of the first Blue Note vinyl reissues and found one, Larry Young’s “Unity,” to be pressed off-center.  This brought back everything I disliked about vinyl.

So no format is perfect, but my ears and mind can probably compensate for most imperfections.  Just give me the music.

I enjoy vinyl but I also like CDs. However, there is some music that just isn’t on cd. As a rule I now generally avoid new vinyl; there is lots of old vinyl out there in terrific condition that can be had at decent prices. 

[T.D.]

6 hours ago, Dan Gould said:

Guess I should have put my article share in the Vinyl forum.

 

 

Thanks. I knew I'd seen that article on the forum before, and some time ago. Beyone that, no comment. I abandoned vinyl around 2001, but have no issue with those who like it.

Edited 14 hours ago by T.D.

[mjzee]

4 hours ago, JSngry said:

How much wizardry was conveyed via scratchy 78s and even scratchier AM radios? So what exactly is he saving the world from?

An old friend told me she was really into 78s, and had a player from the '30's with a beautiful cabinet.  She said that, when the lid was down, the sound from a 78 was amazing, loud and clear and punchy, especially the bass.  She said the lid needed to be down to fully hear the music.

[JSngry]

We've had multiple 78 advocates here over the years. I've had just a bit of exposure to them and I do not at all scoff at the medium. Them bigass grooves don't mess around.

[clifford_thornton]