In both cases you hear what you expect to hear. For good or bad.
I certainly disagree that it all sounds alike. That’s nonsense. The problem is it’s very easy to buy expensive kit that’s shit (especially if you do as so many do and shop with your eyes…). It’s also very easy to assemble a system that just doesn’t work together synergisitically, and with vinyl especially, it’s also very easy to fail to optimise setup.
I’ve heard plenty of high-end vinyl replay systems that absolutely wipe the floor with what I have here. As Sunday’s visit to Staverton demonstrated, there’s also plenty of high-end vinyl replay systems that sound like
Most us on this particular forum are post-faff, jaded and overloaded, that is true. My deck hasn’t been connected in many weeks, in no small part because my digital replay system sounds somewhat better, plus CD represents the right level of faff and physical interaction for me personally…
I’m seriously considering flogging the whole lot and starting again with a proper plan, spending a lot less money and paying much more attention to synergy.
But then again, that would be boring. Half the fun has been the sheer rollercoaster ride to disappointment. To deny that would be like taking up golf.
I’m finding my Sony bluetooth speaker, fed by an Amazon Echo Show upsettingly satisfying.
Alexa, play…
It makes me disproportionately angry when people talk of the importance of expensive cables, bearing in mind the oceans of evil excrement that exist in the world.
I fully expect audio nirvana to be achieved the day before my brain explodes and my heart gives up.
Hobbies are supposed to provide relaxation and distraction.
In my next life, flower arranging.
Unless I come back as a slug, which would be fucking typical.
You raise a lot of interesting points, I don’t really agree with most but agree with some. A lot of this is different perspective rather than absolutes so that’s understandable.
The most interesting point to me was this -
What’s that then and is that actually true?
This kinda sounds like the relegation of the tonearm as just a rotating stick to dangle the cartridge from? I could take the Umami cart you mention and hang it off three different arms and it would sound different each time, even if the set up and alignment was technically ‘in the right place’. So the arm must have an influence (what extent isn’t the issue here). There are lots of well rehearsed reasons for this.
What’s the ‘right place’ for the cartridge to be positioned anyway - at the various calculated null points which minimise tracking error? For years we have been sold the idea that we need to worry intensely about this, and sold longer arms in an attempt to minimise its effects -12" is an upgrade to 9" right?
Then Viv Labs came out with a 7" arm with no offset. This should have enormous tracking error then especially as it cuts its way sharply into the inner grooves? I mean, if tracking error was the distorting-bogeyman its been made out to be then this should be horribly audible and obvious…? Problem is it’s not. It’s a real head fuck watching the little arm look completely misaligned to the parallel of the grooves and yet produce fabulous reproduction. So where’s the right place again?!
The other point that was interesting was the concept of the flawed format and not being able to extract more by throwing money at it. Not got enough time to get into what flawed means in the context of enjoying music reproduction and our expectations, but I do think and have heard many times that more can be extracted from vinyl discs, albeit I don’t think its directly correlated to expenditure necessarily. It’s more about know-how and expertise in matching things in the chain. Whether that’s convenient or too much faff is down to the individual and what they’re looking for/ happy with.
@Mrs_Maureen_OPinion I think has above reprised what he recently posted about expenditure and cables in that those at either ends of the spectrum (in more than one sense) delude themselves about the justification for doing so and are invariably both wrong. As humans we delude ourselves about a lot of things as a coping mechanism, hifi is just another brightly coloured example.
Back on topic for a moment, the Pro-ject is due to arrive tomorrow.
I’m now having horrible thoughts of it being trashed in transit. This is normal, of course, as at least 75% of all turntables sent by post (in anything other than their original packaging) arrive broken in some way.
Remember one forum member getting a sansui 222 delivered in a box,no platter removed or counterweight or arm tied down,no bubble wrap,just plonked straight in a box as is. Somehow turned up perfectly with no damage at all
I use singer sewing oil in my systemdek,but slightly thicker oil in the garrard that Ruprect gave me.
Think I still have some linn black oil here somewhere
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