How to Judge an LP

Lugnut:
I haven't even said a disparaging word, and I am tempted
to take your offer. I'm in Washington State.

Jeff,

I'm just outside Boise. Send me an email if you like. I'll not require you to eat your words. ;>)

I can certainly understand PBBs hesitation about purchasing used LPs. Just the idea of a rock slamming around a soft plastic groove trying to replicate wavelengths that approach light itself is enough to make some go running from the room. But my practical experience is quite otherwise. I believe that one reason is that modern stylus shapes ride in a different portion of the groove due to their small overall shapes with greater width. The Kenner Plug 'N Play along with it's BSR kissin' cousins rode very high in the groove and caused damage in a different area than the modern rig mines. Sure there are scratches, warps, gunk and all the rest, but I find most of the used records that I buy, and my collection is over 2500, to be anywhere from acceptable to quite good. There is a higher level of transient noise on LPs than CD; that's just a given. I find that, when the record player is correctly set-up, most of this noise takes place in a different plane than the music and is easier for my perceptual gating mechanisms to tune out. With much digital media the distortion is within the fabric of the music and though lower in absolute terms may be harder to take, at least for some.

You've all missed !!!! It's the music which is so often unavailable on CD, DAD, hybrids and especially SACD. The literally millions of titles only found on old stock vinyl. As a friend and I always banter back and forth "It's the music stupid"!

Really doesn't matter if it's only available on LP if you can't listen to it. But the covers shure look nice. It's the covers, stupid.