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Tried analog yet again after decades of digital

Ok Im posting this on the digital format because Id be handed my head if on the analog side.I like many over the years decided to try analog again.Ive hauled around records for years from place to place and never really wanted to part with them,more a memory thing I guess.To the point,I purchased a VPI scout recently,mounting a benz micro cartridge to it and various phone preamps I have inside such things as receivers and integrated amps along with a stand alone phono.Bought the record cleaner machine and all the stuff necessary to use the format properly,I think.Set the table up with time and patience and dialed it in as best I could without getting anal about it.What Im finding is a format that is really inferior to digital IMO.I say this forgetting the fact I wasn't expecting much as years ago I tried the same venture with disappointment of the out come.The constant snap ,crackle pop even on unplayed records,the hassle of having to get up every 15 minute to change the side,constant cleaning,setup of the table,all the bobbles needed to make it all go.I think to even come close to digital one must spend tons of money and tons of time.Im sure there are sytems that sound incredible,but at what expense and how much time devoted to it..Dont get me wrong its fun to play music that never made it to disc but anyone thinking alone these same lines as to recapturing what was once the only game in town,think long and hard.
missioncoonery
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"What Im finding is a format that is really inferior to digital IMO."

How do you know its the format and not your system? You can upgrade quite a bit from where you are now.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
3,018 posts
 
Missioncoonery, I don't think there's anything wrong with the medium, it's just different than digital. The same goes for the different analogue tape formats.

Vinyl takes a commitment, with the cleaning and the flipping of the record and I admit very often I'm not up to it and it's easier to have a CD listening session.

But, I grew up playing vinyl and kept my setup during the CD years. So when I listen to a record, I don't expect there to be a silent noise floor, I like the sonic characteristics of an analogue system. Since the digital age, many listeners can't accept that the analogue chain is not as quiet as digital, so maybe your expectations are too high. But with a well setup system, the dynamics and nuances of the music are there.
I have a modest vinyl setup; about $1500 and it's easy for me to get lost in the music.
whart's avatar
whart
1,930 posts
 
Mission- at the risk of sounding like a vinyl advocate, I'm wondering why you have a constant snap crackle and pop on new records. Have you cleaned them before playing? If so, I wonder if the cleaning is the problem; that fluid residue is being left on the surface. I have spent much time refining my cleaning methods over the years, and even without fancy cleaning machines, I can get an effective result using a basic VPI. (That isn't to say you can't go far deeper, particularly with old copies).
Posting this in the hope that it may help- you shouldn't have to suffer noise- I can get 45 year old records to play dead quiet.
In other respects, you are absolutely right- vinyl is a PITA- it is sometimes labor intensive, quality of pressings can vary considerably, etc. Not posting this to disagree but to help.
don_c55
823 posts
 
To each his own!

A VPI scout is a low end turntable.

Records with pops and clicks, indicate very poor record care.

Turntable/cartridge/arm setup for optimal sound requires too much, attention to detail, and patience, for many.

Toss your records, and stick with digital!

You will be happier.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
4,908 posts
 
For a younger person, I can't imagine just now getting into the LP/Table/Arm/Cartridge/isolation platform/phono amp/LP cleaner/etc world. It's a lot of work, and takes a while to get really competent at and comfortable with. Not to mention having to move the LP's every time you relocate!

For those who grew up with LP's, and had already amassed a sizable music library by the time the CD was introduced, it's a very different story. I wasn't about to replace 5,000 LP's with CD's, even if they had sounded as good, which they didn't (I already had a good record player, and early CD machines were mighty bad, as were the CD's themselves). I find it unbelievable Herb Reichert did, only recently coming back to analog. At his age, starting over again! Especially as digital has improved so much, and new LP's cost so much.

But unless an LP has been really manhandled, I don't see why it should be so noisy. Mine aren't, and some of them have been played many, many times in the 45 years I've owned them!
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