John Darko of Darko Audio just released a podcast where he discusses this very topic with Jeff Dorgay of Tone Audio Magazine. Everyone on the fence about getting into vinyl should listen to this. https://darko.audio/2019/02/darko-audio-podcast-14-vinyl/http:/
Vinyl***What If***
Hypothetical here:
My new incoming Cayin integrated has a built in MM stage..IF I convinced myself I wanted to try vinyl & knowing absolutely nothing about set up,care etc..& do NOT like to constantly fiddle recommend me a complete,bare minimum setup...
Speakers are Harbeth M30.1 & cables are Nordost Lief Series Red Dawn...Thanks much..
My new incoming Cayin integrated has a built in MM stage..IF I convinced myself I wanted to try vinyl & knowing absolutely nothing about set up,care etc..& do NOT like to constantly fiddle recommend me a complete,bare minimum setup...
Speakers are Harbeth M30.1 & cables are Nordost Lief Series Red Dawn...Thanks much..
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- 104 posts total
If that link doesn’t work It’s podcast #14 It’s still on his home page as it quite new. https://darko.audio/ |
Hi Freediver You're seeing more people heading toward one source systems these days. One reason is because having one input is better sounding than multi inputs. The other reason is systems are designed to favor one input over the others. Meaning if you tweak your system to work it's best with your vinyl it will not sound as good with your tapes, cds or streaming. Every source requires it's own system setting to get the most out of it, just like every recording is different. MG |
michaelgreenaudio ... having one input is better sounding than multi inputs ... systems are designed to favor one input over the others. Meaning if you tweak your system to work it’s best with your vinyl it will not sound as good with your tapes, cds or streaming.I’d agree that this was once the case, back when LP was the dominant music format and every preamplifier included a phono section by definition. But these days it’s not necessary - or desirable - to tweak a system to offset a deficiency in the source. Instead, problems with a specific source should be resolved at the source, and its connection to the preamp. My system includes many sources: CD, LP, tape (reel and cassette) FM and streaming. And their best, each source sounds remarkably similar to the others. I know that sounds like heresy to some, especially the analog crowd, but once you reach a certain level of performance, differences between the best of the various technologies become smaller and smaller. In my system, the variation in the quality of recordings means that not every source always sounds its best. But the problems lay with the source recording. I’m not going to tweak my system to accommodate bad recordings. |
Yeah, @michaelgreenaudio and @cleeds- I haven't found that to be the case either. My system, which is 'mature' in that I have been using roughly the same basic components in the primary audio system for about 12 years, was set up for vinyl only until quite recently, when I added digital and I didn't have to tweak the system to make it sound better- it was just fine on digital and I didn't go all spendy either, compared to the vinyl front end. I think digital is way more cost effective based on my limited experience with it as a serious medium (as opposed to using it as background, in cars, etc.). I didn't expect it to be as good as it is, but it is still very source material dependent in terms of sound quality; true of both media. |
- 104 posts total