Vinyl, should I take the plunge?

I agree with Elizabeth. You can always sell it if you don't like it. I for one would never consider vinyl SACD is simply to good and in many cases better than vinyl (my opinion)and much more convenient. In order to get the kind of performance SACD offers you need to purchase the 180-250g virgin vinyl at about $50 a pop minimum. Good luck and have fun!

Chuck

I love vinyl and CD's for their musical values. If I had to make your decision today it would be based on what music was available (in volume) to warrant the format. There are tons of records about, but frankly there are few that I want to hear any longer in great condition.But if you are new to classical music, for example, there are lots of great records of the standard rep. which will give you exposure to music you have not experienced, at little expense. If your interested in jazz - forget about it, these records are scarce and expensive (I'll never sell mine!) and the reissues on CD's are not that bad. I'm sure there are a lot of R&R and Blues, but while I don't know about others, I played the hell out of mine, and they are not worth much now - except for memories.

But you get the point by now - If you can put up with the format requirements of set up and maintenance of your system, and the negative aspects of using LP's and their sound, and the records you want to hear are available, GO FOR IT!

P.S. I will agree with anyone who sez that SACD and DVD are formats with limited, if any, long range potential for success, despite their (potential) sonic advantage. I'm not going there myself.

If you are buying used vinyl you will absolutely positively need a wet record cleaning device (VPI, Nitty Gritty) that has a vacuum pickup tube...the only civilized way to clean. No doubt about it, cleaning and vinyl prep is a pain in the ass! And don't forget that you will be jumping up every 20 minutes or so, to flip sides, clean the second side with a carbon fiber brush, compressed air, zero-stat, and check the stylus for dust. And still, you will never, EVER, get the silent black background that digital will give you. However, if you can put up with the inconvenience of vinyl, the MUCH lower S/N ratio and channel separation vs. redbook CD, then you will be rewarded with a much more "musical" presentation than is possible with CD's.

Hi-rez digital audio can be considered as the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players"! As stated, the software is a crap-shoot, with some titles being nothing more than a remastering of a 16 bit digital redbook master tape! SACD is a very limited niche market, although I would image that classical listeners are in ecstasy now being able to listen to a complete performance generated in true hi-rez from an analog master, rather than 4 sides on vinyl. Multi-channel SACD is nothing more than a gimmick, bought by people who are audio fanatics demanding the latest technology and possessing copious amounts of disposable income, or the status conscience buying "braggin' rights". Universal players or DVD-A would appear to be the way to go, due to the flexibility of source material vs. SACD. Watch for "re-issue" hi-rez digital titles to start hitting the market in a year or two, correcting some of the crappy sounding titles (especially SACD) and as an additional marketing ploy.

Fatparrot...You may like vinyl for whatever reason, but the notion that signal-to-noise and separation is better than digital is flat out wrong. Very wrong.

There is no straightforward way to calculate signal to noise of vinyl, but a few minutes of listening makes it clear that the analog signal, whatever its virtues, is accompanied by noise. Some LPs more than others, but it is always there. Some people (like you) can "listen through" the noise. That is a talent I never perfected.

The standard LP mastering process blends stereo signals below about 150 Hz, to avoid inherent tracking problems with vertically modulated grooves. Also, many people find a rumble filter to be necessary, and the best of these blend (rather than attenuate) LF signals. Above this LF range, I suggest that you review the separation specs of phono pickups. 25-35 dB is about as good as it gets. Actually, this is not a big problem. After all, the sound from two loudspeakers is not well separated. For that you need headphones.

It's interesting that people who reject DVD-A and SACD say that there are no discs that are any good. How would you know? You were correct once, but good discs are coming fast now.

JJ, you better have some good reasons to go into vinyl--especially with your current rig. For vinyl to even start approaching digital in the noise department, the noise floor must be taken to *uncanny* low levels. This is neither easy--nor cheap--to do. Vinyl is a real pain to deal with. That's one of the reasons why I have a modded Technics 1200. I want a deck that will be user friendly and high performance at the same time.

There's got to be some real music that you want to listen to on the analog format. Although I have three times as many LPs vs CDs, it was the high prices of old salsa albums in eBay what made me plunge into digital big time. Why pay $20-$45 for used LPs that are readily available on CD? Ridiculous! I got a hold of a used belt drive transport and sent it to Dan Wright for modification. Should be back in a few weeks...