well after a few months of searching and researching I picked up an Acoustic Research ES-1 turntable yesterday

now I need to buy some good albums

I am kicking myself for dumping more than 400 albums in the trash can - some were duplicates still wrapped in plastic - never opened...

CD's were the rage, and I jumped onto that wagon headfirst with both feet

I now regret it

analog music is where its at...vinyl and mag tape

I have the same turntable albeit 30-ish years old and another AR turntable (even older) with a mounted SME tonearm.
Good stuff ... need a high quality phono cartridge of course.

I did the same when I was moving to Arizona.

I had a vast collection of 1930's and 40's Big Band LP records that record companies had released in the early '70's. My working earlier at a radio station helped putting it together.

I did keep the Denon (Japanese) and Telarc and Deutsche Gramaphone (German) records as I love the classics.

Great choice!

I never left the vinyl scene from my earliest days in the mid '50s. Went through a number of different turntables.

I picked up my current Merrill modified The AR turntable two decades ago to replace a direct drive unit I had. Added a Merrill/Scallia acrylic platter and a number of other tweaks.




It runs a Sumiko Premier MMT tonearm / VTA-16 base / PIB-1 interface box with Sumiko HS-12 and Orsonic AV-1S headshells for Denon DL-304 and 103D MC cartridges whose output is run through Cinemag CMQEE-3440A step up transformers.

The picture above shows it on a Brazilian granite slab but it now sits on a Target Pro wall stand as shown below with the granite slab coupling things to my equipment rack.

I don't seem to ever get rid of much of anything, I guess. I still have my full sound system(turntable, amp, tuner,etc.) that I purchased while in Vietnam and sent home. I guess I am finally back in style!!! I also kept all of my records.....especially all of the Christmas and Italian opera ones.

I hope you enjoy the new hobby.

For me, round vinyl just conjures up the old days:

Wow. Flutter. Clicks. Pops. Dust. Potato-chipping. Mis-tracking. Stylus cleaning. Record cleaning. Static. Bass-feedback at volume. Imperfect RIAA equalization. Poor-quality pressings. Record wear. Stylus wear.

While I agree in theory the trip from analog to digital and back to analog is imperfect, in practice the complete absence of the above more than compensates, IMO. Get a decent FLAC copy on a good system, and it's heaven compared to the old days. It won't sound any different the 10,000th time you play it. And, no changing of sides, searching for the actual discs, complete control of what plays, in which order, when....

Yeah, no. I still have my Technics SL-10, and my MFSL vinyl, and the record and stylus cleaning stuff...but I haven't fired any of that up in years. FLAC comes through the Snell A/IIIs just fine.

A new friend (found through searching for vinyl) gave me insight; hit up every yard and estate sale possible. Look for vinyl, the general genre, and condition. If it's what your looking for, make an offer.

Keep the best, sell the rest.

We met when he was selling the rest. I asked how he had duplicates in such great condition. That was how.

Oh and if you're into them, Jimmy Page, Brain May, and one of the original members from Pink Floyd still ensure the albums are true to sonic form. That is, you can walk into Best Buy and purchase Houses of the Holy and it'll sound like the original.

If you don't mind me asking, where did you find the ES-1 and how much?

I still have my Thorens turntable along with my Phillips table as a backup.
I also have my Teac open reel tape machine.

I also kept my vinyl.
I had an opportunity to buy a lot more, but have no room and my wife did not want me to.

I have records that I inherited from my dad who loved music as well.

"Tommy" --- The Who

"Chicago Transit Authority" --- Chicago

I could easily get into that; after several attempts to throw out my LP collection they are still in storage--but who knows if warped to unplayability?

I did give away my original AR turntable but somewhere in storage is a Dual single-play turntable. I'd have to get a new cartridge. Then I have an ADCOM pre-amp tuner and amp that would drive my Rogers LS3/5A speakers. Add my Audioengine subwoofer; I'd be all set.

Oh yeah, no tape player, the Nakamichi went bad. But I have a TEAC cassette player that also digitizes.

Definitely no point getting a Revox or Tandberg reel-to-reel recorder that I had my heart set on in 1982.

But common sense tells me to go with the FLAC or Apple Lossless digitization. My ears are not what they once were; I doubt I could hear the sheen of the violins in the Quad electrostatics I did in 1963.

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
I am kicking myself for dumping more than 400 albums in the trash can - some were duplicates still wrapped in plastic - never opened...

Nice turntable, ARs are great turntables, especially if modded with extra little goodies. I remember a stereo reviewer back in the 80s called the AR ES1 a poor man's Linn Sondek LP12 table.

I just set up my Sota Star Sapphire last month, has been in storage for over a year and a half. Right before storage, I outfitted it with a new Sumiko Blue Point Special EVO II lo MC cartridge. It now sounds amazing. Just need to find a place for my VPI cleaning machine...

bald1

Is that a magnaplane speaker? (I think that is what I remember).

quote:

Originally posted by Aquabird:
I still have my Thorens turntable along with my Phillips table as a backup.
I also have my Teac open reel tape machine.

The Germans made a damn good belt drive vari speed turntable and the Japanese made very fine reel to reel tape decks at affordable prices, while in America, we made Macintosh Audio gear that most of us could not afford.

quote:

Originally posted by dlc444:
bald1

Is that a magnaplane speaker? (I think that is what I remember).

Yup. Late 1980s Magneplanar IIIa speakers that have tweaked crossovers and replaced tweeter panels with factory new. They're biamped and augmented by a 18" subwoofer.

Nice!

I had kept my old albums and picked up another one now and then.

A vertical turntable jumped out at me last year and the picture disc routine snuck in shortly afterwards. Mounted it in the nook below the stairs. Came with a Bluetooth transmitter so I can link it to the speakers outside while the grill is going.

You don't see many Pro-Ject VT-E R (OM5e) vertical turntables.

quote:

Originally posted by dlc444:
bald1

Is that a magnaplane speaker? (I think that is what I remember).

Sure looks like a Magneplanar.

I had a pair of Magneplanar MG-I speakers that I bought when I lived in Rosevile, MN. The Magnepan factory was only about ten miles away. After I moved to Boca Raton, the FL humidity corroded the aluminum wires on the panel to some interesting, but nonconductive, substance.

I replaced the MG-1s with a pair of Apogee Stage speakers.

https://goo.gl/images/bxq4ix

The Apogees are excellent:

* Treble: Good.
* Midrange: The clearest that I’ve ever heard. I can listen at low volume levels and still get full sonic detail.
* Bass: Less than great.
* Stereo imaging: Awesome on axis, but goes to hell quickly off axis.

bald1, Are those Odyssy Stratos? How long have you had them and care to give me any good/bad for them?

I've been considering a Khartago or Stratos 2-chan to run Revel Performa M22's.


Rick

Rick, yes those are Odyssey Stratos Monoblocks. Got them along with the Tempest preamp (with dual outputs) from Klaus back in 2003. My configuration provides 120 amps current delivery 180w.ch @ 8Ω and really makes the Maggies sing. As an aside I'm using a 2 channel Parasound HCA-1200 (40 amperes continuous current, 57 amperes peak 200w/ch @ 8Ω) for the Maggie bass drivers and the 18" subwoofer coupled with a passive xover.

I've followed Klaus' recommendation and have the monoblocks always on 24x7. No issues for the past 15 years.

Always felt they were over achievers with their high current delivery. Haven't looked at what Klaus offers these days nor feedback on newer iterations. I think the Stratos monoblocks have been improved / tweaked in a number of ways. I certainly have no regrets for the purchase back when.



And Pipe Smoker, the low humidity in these parts is ideal for Magneplanar longevity.