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The Vinyl Thread

DaveInDenver

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Crash, so, care to impart any wisdom on what to do about cartridges? Replacing (or considering it anyway) the Ortofon OM5e on my Debut III. I don't hate it but the bug to improve is there.

I'm having my record shop look up the price they can offer on an Ortofon 2M Blue but I'm not necessarily sure about Ortofon. I'm running the stock aluminum arm, acrylic platter, Speed Box, stock (fixed) cables. My loading will be 47K, 100pF cap, 40dB of gain.

I know this is at the limit of what is worth putting on my tone arm, but considering replacing the arm with one from an Xpression and who know, I might replace the TT some day, too. Also have my eye on a Super OM10 (the only Super OM they still make, although you can still get OM20/30/40 stylus so it would be a body purchase mainly), Grado Prestige (probably Silver1). Anything else I might consider?
 

Crash

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For grins, you might try the Shure SC35C for about $35 at Amazon.com. For a few $ more the optional N35X stylus or, better still, the NOS SS35C stylus, which can be found on eBay. Sounds like a real cheapo, cost-wise, but a reviewer whose ears I have real faith in just raved about it in the current Stereophile magazine. He much preferred it over the Ortophon Red and lower price Grados. The Denon DL-103 has been around forever, but for good reason and at the Amazon Prime price of $165, lower from non-Prime, must be given consideration. The Ortophon Red might work for you with the future upgrade path of the Blue stylus a possibility. Or, you might like the Benz Micro LP-S..... I sure do!
 

DaveInDenver

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The Benz Micro LP-S. You're a funny guy.

I'm at the limit of my budget as it is.

I was considering the 2M Red, but the Blue stylus is only $25 less than the whole cartridge, so I don't see the benefit of getting the Red (same needle as my OM5e with higher characteristic inductance) and immediately upgrading the stylus. One of the only reasons I'm really even considering sticking with Ortofon is it doesn't hum too bad in my system and the Grado I believe might be worse.

So Shure, eh? Not sure a spherical needle would be an improvement. I'm trying to move up in profile. The 2M Blue is a noode elliptical (essentially the same as the old Super OM20). The 2M Red, OM5e and OM10 are bonded elliptical.

Ultimately it probably doesn't matter, I'll probably pick up an Super OM10 so that I can open the world of Super OM stylus replacements. They still seem to make replacements even though the Super OM models are discontinued. My system isn't good enough to justify anything more than that anyway. Just trying to keep background quiet on marginal records and not ruin my new ones.
 

DouglasVB

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DaveInDenver

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But are they flat? That's the issue lately, been months since I got a totally flat record.

BTW, another is trying to get funded in Brooklyn.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1184966134/brooklyn-vinyl-works-a-superior-record-pressing-pl

In a way, though, it doesn't matter. There's only one place left in North America to get PVC for records (Thai Plastic & Chemicals in Long Beach). TPC probably supplies 80% or 90% of all record PVC worldwide, actually. No one is sure that demand will really increase permanently or if it's a temporary hipster thing, so no one is going to invest in making new cutting and pressing machines. Everyone is one hiccup away from weeks of downtime trying to re manufacture custom parts to get back up and running. There was still only a few million records sold last year, so vinyl LPs are still a minor drop in the bucket of music sales.
 

Hulk

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DouglasVB

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It's finally happening. I'm moving to sell most of the vinyl that I have because I don't listen to it and I want someone else to enjoy it. Thus, I am offering up to all of you a perusal through my record collection. If you see something you want, please write down your name in the comment area on the photo and then let me know. First come, first serve.

I have organized everything by storage shelf below so I can quickly find the records that people want to disperse them to you. Kick me what you think is a fair price for each record and we have ourselves a deal!

Bottom row left to right of Ikea storage:
Shelf 1: https://goo.gl/photos/41UPuNaiucVmXXiy8
Shelf 2: https://goo.gl/photos/uFWMEg51nE9ouumw8
Shelf 3: https://goo.gl/photos/1H9ANduziXUngjr89
Shelf 4: https://goo.gl/photos/y3eUf9vZboet4ky39
Shelf 5: https://goo.gl/photos/VLLvCTEvuKs5yPir8
Shelf 6: https://goo.gl/photos/LZ8eHxTaNd4kCQx67

Middle Row left to right of Ikea storage:
Shelf 1: https://goo.gl/photos/NmeSYbqsQU3wbb2d7
Shelf 2: https://goo.gl/photos/NVTS1sJgCrLAKekT6

Top of Ikea storage:
One group (no shelfs): https://goo.gl/photos/SF1UXwNpqV2Au1eG8

Record Cabinet (left to right):
Shelf 1: https://goo.gl/photos/YkVHUKF5oDqodvdE8
Shelf 2: https://goo.gl/photos/cVyUQz2b7VTVGVAB8
 

Shark Bait

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Any of you vinyl guys interested in some old, old records? We cleaned out my in-laws house after they both passed away back in April-May and we have 2-3 boxes of old vinyl. There's lots of big-band and crooner music. Let me know. We'd like to get a little something for it. Maybe $1-$2 per record, or make an offer for the whole mess.
 

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Hulk

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Any of you vinyl guys interested in some old, old records? We cleaned out my in-laws house after they both passed away back in April-May and we have 2-3 boxes of old vinyl. There's lots of big-band and crooner music. Let me know. We'd like to get a little something for it. Maybe $1-$2 per record, or make an offer for the whole mess.

You could take it to a record shop, but honestly there's not a big market for it (to my knowledge). The used vinyl vendors that I've talked with say that 70s rock records have a good market, followed by 60s and 80s rock/pop music. If you have Sinatra records, those might be worth a few bucks. Most of the rest would end up in the 99 cent bin, which means you're not going to get much for it. I'd call around to see who is buying.
 

Shark Bait

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You could take it to a record shop, but honestly there's not a big market for it (to my knowledge). The used vinyl vendors that I've talked with say that 70s rock records have a good market, followed by 60s and 80s rock/pop music. If you have Sinatra records, those might be worth a few bucks. Most of the rest would end up in the 99 cent bin, which means you're not going to get much for it. I'd call around to see who is buying.

Yeah. I took a box to Twist & Shout. Out of the whole box they bought 2 for $1 each. They offered to take the rest to give away in their "grab bag" items. At least they let me use the hand truck to take the box back out to my truck! I'd be happy to let anyone look at the collection.
 

Hulk

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rover67

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A friend of a friend built one with an ultrasonic tank and a low RPM motor. I have't seen it personally but as described it seemed like a neat idea. I believe he hung the records from a shaft so they were vertically oriented in the tank so basically one half hangs in the fluid. You could probably put a bunch of records on there at a time with just a shaft extending from the motor on a simple support structure which is what i think he did. I'm not sure what RPM would work, or what specific size tank would work, but here are some ideas....

you could get something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Stainle...id=100005&rk=4&rkt=6&mehot=ag&sd=201368828611

and this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC5V-6V-9V-...hash=item33c6bcddec:m:mtED8rWEmQ5kSEyvj0SGKOA

It could be a neat project, plus you could clean jewelry and other small parts in it also.
 

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rover67

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Whoa... so apparently this is a thing. I just searched "ultrasonic record cleaner DIY" right after posting and a ton came up.
 

Hulk

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Went to a record show up at the Ramada Plaza Hotel at I-25 & 120th Ave. in Northglenn last weekend. Scored some cool records.

One LP that I didn't buy was a pristine copy of Soul Asylum's "And The Horse They Rode In On" for $250. I guess it's pretty rare on vinyl in the U.S. I know I owned it on CD myself.
 

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Hulk

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Anyone using Sorbothane isolation feet? I've read a bit about this material and am tempted to purchase some for my turntable.
 

Crash

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Nothing to lose, as inexpensive as they are. Not miracle workers and location dependent. Kind of like a new pair of shocks for your truck. Does different = better? Does your 'table have a suspension?
 

Crash

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Google turntabulator. Way cheaper than a precision test record and very easy to use. Plus it's kind of fun. Super simple app.
 

DaveInDenver

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You put your phone ON the platter as it's turning??
You do. It's reading the accelerometer in the phone to measure rotation. Depending on who you ask, how they use it and what phone you have it can be sort of useful or not. If you put it centered over the spindle and have a brand new phone it's probably +/- a couple of percent. It'll likely tell you it's 33.33 RPM precisely but when compared to a strobe or using a test tone and oscilloscope it might or might not actually be accurate. But so what, listening to music isn't supposed to be a lab experiment IMO.

Ideally you have a record on the deck and the needle tracking. Then you could set the phone on top of the clamp perhaps. That would be the most accurate way to know. You see most of the Youtube videos with it sitting on the platter spinning off center with the arm parked. There's no drag and the phone sensor is spinning slightly elliptically, so it's not a well controlled test.

My turntable speed isn't adjustable so it's more of curiosity. I haven't tried this app on my hi-fi since I haven't had it set up since moving to GJ (no where to put it in the house). But when I did check it a few years ago using the test tone method I found that, yeah, a lower-mid grade Pro-Ject even with a speed box ain't spot on but close enough for government work and uncritical ears like mine.
 
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