Techno Innovation?

[merseymouth]

Hello all, I was in John Lewis today and came across a stand of audio turntables for sale. Yes, them arcane contraptions for the use of flat vinyl reproduction media.
The system that we were told was as dead as the dodo, forget it, move on to the superior digital audio media.
What really puzzled me though was one particular product which had minimal controls, chiefly a lever to select 7 inch or 12 inch? Baffling to my way of thinking.
So the old hat is now back in vogue? TTFN MM

[al_yrpal]

Yes, a lot of folk enjoy the somewhat warmer sound of vinyl and the exercise you get having to stand up and turn the disk over or change the disk. In addition you get a sleeve to admire and sleeve notes to cherish. Bands love the extra income and you can get even more from a special silver or gold one and it encourages fans to come to gigs and get the sleeves signed.
Win win for punters and artists.

Al

[kwackers]

My turntable doesn't even have a lever.
You have to lift off the platter and move the drive band by hand.

Vinyl never really went away, just dipped a bit. If you've only just spotted its resurgence with today's hipsters then you're a decade or more behind the times.

You can munge the old and the new.
My turntable hooks up to my Sonos equipment, so I can play records and listen to them anywhere in the house (or even in every room at the same time - including my workshop).

[mercalia]

Yoofs buy Lps just for the kudos or art work but never play them as they dont have a record player.

[mercalia]

Yes, a lot of folk enjoy the somewhat warmer sound of vinyl and the exercise you get having to stand up and turn the disk over or change the disk. In addition you get a sleeve to admire and sleeve notes to cherish. Bands love the extra income and you can get even more from a special silver or gold one and it encourages fans to come to gigs and get the sleeves signed.
Win win for punters and artists.

Al

thats a bad record player. My record player sound is almost the same as my cd player. I have a few Lps and Cds of the same work so can compare.

[kwackers]

thats a bad record player. My record player sound is almost the same as my cd player. I have a few Lps and Cds of the same work so can compare.

CD's? That's so old skool.

I either use vinyl or stream. My CD's were ripped to a lossless format years ago and stuck on a server, they now live in the attic in boxes.
For the most part though I use Spotify particularly if I don't want to sit and listen. Spotify is unfortunately so easy to use, particularly when voice driven through my Sonos gear.

If I am sitting and listening though I prefer vinyl, I find it more 'involving'. Plus 20 mins a side is just right...

[al_yrpal]

Yes, a lot of folk enjoy the somewhat warmer sound of vinyl and the exercise you get having to stand up and turn the disk over or change the disk. In addition you get a sleeve to admire and sleeve notes to cherish. Bands love the extra income and you can get even more from a special silver or gold one and it encourages fans to come to gigs and get the sleeves signed.
Win win for punters and artists.

Al

thats a bad record player. My record player sound is almost the same as my cd player. I have a few Lps and Cds of the same work so can compare.

You obviously havent got a Hi Fi amplifier otherwise you would instantly appreciate the difference. Personally I mostly stream stuff from a service called Tidal which is better quality and rewards artists more generously. I have a limited selection of vinyls.

Al

[Mick F]

Yoofs buy Lps just for the kudos or art work but never play them as they dont have a record player.

We've got a loft full of records - LPs, EPs and singles. A few dating back to the early 60s when I first started buying them.

Well worn and tired, but we've not had a record player for twenty years.
Before anyone says it, yes, I'm well worn and tired too.

[al_yrpal]

Anyway MM, you do realise you could be depriving yourself of nice album sleeves like these?

https://teamjimmyjoe.com/2014/05/rock-o ... um-covers/

Al

[merseymouth]

Hi all, Well, no one has unfortunately falling into the trap I laid!
I mentioned 7 in & 12 inch, of which the sales staff couldn't see the issue I raised.
They said that 7 inch means "Singles" and 12 inch implies Album, oh dear?
Some of you will surely remember 7 inch E.P.'s, which played at 33 rpm, with 7 inch singles paying at 45 rpm. The Album was of course a 12 inch disc played at 33 rpm.
But what about the 12 inch single which played at 45 rpm?
My old shellac stuff also played at other speeds, music & song would be played at 78 rpm, but where the recording be of the spoken word then they may well have played at 16 rpm.
All good fun on my wind up job! TTFN MM

* Often a good recording will be spoilt by poor speaker, particularly those from the far east! My Maundant Short Festival sound fine, even though they are ancient.
** The cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Pious Bird of Good Omen" is still fresh in my head. Don't mention Stevie Nick in connection wit FM, Yuk.

[kwackers]

Hi all, Well, no one has unfortunately falling into the trap I laid!
I mentioned 7 in & 12 inch, of which the sales staff couldn't see the issue I raised.
They said that 7 inch means "Singles" and 12 inch implies Album, oh dear?
Some of you will surely remember 7 inch E.P.'s, which played at 33 rpm, with 7 inch singles paying at 45 rpm. The Album was of course a 12 inch disc played at 33 rpm.
But what about the 12 inch single which played at 45 rpm?
My old shellac stuff also played at other speeds, music & song would be played at 78 rpm, but where the recording be of the spoken word then they may well have played at 16 rpm.
All good fun on my wind up job! TTFN MM

If your deck had auto start/stop then the size was important.
Remember the autoplaying record decks that you could stack records on and they'd automatically play them? They had a lever that the record would hit on the way down that would set the size so the arm would know how far to move.
Horrible things. Apart from the damage they did to the records, they sounded appalling.

Funnily enough I took delivery of a new record cleaning device today. (My old one has given up the ghost.)

[merseymouth]

Hi Kwackers, The deck I looked at had no obvious speed change control, so I can't see how it might allow different speed discs?
I do of course remember the old auto changers, one could annoy others by using a single rcord with the change arm up, it would endlessly play the same record over and over again!
I also remeber a particular record which if it was played on a BSR Deck would show clearly if the rubber wheel was worn -Witchita Lineman, by Glen Campbell, not many BSR's to try it with these days! A belt drive B & O deck was always correct. IGICB MM

[kwackers]

Hi Kwackers, The deck I looked at had no obvious speed change control, so I can't see how it might allow different speed discs?
I do of course remember the old auto changers, one could annoy others by using a single rcord with the change arm up, it would endlessly play the same record over and over again!
I also remeber a particular record which if it was played on a BSR Deck would show clearly if the rubber wheel was worn -Witchita Lineman, by Glen Campbell, not many BSR's to try it with these days! A belt drive B & O deck was always correct. IGICB MM

BSR = British Standard Rubbish.

I remember the idler wheels too. Giving them a quick rub with some sandpaper because they'd become shiny and slippy...
Wow and flutter levels that could be measured easily by ear...

I'd guess the 7" / 12" lever set the speed on the deck you looked at. Without autochange the size makes no difference, no idea why it simply didn't say 33/45 though.

[merseymouth]

Hi Kwackers, You make my point about the 7 inch/12 inch control.
The 12 inch single didn't last long to my recollection, but I'm probably wrong!
Right about British Standard rubbish, but it wasn't just slipping that distorted the sound, horrible .
With my first record player I had to change the needle after a single play! Cost me a shilling at a rummage sale.
But wasn't vinyl supposed to be dead as the dodo? keck out your Tweeters & Woofers. IGICB MM

[kwackers]

The 12 inch single didn't last long to my recollection, but I'm probably wrong!

Yep, you are.

12" singles were and are still popular.
Squeezing a couple of tracks onto 12" meant the grooves were further apart allowing much greater dynamic range, the 45 rpm playback speed meant better treble response.
Some of them sound absolutely excellent.