Moving coil is still usually expensive. There are high output MCs (they work with a MM stage) and low output MCs (they need a pre-preamp, step up transformer or whatever you want to call it!).

The SL-1200 is not the best table out there, there are far better (I'm not trying to sound like a snobby audiophile here). Nor is the tonearm in question.

Linear tracking arms are generally quite pricey, which is why only the top end hi end tables offer them. The cheapest one I know of is around US 3k or so, and that's considered cheap for a linear tracking arm. 12" standard arms are generally regarded as provided very good quality and excellent tracking. They are (thankfully) becoming more common.

Turntables all sound different, and you don't have to have golden ears to hear the differences either - that's just what snooty nosed audiophiles would like you to believe, cos it makes them sound uber cool.

I use a SystemDek IIX/900/Rega RB300/Lyra Clavis cartridge, with a Lentek step up amp and Yaqin MS-12B valve preamp. It's not a bad table, but is entry level (apart from the cartridge, which is high end) and 2011 should see it replaced by a far better turntable and arm. If I have enough funds, the preamp will be replaced too, not sure with what yet.

My primary concern is replacing my speakers (Sonus Faber Electa Amators) as my Opera Consonance Cyber 845 SETs (single ended triodes) monoblocs aren't too happy with driving the Sonus Fabers. I'm thinking high efficiency horns. :-)

Cheers,

Dave

Yes, this is partly true. But - most re-pressings are going to sound crap. There's only so many mothers that can be stamped from the original master tape. I've got a hi fi mag somewhere that talks about this whole process, I should scan it. It's very interesting reading.

Dave

Amen. You hit the nail on the head.

Dave

Not quite true - high end compact cassette (or open reel) recorders can record vinyl quite accurately from my experience. Do I need digital recording? Not really. Is the analogue recording portable? Hell yeah. And not much larger or heavier than a modern MP3 player either. Drawbacks? Limited playtime, and ultimately, lifespan of the magnetic tape used in the cassette cartridge.

You are right in that the music studios pushed CDs because they could control illegal recordings of said material easier (well, that's what they thought). Plus, there's the "sell 'em the entire music catalogue again [in a new format], so we can make even more money" argument too. We see the same thing happening with DVD and Blu-ray (over VHS). Profit over quality.

Dave

How is this trollish post modded to +5 informative? WTF?

Firstly, there is enough evidence to strongly suggest that humans are affected by higher frequencies, mainly for directional [sound] purposes. Distortion is not the be all and end all - if digital was so good, nature would be producing all digital sounds. It doesn't. It produces analogue sounds. Now of course, if you're telling me that man is smarter than mother nature...

Vinyl is still a technical masterpiece - from the pressing stages to the final product. Yes, there are bad vinyl albums out there (poor recording, poor pressing, poor quality vinyl used and so on and so forth), but when the time and care is taken to do things right with vinyl, and the end user takes the time to play said vinyl on high quality reproduction systems, then it sounds wonderful.

Dave

PS Most amps and speakers do cover outside of the 20hz/20khz range too, but not always with the -3db measuring limit.

Oh dear. Another 90s child probably that knows jack shit. Firstly, the redbook standard (CDs to you) covers 20hz to 20khz. Most decent cartridges cover 15hz to 60khz. Now, you might argue (and wrongly I might add) that since the average adult cannot hear about 13khz, then anything above that is a waste. Wrong. You may not hear it directly, but the human ear is incredibly complex and these higher frequencies provide queues to the ears for imaging etc. It does make a difference. How can CD be better when it has a smaller frequency range? mmm? Answer me that one smarty pants.

So many people on /. that know jack shit about what they talk about. And the sad thing is, other idiotic lemmings mod them up as being 'insightful'. Crikey...

Dave

and my sarcastic reply:

wait until the laser wears out (it'll wear out before the cartridge does on a turntable I might add). I've got an expensive CD transport that is now a boat anchor cos there's no laser replacements. What happens when my turntable's cartridge wears out? I simply buy another one. There's no "sorry sir, we don't have that spare part anymore" BS either. I don't have to throw the entire turntable/arm away either.

Obviously many on /. haven't heard a decent setup either. So many experts on hear that know jack shit.

Dave

Yes, but analogue overloads gently, digital has a hard overload (witness compact cassette vs DAT).

The CD crowd has been brainwashed for many years into thinking that it represents great sound quality. And now, we're hearing the same BS with MP3 players etc. I'm not saying all CDs are horrible, clearly they are not. The format has good potential if everything is done right. I still maintain that ultimately, LPs sound better - digital just sounds well, grating to my ears for a combination of reasons.

Dave

You obviously are a young spring chicken and haven't heard a decent vinyl setup. There's no comparison. It kills CDs. It kills DVD-As. It kills SACD. And it kills blu-ray musical discs too. Don't judge the capability of the format unless you've heard some decent kit. Try a Michell GyroDek + Rega RB301 arm + mid range Lyra MC cartridge, coupled to a good preamp/phono stage. I think you'll be very surprised.

Digital is not the be all and end all. I remember being able to use my analogue Nakamichi CR-5 cassette deck to make recordings of CDs that were indistinguishable from the source. DAT just couldn't compete (nor could DCC).

Dave

Not quite correct. The styli (and cantilever design, including suspension) all are important. fine line styli etc do the least amount of damage to the vinyl track walls, as well as retrieve the most data. They aren't cheap. Then there's to consider ceramic, MM (moving magnet) or MC (moving coil) cartridge designs. MC designs undoubtedly sound better, but are usually far more expensive, and most preamps/amps will not drive them well. Then there's the tonearm, and tonearm resonance, as well as effective mass matching to the actual cartridge used (it *does* make a difference). There's a growing trend to unipivot designs (I'm personally not a fan), and also to 12" arms (they track much better on inner tracks than the standard 9" arms).

The old saying, garbage in, garbage out, really applies here. If you're not getting the maximum data out of the vinyl record, then no matter how good the software used, you're missing out. You can't restore missing data. Get the source and preamp right, the rest on the computer side is relatively easy.

Dave

PS vinyl isn't the only thing making a "comeback" - Class A SET valve amps (single ended triode) are becoming cheaper and popular. Usually using 300B valves, but some are using more esoteric valves such as 211 or 845 (more power, sweeter midrange).

USB turntables are crap - period. Plastic, low mass, poorly sprung turntables are what killed the media in the first place, because the ordinary person thought that this was all the technology was capable of. Wrong. Coupled with lightweight vinyl, poor pressings, poor recordings, and non virgin vinyl, and no wonder people thought the medium sounded shyte.

If you take the time to invest in a decent turntable, and a decent amp/preamp that has a decent phono stage, you can do far far better with digitising your vinyl collection onto your computer. But - why bother? Analogue has a completely different, more natural sound than anything digital produces imho.

Dave

Why would I want to become involved in a war?

As Master Yoda said in the empire strikes back, "wars not make one great". Whilst the source of the quote is a bit weird, it rings true.

War is interesting, because their are (usually) 2 opposing views and atrocities are enacted because of this, usually with some righteous BS. No thank you.

Where did most of the kids for both Iraq wars get recruited? The poorest suburbs of America. You didn't see too many kids of rich parents getting drafted, did you? So much for "serving your country". The same applies not only to the US, but to other countries as well, including my native Australia.

The general populace doesn't do anything [about politicians] because they are lazy. Generations of abuse from the powers that be have ensured that people are disinclined to "rock the boat". I call it social brainwashing.

For all his talk, MLK didn't live to see his vision. He was probably assassinated by the CIA, it wouldn't surprise me. Even now, in many parts of the US, Negroes have little or no rights. Remember Rodney King? Did those bastard police get into trouble? Originally no. It was only on a retrial that 2 of them were found guilty. Justice? I don't think so. I wonder how much money exchanged hands during the first set of trials to make sure the police got away with a not guilty verdict.

Let's consider how police treated this Black man?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKy-WSZMklc

Mind you, Australia is no better. But anyways, I've sidetracked from our original discussion.

Cheers,

Dave

Oh fuck off you tosser. /. has always had a bad reputation about moderation - anyone who slightly deviates from the pro Linux regiment gets hammered down into oblivion. You can deny it, I know it happens.

I made sensible comments about why Linux isn't making it both in the business and home markets, and you chose to make ad hominem attacks. I responded in similar.

Why don't you grow up instead of attacking those whose thoughts and comments differ from yours?

Boo fucking hoo to you.

Dave

PS and I don't need you to psychoanalyse me.

Why don't you get a fucking clue you arrogant moron? Of course, since I've made anti Linux comments I'll get modded down and you'll get modded up, that's the way /.'s moderation system works (been there, done that). Anyone pro Linux gets modded up, anyone who dares criticise your darling operating system, no matter how valid, gets modded down as a 'troll'.

You want everyone to be super technologically smart, well I'm sorry, it ain't gonna happen.

As to my 'boring rants', perhaps Linux would actually get somewhere if people like you, and the developers started paying attention, instead of having their heads so far up their asses it isn't funny. If you don't fix what's broken, you won't get anywhere. Linux can adopt and change what's broken, or it can stubbornly stay in the land of the elite and gradually become extinct. And then idiots like you can bitch about the fact that pilot schemes for Linux get canned.

Meanwhile, in the real world, people will just laugh at your pathetic whines.

have a nice day!

Dave

The problem is that all of our connections use a Telstra backend (well, nearly *all* of them). Telstra needs to be absolutely hammered into the ground and everything taken away from them and given back to public domain and control. Let's consider the ABN - the government gave a closing date for tenders for the ABN. Telstra gave the government the finger and didn't submit a tender by the closing date because it had a hissy fit that it didn't get preferential treatment. Now what should have happened is that the government said tough shit, you miss out Telstra, too late. That's what happens in *business*. Of course, the government did a backflip and allowed Telstra to submit a highly biased tender after the closing date I might add. Worse, the government has happily accepted this plan of the ABN, to basically update Telstra's infrastructure, at public cost. WTF? Let Telstra pay for the fucking upgrades, it's supposedly their network. It really isn't, not when you look at the actual law, and even that legislation is highly suspicious if you do enough research on the matter (in the words of AC/DC - dirty deeds done dirt cheap). The other competitors need to band together and sue the government for providing legislation that gives Telstra a monopoly. For those in the US, think of AT&T in the 70s and then triple it. That's how *bad* Telstra's monopoly is.

I've heard of substantiated reports where an ISP (using Telstra infrastructure) has not been able to provide a DSL service due to some problems with the PSTN infrastructure provided by Telstra I might add (DSL application rejected). Said person then applied for DSL with Telstra's Bigpond directly and got DSL without *any* issues, using the very same infrastructure. WTF? Of course, this person was a smart cookie and used the 30 day cooling off period to churn back to his preferred ISP.

I myself have had issues - DSL2+ service which whilst not always totally stable, worked well enough for over 2 years. Around 5 months ago, it started becoming very unstable, with drops every 5 minutes. An isolation test, replacement of modem etc did nothing to alleviate the issue. The issue became worse in colder or wet conditions too. Here's the deal - my wholesaler (AAPT powertel) has an agreement with Telstra on a wholesale level for what it calls "spectrum share" services. These are DSL services provided on Telstra PSTNs, but the DSL service is not provided by Telstra, but by a 3rd party using Telstra's infrastructure. This agreement stipulates that the 3rd party will NOT ask Telstra to check the line for DSL faults. Now, in my own personal case, as our PSTN is with Telstra (as is most peoples'), all I could do was to have Telstra come out for a line (voice) fault. They will not test for DSL faults as the DSL service is not with them. My wholesaler will only check to see if the service is in sync, not radius drop times etc, but nothing else, not even an OATS/RVOP test etc as its beyond their ability. They will not get Telstra to do a DSL test on the line. So, I'm stuck with a shit service, that neither my wholesaler, or Telstra will fix. Piggy in the middle. And there's jack shit that I can do about it, since minimum service agreements are 1.5mb for a DSL 2+ service (which it just barely meets). I can't make my wholesaler fix the issue, and I can't make Telstra fix the issue. Where's my rights as a consumer? If there was any other industry, the players in the game would be in deep consumer shit.

Oh, and the Internet ombudsman is a total joke. ISPs can't complain against other ISPs or wholesalers. End users can only complain against their ISP, and not the wholesaler, even when their ISP is not at fault and it's a wholesaler issue. Does that sound right? No. It's utterly borked and utterly useless. I did formally complain against my ISP, but all it did was mean that pressure was placed on my job to withdraw the complaint (I actually work for my ISP). My ISPs/employer's view was "go use Optus cable then'. Not good service at all. My ISP did jack shit for me. If this had been one of our big corporate customers, strings would have been pulled, but since I'm "just" a residential user, they don't give a shit. This is atypical of the industry I might add. I feel sorry now that I withdrew my complaint, even though it would never have gotten me nowhere, since I was getting more than a 1.5mb speed from the service. If it had been under that speed, they'd have just cancelled and rejected the service, despite the fact that it was provide a near 5mb service for over 2 years. It is plainly obvious that something is broken with the infrastructure, but no one wants to fix it, and I can't make them because of the way things have been set up. Perhaps the dishonorable Sen. Conroy should be looking at things like this, instead of an Internet filter?

Dave