Six months ago I didn’t even have a working Stereo. Our old Sony receiver died so I went to Fry’s and bought one on clearance. I hooked it up and although it was a huge improvement over the old Sony there was still something wrong. I checked the speakers and the woofers foam surrounds were disintegrating before my eyes.

Having joined Audiokarma years ago I decided to go back there and find out what to do.

People suggested I refoam them but they were cheap Sony’s and never sounded that good to start with. I looked at posts on AK and for less than a hundred dollars a pair of Insignias were supposed to be good value.

I got them and it was a revelation, they sounded way better than the old Sony’s and rekindled my interest in music. My wife and I listened to nearly every Cd we had marveling at the sound quality.

What more could a man need?

I kept reading a lot of posts on AK about speakers and it appeared that the Insignias could be bettered by even cheap vintage speakers. Darn, darn, darn. A lot of people said a good cheap vintage pair to be had was the Advent. I was dubious as how could something made thirty years ago compare to something made today.

I saw a pair of Advents on CL and went and auditioned them side by side with the Insignias. The people on AK knew what they were on about, the Advents sounded much more open and detailed. I took the Advents home and the Insignias back to Best Buy. I loved the Advents and still do.

What more could a man need?

Until those darn AK’rs kept comparing speakers. I would read post after post. Finally I zeroed in on what was really a good vintage speaker line; most people said they were excellent. It was the Boston Acoustics A series and the cream of the crop was the A200 sound wise. They had that typical East Coast sound so they said.

A few weeks later I saw a pair of A200’s on CL, they were not as cheap as the Advent’s but I bargained and got them for a reasonable price. They sounded fantastic the soundstage is incredible and much smoother than the Advents.

What more could a man need?

I wanted more Cd’s so I went to the Vinyl Edge where they sell new and used Cd’s as well as vinyl, lots of vinyl.

Big mistake, I heard a record playing and it sounded really sweet. I took my wife along and got them to put on Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms. We were blown away by the sound; it was so smooth and detailed. We just couldn’t believe it, they had Advent speakers and I kept thinking if it sounds this good on Advent’s imagine it on my A200’s.

So now we have a Technics SL 1200 Mk2 with Denon DL-110

Now we are hooked on vinyl and how sweet it is.

What more could a man need?...........

I never knew records could sound this good!

I must say though that I really appreciate all the advice and help from other AK members it’s like one big hopelessly addicted family.

What's the real point of re-posting this in a new thread?

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=197438

What's the real point of re-posting this in a new thread?

I changed the second last line, take a look, so as to stop upsetting people, it's much more palatable now.

Psssst I deleted the old offending thread.

Glad to hear your tapping your toes to the sounds of vinyl. Just ignore him he must be having a bad day or he's taking on his Ox Baker Persona lol.
You can post anything you like

I never read your first thread, so I can´t comment, but I did enjoy reading this one.

It Is a great feeling, isn´t it?:thmbsp:

To even out things a bit, you will also come across loads of crappy sounding vinyl. Don´t let that turn you off, though.

What's the real point of re-posting this in a new thread?

I changed the second last line, take a look, so as to stop upsetting people, it's much more palatable now.

Psssst I deleted the old offending thread.

Good move, better title! :thmbsp:

You're burnt.

Glad to hear your tapping your toes to the sounds of vinyl. Just ignore him he must be having a bad day or he's taking on his Ox Baker Persona lol.
You can post anything you like

watch out, he might give you a http://images-cdn01.associatedcontent.com/image/A1305/130565/300_130565.gif heartpunch!

Congratulations on your new gear!:thmbsp::banana:

Welcome to "The Addiction." :thmbsp:

Keep 'em spinning..:thmbsp:

My latest part of this hobby has been finding ways to clean the vinyl. After reading all the threads on this, it seemed that a RCM was the way to go, but I've settled for now on the Record Roller, followed by a good scrubbing with Phoenix Record Cleaning Fluid using the Mobile Fidelity brush, followed by the Gruv-glide. This seems to take the records I have bought new over the last 30+ years down to almost dead silence (other than the music, of course). Oh, I built a cleaning pad out of a cork mat from Michael's, a 1/4" dowel peg, a piece of felt, and a good supply of blue masking tape. I think I can bypass the RCM for a few years. I use a carbon brush once the records have been Gruv-glided; probably have to re-treat them every 5 years or so, assuming I rotate them through on a regular basis.

I love the vinyl. The additional work of keeping it clean, keeping the gear up to snuff, and all the other fiddly work makes me appreciate the music more. It's too much work to treat it as "background noise."

It's really cool because my wife enjoys the music as much as I do. Except for some of the "big-hair" metal I spin once in awhile to relive my massive partying days. She loves the Iron Maiden and the Black Sabbath, but Krokus and Accept are just a bit too poppy and weird for her. And, it seems that I'm the family Motorhead fan, although she likes their concerts when we go to see them.

Enjoy the vinyl, man. It's great stuff. Lots of history locked up in those grooves. And stay away from "greatest hits" collections (unless you gotta have Norman Greenbaum).

rooster.

It's a long road, and it only stops with the $300,000 vinyl-playing system.

How far you travel on it is up to you. Those damned black plastic platters just keep sounding better and better, the further you go.

It's a long road, and it only stops with the $300,000 vinyl-playing system.

How far you travel on it is up to you. Those damned black plastic platters just keep sounding better and better, the further you go.

I thought it stopped when you ran out of money.

rooster.

Much better Hypno Toad...good to see you are enjoying your gear and your music. Thanks for changing the thread. Vinyl is a great medium and does sound unique.

I thought it stopped when you ran out of money.

rooster.

Nah, that is what mortgages are for! :thmbsp:

watch out, he might give you a http://images-cdn01.associatedcontent.com/image/A1305/130565/300_130565.gif heartpunch!

Ahh my friend Ox back in the day. He works and lives right here in town. One of the nicest guys around; till you rile him up and yes I've seen him riled up. Hey tentoze what's the chances of you posting a pic of yourself? Inquiring minds want to know if you bear any resemblance to Mr. Baker.:yes:

I don't know about another thread, but this post/thread was an enjoyable read. Yes, many of us find this an addictive hobby... and I hope one day it will end when I get that $300,000 vinyl playing system, because it will mean that I will have acquired a lot more money to spend on audio than I have today! :D Of course, if it ends when you run out of money, that's not such a nice scenario... :no:

And yes, AK helps feed the addiction. I look around at the gear I have today, and more than half of it was acquired directly because of what I'd read about it here. Most of the items still remaining on my "want to get/try" list, are also there because of what I've read about them here.

And yes, vinyl is fun in part because each time you improve something --whether it be upgrading the TT, or setting it up and tweaking it better, or adding an RCM or whatever-- you get to hear and enjoy the results! :music:

A very pleasant addiction, one that can be enjoyed into old age (as long as your hearing lasts), and one that doesn't destroy your health... sounds pretty good to me (pun intended!)...although it might destroy your bank balance, if you let it! :sigh: :D

Whatever was in the first post/thread, I'm glad you posted this version!

Well, you're not really in trouble until you hear a used TNT is available for $3500, and you start measuring the top of your audio rack, and wondering what you could get in trade for your Thorens.

To my wife and I it's like a time warp, we relax and listen, we don't sit right in front side by side. We just lounge around and sometimes reminisce about our younger days.

She may say her brother had this album or she used to play this one on her portable.

It takes you back and we find it totally relaxing after having to deal with the fast pace of modern day life.

To my wife and I it's like a time warp, we relax and listen, we don't sit right in front side by side. We just lounge around and sometimes reminisce about our younger days.

She may say her brother had this album or she used to play this one on her portable.

It takes you back and we find it totally relaxing after having to deal with the fast pace of modern day life.

It's great to hear how much you're enjoying your vinyl! It's especially nice that you and your wife can enjoy it together! That's the way it works at my house too. It also makes it a lot easier to get buy-in when its time to upgrade the gear too.! :thmbsp:

As you've undoubtedly read here, hunting for and buying used vinyl at Thriftstores, garage sales, etc. is also a great way to build a huge music collection for just a few bucks and it's a nice activity to do together too. Enjoy! :music:

That's a nice vinyl set up you've got.

A few year ago I discovered how much better really clean vinyl sounds. Whether you clean your records in the sink or use a record cleaning machine the important thing is that you clean your records.

Welcome to the club! What you are experiencing now is only the tip of the iceberg! It runs much, much deeper!

That's a nice vinyl set up you've got.

Whether you clean your records in the sink or use a record cleaning machine the important thing is that you clean your records.

amen! :D