What are you listening to right now ?

[slartibartfast]

but it is available on 8 Track! Kind of wish I still had my 8 track player...don't know why, but I do...Sonically awful, but the roots of "plug and play"

https://www.ebay.com/itm/294188685304?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A19UPozmV5SBq-Zjm6WRklRA75&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=294188685304&targetid=1584739241414&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=9005508&poi=&campaignid=15275224983&mkgroupid=131097072938&rlsatarget=pla-1584739241414&abcId=9300697&merchantid=115319048&gclid=CjwKCAiA5sieBhBnEiwAR9oh2lPNSOVvFtDeBmjNUudnErbemHMUkXoZsumCpl9enHRF-RsKu6m5nBoCKjYQAvD_BwE

Jim

According to the cover, also available as cassette and "This stereo record is playable on a mono reproducer provided either a compatible or stereo cartridge wired for mono is fitted" 🤣

[slartibartfast]

Hidden gem from 1987

[RobbH]

Hidden gem from 1987

(image of Guadalcanal Diary's 2x4 cover)

Saw them live just once. The bass player used to be my wife's yoga instructor.

[slartibartfast]

Saw them live just once. The bass player used to be my wife's yoga instructor.

Great connection 😀. I am now considering digitising again using my old K9 instead of the AT95E. I have no idea how to tell if a stylus has worn out. I might find both of my K9 styli are fine. I first thought I had an issue when a particular album was unlistenable but that turned out to easily fixed by cleaning the record with Vinyl Clear 🤣

[RobbH]

Great connection 😀. I am now considering digitising again using my old K9 instead of the AT95E. I have no idea how to tell if a stylus has worn out. I might find both of my K9 styli are fine. I first thought I had an issue when a particular album was unlistenable but that turned out to easily fixed by cleaning the record with Vinyl Clear 🤣

Part of the reason I have no abiding love for vinyl! Don't you have a stylus microscope tucked away somewhere? Wasn't that one of the accessories that used to be a necessary part of a turntable user's kit? Maybe a standard magnifying glass would serve.

[slartibartfast]

Part of the reason I have no abiding love for vinyl! Don't you have a stylus microscope tucked away somewhere? Wasn't that one of the accessories that used to be a necessary part of a turntable user's kit? Maybe a standard magnifying glass would serve.

I have a magnifier on my phone 🤣. As Kryten from Red Dwarf observed, humans don't have a zoom facility. It would come in handy.

[Redrum]

I have a magnifier on my phone 🤣. As Kryten from Red Dwarf observed, humans don't have a zoom facility. It would come in handy.

They do in many si fi shows. Those cheap USB hand held microscopes work quite well**. I find I have small hand magnifiers in just about every room. I always wondered why the print on prescription bottles is so small, because as you age, you get more of them

One question for the vinyl guys, Slarti and Jim, When the world went CD, I saved all my vinyl (good shape) but my turntable didn't age well. I bought a Pro-ject table about 10 years ago, haven't used it much. My question, I am still using an old Discwasher system (disk and stylus) for cleaning. My Zerostat gun got tossed. What is the recommended way of taking care of the vinyl/stylus, without spending $$$$? John Darko reviewed a "degritter" - nice, but about $3k USD . I bought a UCA202 and would like to start ripping my vinyl.

Jim

<edit - **@slarti - check out this review of ~$25USD uscope on Amazon, pictures of a stylus.... https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-r...SIN=B06WD843ZM >

[slartibartfast]

They do in many si fi shows. Those cheap USB hand held microscopes work quite well**. I find I have small hand magnifiers in just about every room. I always wondered why the print on prescription bottles is so small, because as you age, you get more of them

One question for the vinyl guys, Slarti and Jim, When the world went CD, I saved all my vinyl (good shape) but my turntable didn't age well. I bought a Pro-ject table about 10 years ago, haven't used it much. My question, I am still using an old Discwasher system (disk and stylus) for cleaning. My Zerostat gun got tossed. What is the recommended way of taking care of the vinyl/stylus, without spending $$$$? John Darko reviewed a "degritter" - nice, but about $3k USD . I bought a UCA202 and would like to start ripping my vinyl.

Jim

<edit - **@slarti - check out this review of ~$25USD uscope on Amazon, pictures of a stylus.... https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-r...SIN=B06WD843ZM >

We had one of those USB microscopes at work. I totally forgot about them. Vinyl Clear seems to work quite well at removing whatever gunge is stuck in the grooves. Probably not as good as a record cleaning machine but I am not prepared to go that far. Sometimes the stylus collects a lot of gunge on the first play after cleaning. I use (very carefully) one of those magic erasers to clean the stylus as well as cleaning fluid that came with the Vinyl Clear kit.
I have some records which I thought were faulty pressings which play perfectly after cleaning. I have a copy of "The Wall" which started to jump at the same place on every play which annoyed me enough to make me buy a second copy. I must try cleaning that as the second copy sounds noticeably worse than the first one. You can tell just by looking at the groove on the record that the first copy has a wider groove that uses more of the vinyl.
I always thought the Pro-ject turntables looked very similar to Rega...

[Redrum]

We had one of those USB microscopes at work. I totally forgot about them. Vinyl Clear seems to work quite well at removing whatever gunge is stuck in the grooves. Probably not as good as a record cleaning machine but I am not prepared to go that far. Sometimes the stylus collects a lot of gunge on the first play after cleaning. I use (very carefully) one of those magic erasers to clean the stylus as well as cleaning fluid that came with the Vinyl Clear kit.
I have some records which I thought were faulty pressings which play perfectly after cleaning. I have a copy of "The Wall" which started to jump at the same place on every play which annoyed me enough to make me buy a second copy. I must try cleaning that as the second copy sounds noticeably worse than the first one. You can tell just by looking at the groove on the record that the first copy has a wider groove that uses more of the vinyl.
I always thought the Pro-ject turntables looked very similar to Rega...

The Pro-jets are similar to the Rega. Both in that <$400USD "low end audiophile quality" (10 years ago.). I think I remember choosing between them. Both upgradable to an extent (platter, cartridge's, mat, etc). Mine is a screaming red color. Might be why I chose it

What fluid do you use? Is this the stuff? Looks like they use a microfiber as the applicator https://vinylclear.com/

Jim

[slartibartfast]

The Pro-jets are similar to the Rega. Both in that <$400USD "low end audiophile quality" (10 years ago.). I think I remember choosing between them. Both upgradable to an extent (platter, cartridge's, mat, etc). Mine is a screaming red color. Might be why I chose it

What fluid do you use? Is this the stuff? Looks like they use a microfiber as the applicator https://vinylclear.com/

Jim

That's the one. I think Amazon sell it. You lay the record on one of the microfiber cloths, spray it then clean it with the other cloth after leaving it for a minute.

[d6jg]

I also use VinylClear and occasionally a knosti bath thing. On Amazon.

The most important part of the needledrop is the condition of the record and turntable/cartridge set up. I’m currently using an Onkyo CP1050 that I bought new maybe 5 years ago and have upgraded the cart to Ortofon 2M Blue.

As for the needledrop process itself I use VinylStudio with a UCA202. VinylStudio makes the initial recording, album art and tagging very easy. The £25 it costs is well worth it imho. After generating Flacs I post process through Foobar2000 to add Replay Gain tags before scanning into LMS. VinylStudio also has advanced clean up filters which can remove nasty pops and clicks without affecting the overall SQ. Does take some learning though.

Tip. Sometimes Windows detects the UCA202 as a mono device. Check the Sound settings thoroughly before starting in earnest. Do this regularly.

The best part is you get the chance to re-listen to your original vinyl over and over.

[d6jg]

[d6jg]

[earthbased]

Hidden gem from 1987

Don Dixon produced a lot of good music and released some good solo albums too.

[slartibartfast]

I also use VinylClear and occasionally a knosti bath thing. On Amazon.

The most important part of the needledrop is the condition of the record and turntable/cartridge set up. I’m currently using an Onkyo CP1050 that I bought new maybe 5 years ago and have upgraded the cart to Ortofon 2M Blue.

As for the needledrop process itself I use VinylStudio with a UCA202. VinylStudio makes the initial recording, album art and tagging very easy. The £25 it costs is well worth it imho. After generating Flacs I post process through Foobar2000 to add Replay Gain tags before scanning into LMS. VinylStudio also has advanced clean up filters which can remove nasty pops and clicks without affecting the overall SQ. Does take some learning though.

Tip. Sometimes Windows detects the UCA202 as a mono device. Check the Sound settings thoroughly before starting in earnest. Do this regularly.

The best part is you get the chance to re-listen to your original vinyl over and over.

You are definitely right about the cartridge set up. I only recently tried the Rega Baerwald Arc Protractor to align my cartridge and it is much better than my previous alignment. Inner groove distortion is greatly reduced. I always thought Genesis-Foxtrot sounded poor compared to Selling England by the Pound but listening to my needle drop now it sounds wonderful. A combination of good alignment and clean vinyl I suppose. This is with one of my decades old K9 cartridges 😀