Old vinyl v Spotify

[Taffy Blue in Berkshire]

Got myself a pre-amp and managed to connect my old Technics record deck to my amp with no phono input and my old KEF speakers which my late father built for me in '1972' hooked in to my amp and with a sub woofer.

The output is frankly awesome and my bedroom office is now a proper 'man cave'.

Listening to Blondie 'Rapture' turned up very loud and thumping out a heavy base.

Just for comparison I played the same on Spotify through the same setup and Spotify is a dismal second in terms of the sound experience.

Will be dusting off my vinyl collection from 1972-1988 which includes Allman Brothers, Beach Boys, Blondie, Bowie, Byrds, Eagles, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Floyd, Genesis, Grateful Dead, Ian Dury, Kevin Ayers, Lou Reed, Man, Mott the Hoople, Police, Roxy Music, Steely Dan, Supertramp, 10CC, YES.

Something about the old vinyl which is rather special and brings back a lot of memories.

[Heathblue]

Re: Old vinyl v Spotify

Got myself a pre-amp and managed to connect my old Technics record deck to my amp with no phono input and my old KEF speakers which my late father built for me in '1972' hooked in to my amp and with a sub woofer.

The output is frankly awesome and my bedroom office is now a proper 'man cave'.

Listening to Blondie 'Rapture' turned up very loud and thumping out a heavy base.

Just for comparison I played the same on Spotify through the same setup and Spotify is a dismal second in terms of the sound experience.

Will be dusting off my vinyl collection from 1972-1988 which includes Allman Brothers, Beach Boys, Blondie, Bowie, Byrds, Eagles, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Floyd, Genesis, Grateful Dead, Ian Dury, Kevin Ayers, Lou Reed, Man, Mott the Hoople, Police, Roxy Music, Steely Dan, Supertramp, 10CC, YES.

Something about the old vinyl which is rather special and brings back a lot of memories.

Vinyl IMO played on a modest but decent set-up will always be sonically better than digital services, unfortunately i never looked after my vinyl properly and much of it is now unplayable, whilst preferring Vinyl my listening habits and ability to listen are not what they used to be and am slowly getting rid of my Vinyl equipment to the more compact digital formats with Bluetooth connectivity its just the convenience, I am planning to move in the next year or so and will not have as much space. Making reference to CD's the best example that i remember was U2's Unforgettable Fire Album, I do like this album but on CD it is so flat and doesn't engage the listener, on Vinyl, it's open and dynamic, the music breathes and engages the listener, there are many examples but for me this one stood out, in life's turnaround when younger, i could never afford the gear i wanted, Linn Deck & tone arm, Naim amplification, too many esoteric speakers to chose from, but now i can afford it i cannot justify the outlay!!!!

[Wales-Bales]

Re: Old vinyl v Spotify

I route Spotify through a media payer and then I add some secret analogue sauce via some audio plugins

[Gofer Blue]

Re: Old vinyl v Spotify

and my old KEF speakers which my late father built for me in '1972' hooked in to my amp and with a sub woofer.

The output is frankly awesome and my bedroom office is now a proper 'man cave'.

Listening to Blondie 'Rapture' turned up very loud and thumping out a heavy base.

Something about the old vinyl which is rather special and brings back a lot of memories.

I also built a pair of KEF speakers from a kit back in the mid-seventies. IIRC it was based on the KEF Chorale - the bass was extraordinary, not surprising I suppose as the bass speaker was the size of frying pan. I regretted having to part with them but they were simply too large when we moved into our new place and I got a pair of KEF Cantor speakers instead.

[Wash DC Blue]

Re: Old vinyl v Spotify

I bought a record player for my Mrs about 5 years ago and a few of her favorite albums…Nothings Shocking by Janes Addiction, Midnight Marauders by A Tribe Called Quest and Paul’s Boutique by The Beastie Boys.

The sound was just shite and tinny.
It had some Bluetooth connectivity which seemed to go against the point of it.

We inherited by Brother In Laws system earlier this year which sounds like night and day to what we had.
“Dual CS 429l” Turntable, Audiolab (mixer/amp… I’ve no idea just what the record player sits on and Bowers and Wilkins speakers.

I don’t know how good they are but the sound is lovely and wholesome.
Problem is I have no idea what I am doing with it regarding volume, let alone bass etc.

We played a few of My Brother in Laws records on it…then haven’t messed with it.
Friday, I played The Stone Roses on it and tonight I played Fuzzy Logic by SFA.

There is truth in my opinion to it sounding better than digital.
Maybe it’s a placebo though because you expect it.

[Wales-Bales]

Re: Old vinyl v Spotify

I bought a record player for my Mrs about 5 years ago and a few of her favorite albums…Nothings Shocking by Janes Addiction, Midnight Marauders by A Tribe Called Quest and Paul’s Boutique by The Beastie Boys.

The sound was just shite and tinny.
It had some Bluetooth connectivity which seemed to go against the point of it.

We inherited by Brother In Laws system earlier this year which sounds like night and day to what we had.
“Dual CS 429l” Turntable, Audiolab (mixer/amp… I’ve no idea just what the record player sits on and Bowers and Wilkins speakers.

I don’t know how good they are but the sound is lovely and wholesome.
Problem is I have no idea what I am doing with it regarding volume, let alone bass etc.

We played a few of My Brother in Laws records on it…then haven’t messed with it.
Friday, I played The Stone Roses on it and tonight I played Fuzzy Logic by SFA.

There is truth in my opinion to it sounding better than digital.
Maybe it’s a placebo though because you expect it.

Whatever sounds good is good. I work with calibrated sound, but when it comes to casual listening I adjust to taste for each album. Don't forget every album is mixed and mastered differently.

Digital sound is pristine, but you can mess with it, as I alluded to in a previous comment.

[Taffy Blue in Berkshire]

Re: Old vinyl v Spotify

Whatever sounds good is good. I work with calibrated sound, but when it comes to casual listening I adjust to taste for each album. Don't forget every album is mixed and mastered differently.

Digital sound is pristine, but you can mess with it, as I alluded to in a previous comment.

You obviously know what you are doing and have the kit to do so. I got a big buzz from using these old speakers and overcame the problem of no phono input with the pre-amp bought from a company in Austria.

It also gives me something to muck around with.

Good to hear other stories as well.

[Wales-Bales]

Re: Old vinyl v Spotify

You obviously know what you are doing and have the kit to do so. I got a big buzz from using these old speakers and overcame the problem of no phono input with the pre-amp bought from a company in Austria.

It also gives me something to muck around with.

Good to hear other stories as well.

I don't bother with the TV much, and football & music are my main timewasting vices. My setup sounds complicated, but it's actually pretty simple. It's just a computer going into an audio interface, with some DSP processing on the software side. Add some powered monitors or headphones and you are good to go.

If you ever want to get techie, binaural applications are an interesting development that can produce an "in the room" experience via headphones, and it works pretty good.

PS Electric Warrior is a great album if you ever come across a used vinyl version.