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ruffrecords September 9th 04 07:28 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
Where can I( go to in Norfolk to hear a realy high end vinyl set up. I
am taking five to ten grands worth?

Ian

Don Pearce September 9th 04 07:34 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
On Thu, 09 Sep 2004 20:28:24 +0100, ruffrecords
wrote:

Where can I( go to in Norfolk to hear a realy high end vinyl set up. I
am taking five to ten grands worth?

Ian


Taking five to ten grands worth of what? How do you know these Norfolk
chaps will barter? Wouldn't it be better to take the cash or a cheque?

And I've heard rumours that you can hear really high-end vinyl in
Suffolk. You can hear every crackle, scratch and dust speck like you
were actually there in the crackle, scratch and dust speck factory.
Feel like living dangerously?

d
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com

ruffrecords September 9th 04 09:05 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
Don Pearce wrote:
On Thu, 09 Sep 2004 20:28:24 +0100, ruffrecords
wrote:


Where can I( go to in Norfolk to hear a realy high end vinyl set up. I
am taking five to ten grands worth?

Ian



Taking five to ten grands worth of what? How do you know these Norfolk
chaps will barter?


OOh no, in Nar**** we barters first and pays cash second. I got a foo
tun of good manoor to trade.

Wouldn't it be better to take the cash or a cheque?

And I've heard rumours that you can hear really high-end vinyl in
Suffolk. You can hear every crackle, scratch and dust speck like you
were actually there in the crackle, scratch and dust speck factory.
Feel like living dangerously?


Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD. He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5
to 10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear waht I have been missing, so
that's waht I intend to do.

Ian

Jim Lesurf September 10th 04 09:05 AM

Hi end vinyl system
 
In article , ruffrecords
wrote:


Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD. He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5 to
10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear waht I have been missing, so
that's waht I intend to do.


If he knows this, he presumably knows what system he heard, and where he
heard it. So I'd say it was up to him to say where you can listen to this
system he rates so highly. OTOH If his opinion is just a generalisation,
and he can't give you an example you can actually listen to, then judge his
opinion on that basis. :-)

I'm also a bit puzzled by the idea that what is needed is 5-10 grand of
'vinyl kit'. Does this include the power amps and speakers and listening
room being specifically 'vinyl kit', or is he just talking about the
cartridge, arm, deck, and RIAA preamp?

Must admit I am also somewhat doubtful of recommending kit (apparently)
solely on the basis that it costs a lot of money...

Slainte,

Jim

--
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Audio Misc http://www.st-and.demon.co.uk/AudioMisc/index.html
Armstrong Audio http://www.st-and.demon.co.uk/Audio/armstrong.html
Barbirolli Soc. http://www.st-and.demon.co.uk/JBSoc/JBSoc.html

JustMe September 10th 04 12:17 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 

"ruffrecords" wrote in message
...
Don Pearce wrote:
On Thu, 09 Sep 2004 20:28:24 +0100, ruffrecords
wrote:


Where can I( go to in Norfolk to hear a realy high end vinyl set up. I
am taking five to ten grands worth?

Ian



Taking five to ten grands worth of what? How do you know these Norfolk
chaps will barter?


OOh no, in Nar**** we barters first and pays cash second. I got a foo
tun of good manoor to trade.

Wouldn't it be better to take the cash or a cheque?

And I've heard rumours that you can hear really high-end vinyl in
Suffolk. You can hear every crackle, scratch and dust speck like you
were actually there in the crackle, scratch and dust speck factory.
Feel like living dangerously?


Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD. He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5
to 10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear waht I have been missing, so
that's waht I intend to do.

Ian


Is it your intention to purchase the setup if you like it?



Neil Jones September 10th 04 03:51 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , ruffrecords
wrote:


Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD. He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5
to 10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear waht I have been missing, so
that's waht I intend to do.


If he knows this, he presumably knows what system he heard, and where
he heard it. So I'd say it was up to him to say where you can listen
to this system he rates so highly. OTOH If his opinion is just a
generalisation, and he can't give you an example you can actually
listen to, then judge his opinion on that basis. :-)



Before you even get to this point you probably need to narrow down
exactly what he means by 'better'.

Neil



Stewart Pinkerton September 10th 04 04:12 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 10:05:55 +0100, Jim Lesurf
wrote:

In article , ruffrecords
wrote:

Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD. He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5 to
10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear waht I have been missing, so
that's waht I intend to do.


If he knows this, he presumably knows what system he heard, and where he
heard it. So I'd say it was up to him to say where you can listen to this
system he rates so highly. OTOH If his opinion is just a generalisation,
and he can't give you an example you can actually listen to, then judge his
opinion on that basis. :-)

I'm also a bit puzzled by the idea that what is needed is 5-10 grand of
'vinyl kit'. Does this include the power amps and speakers and listening
room being specifically 'vinyl kit', or is he just talking about the
cartridge, arm, deck, and RIAA preamp?

Must admit I am also somewhat doubtful of recommending kit (apparently)
solely on the basis that it costs a lot of money...


Indeed so. I have about 10 grand of 'vinyl kit' if you include the amp
and speakers, but only about £1500 up to the preamp inputs. OTOH, it
still doesn't sound as good as CD............. :-)

For the OP's information, it's on my page at
http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/
and he's welcome to drop in any time for a listen, in much better
surroundings than he'll find in a hi-fi shop!
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

Stewart Pinkerton September 10th 04 04:14 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 16:51:49 +0100, "Neil Jones"
wrote:

Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , ruffrecords
wrote:


Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD. He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5
to 10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear waht I have been missing, so
that's waht I intend to do.


If he knows this, he presumably knows what system he heard, and where
he heard it. So I'd say it was up to him to say where you can listen
to this system he rates so highly. OTOH If his opinion is just a
generalisation, and he can't give you an example you can actually
listen to, then judge his opinion on that basis. :-)



Before you even get to this point you probably need to narrow down
exactly what he means by 'better'.


Oh, y'know, infinite bandwidth, infinite resolution, no 'stair steps',
more 'ambience', more 'inner detail', the usual stuff......... :-)
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

Arny Krueger September 10th 04 05:26 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
"ruffrecords" wrote in message


Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD.


This is a well-known scam. You're supposed to believe him and pay 1,000's
and 1,000's on a fruitless search for the holy grail of a vinyl playback
system that actually sounds better than the audio section of a good $50US
DVD player.

He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5
to 10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear what I have been missing, so
that's what I intend to do.


Only if your time is not worth very much to you...





Dave Plowman (News) September 10th 04 05:47 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
In article ,
ruffrecords wrote:
Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD. He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5
to 10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear waht I have been missing, so
that's waht I intend to do.


Standard argument from someone who doesn't know what they're on about -
find a more expensive xxxx

No vinyl system can ever sound as good as CD - as a principle. Certain
records may sound 'better' than certain CDs, but that's for different
reasons.

There's an easy test for this. Transfer - using the best possible
equipment - an LP to CD. Ask the golden eared boys to tell which is which
in a blind test. They won't be able to. And I'll put serious money up for
a bet if someone wants to try. But they'll have to equal it.

Do the same in reverse. Much more difficult, of course. But it can be
done. Anyone with quarter decent hearing will tell the difference.

--
*If you don't pay your exorcist you get repossessed.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

ruffrecords September 10th 04 08:47 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
Neil Jones wrote:
Jim Lesurf wrote:

In article , ruffrecords
wrote:



Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD. He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5
to 10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear waht I have been missing, so
that's waht I intend to do.


If he knows this, he presumably knows what system he heard, and where
he heard it. So I'd say it was up to him to say where you can listen
to this system he rates so highly. OTOH If his opinion is just a
generalisation, and he can't give you an example you can actually
listen to, then judge his opinion on that basis. :-)



Before you even get to this point you probably need to narrow down
exactly what he means by 'better'.

Neil



I don't want to repeat the entire argument but this guy lives in Miami
and claims to have a $73,000 turtable and similarly expensive other
components. Despite that, he argues that any vinyl based system in
the $5K to $10K range will 'blow away' any CD system of any kind and
that the differences will be so noticeable as to be obvious.

As to 'better' as you might expect this has been debated at length.
In summary it comes down to instruments sounding more like the real
thing, and of course he claims extensive and regular exposure to what
the real thing sounds like.

He further claims that tremendous technological advances have been
made in vinyl reproduction technology in the last 30 years so mit now
sounds better than any of us old lags would have remembered hearing
back in its heyday in the 70's.

Oh, and by the way, you can only achieve this incredible level of
quality by playing one of a few direct to disk records still in
circulation and of which any really decent hi-fi shop will have a few.

Ian

ruffrecords September 10th 04 08:50 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
JustMe wrote:
"ruffrecords" wrote in message
...

Don Pearce wrote:

On Thu, 09 Sep 2004 20:28:24 +0100, ruffrecords
wrote:



Where can I( go to in Norfolk to hear a realy high end vinyl set up. I
am taking five to ten grands worth?

Ian


Taking five to ten grands worth of what? How do you know these Norfolk
chaps will barter?


OOh no, in Nar**** we barters first and pays cash second. I got a foo
tun of good manoor to trade.

Wouldn't it be better to take the cash or a cheque?

And I've heard rumours that you can hear really high-end vinyl in
Suffolk. You can hear every crackle, scratch and dust speck like you
were actually there in the crackle, scratch and dust speck factory.
Feel like living dangerously?


Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD. He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5
to 10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear waht I have been missing, so
that's waht I intend to do.

Ian



Is it your intention to purchase the setup if you like it?



I don't know. One problem is that apparently you need really good
vinyl, preferably direct to disk stuff. This is both rare and
unlikely to come anywhere near covering the breadth of my musical
tastes. That said I have an open mind, and a big enough cheque book,
so if it really is that good I might just well buy one.

Ian

ruffrecords September 10th 04 08:54 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , ruffrecords
wrote:



Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD. He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5 to
10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear waht I have been missing, so
that's waht I intend to do.



If he knows this, he presumably knows what system he heard, and where he
heard it. So I'd say it was up to him to say where you can listen to this
system he rates so highly. OTOH If his opinion is just a generalisation,
and he can't give you an example you can actually listen to, then judge his
opinion on that basis. :-)


Unfortunately he lives in Miami and refuses to let me visit him to
hear his sytem.


I'm also a bit puzzled by the idea that what is needed is 5-10 grand of
'vinyl kit'. Does this include the power amps and speakers and listening
room being specifically 'vinyl kit', or is he just talking about the
cartridge, arm, deck, and RIAA preamp?


I think he means system from cartridge to speakers but probably
excluding room treatment. I asked him how his room was treated but he
refused to answer.


Must admit I am also somewhat doubtful of recommending kit (apparently)
solely on the basis that it costs a lot of money...


He has no doubt about it at all. As I mentioned eleswhere he says he
has a $73,000 turntable and the rest of his sytem is of similar cost
and he reckons you can definitely hear how much better his sytem is
than a 5 to 10K one.

Ian

ruffrecords September 10th 04 09:03 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
Stewart Pinkerton wrote:
snip


For the OP's information, it's on my page at
http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/
and he's welcome to drop in any time for a listen, in much better
surroundings than he'll find in a hi-fi shop!


If you are not too far away I just moght take you up on that. I am in
North Norfolk near Cromer. Whereabouts are you?

Ian

Nath September 10th 04 09:06 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 

Unfortunately he lives in Miami and refuses to let me visit him to
hear his sytem.


I think he means system from cartridge to speakers but probably excluding
room treatment. I asked him how his room was treated but he refused to
answer.


Sounds like a typical audiophile tosspot.

Bet he's got expensive cable, and his room is messed up (bare wood floors,
lots of glass, echoey etc)



ruffrecords September 10th 04 09:07 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
Arny Krueger wrote:
"ruffrecords" wrote in message



Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD.



This is a well-known scam. You're supposed to believe him and pay 1,000's
and 1,000's on a fruitless search for the holy grail of a vinyl playback
system that actually sounds better than the audio section of a good $50US
DVD player.


Hopefully I am a tad smater than that - hence my desire to listen to a
system localy.


He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5
to 10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear what I have been missing, so
that's what I intend to do.



Only if your time is not worth very much to you...


Well, I am retired, I do have an open mind and it is a long time since
I heard a so called high end system.

Ian

Dersu September 10th 04 09:20 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 

"ruffrecords" wrote in message
...

Unfortunately he lives in Miami and refuses to let me visit him to hear
his sytem.

As I mentioned eleswhere he says he
has a $73,000 turntable and the rest of his sytem is of similar cost and
he reckons you can definitely hear how much better his sytem is than a 5
to 10K one.


Sounds to me like someone is having his plonker pulled by an aspiring Grand
Master.

D.



ruffrecords September 10th 04 09:39 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
Nath wrote:
Unfortunately he lives in Miami and refuses to let me visit him to
hear his sytem.



I think he means system from cartridge to speakers but probably excluding
room treatment. I asked him how his room was treated but he refused to
answer.



Sounds like a typical audiophile tosspot.

Bet he's got expensive cable, and his room is messed up (bare wood floors,
lots of glass, echoey etc)



I aksed him to post a picture but he refused that too.

ian

ruffrecords September 10th 04 09:43 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
Dersu wrote:
"ruffrecords" wrote in message
...

Unfortunately he lives in Miami and refuses to let me visit him to hear
his sytem.


As I mentioned eleswhere he says he

has a $73,000 turntable and the rest of his sytem is of similar cost and
he reckons you can definitely hear how much better his sytem is than a 5
to 10K one.



Sounds to me like someone is having his plonker pulled by an aspiring Grand
Master.

D.


Not just me but an entire yahoo group. Lot's of us have argued with
him but he has that annoying habit of passing off his opinions as
fact. The fact that his total system cost around $250,000 makes it
for anyone else to say 'I heard one of those and it sucks' After
pressing him to let me go listen to his system he said there was no
need and any 5 to 10K vinyl system would be obviously superior to and
CD system so I should go to my local hi-fi shop and hear one. I would
love to do this and be able to go back and say, I did that and it
still sounded crap. Hence the original question.

Ian

Arny Krueger September 10th 04 11:06 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message


There's an easy test for this. Transfer - using the best possible
equipment - an LP to CD. Ask the golden eared boys to tell which is
which in a blind test. They won't be able to. And I'll put serious
money up for a bet if someone wants to try. But they'll have to equal
it.

Do the same in reverse. Much more difficult, of course. But it can be
done. Anyone with quarter decent hearing will tell the difference.


Agreed.



Stewart Pinkerton September 11th 04 06:23 AM

Hi end vinyl system
 
On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 22:03:49 +0100, ruffrecords
wrote:

Stewart Pinkerton wrote:
snip

For the OP's information, it's on my page at
http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/
and he's welcome to drop in any time for a listen, in much better
surroundings than he'll find in a hi-fi shop!


If you are not too far away I just moght take you up on that. I am in
North Norfolk near Cromer. Whereabouts are you?


A small village called Rempstone, on the A60 between Loughborough and
Nottingham.
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

Stewart Pinkerton September 11th 04 06:32 AM

Hi end vinyl system
 
On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 21:47:49 +0100, ruffrecords
wrote:

Neil Jones wrote:
Jim Lesurf wrote:

In article , ruffrecords
wrote:



Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD. He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5
to 10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear waht I have been missing, so
that's waht I intend to do.

If he knows this, he presumably knows what system he heard, and where
he heard it. So I'd say it was up to him to say where you can listen
to this system he rates so highly. OTOH If his opinion is just a
generalisation, and he can't give you an example you can actually
listen to, then judge his opinion on that basis. :-)



Before you even get to this point you probably need to narrow down
exactly what he means by 'better'.

Neil



I don't want to repeat the entire argument but this guy lives in Miami
and claims to have a $73,000 turtable and similarly expensive other
components. Despite that, he argues that any vinyl based system in
the $5K to $10K range will 'blow away' any CD system of any kind and
that the differences will be so noticeable as to be obvious.


That would be the Rockport Sirius III. I've heard it, set up by the
designer himself, and with a £5,000 Clearaudio Insider cartridge, and
it still suffers all the problems due to the records it plays. Of
course, if I'd spent that much, I too would probably argue that it
'blows CD away'. However, back here in the real world, it just ain't
so, if the sound of the master tape is what you're after.

As to 'better' as you might expect this has been debated at length.
In summary it comes down to instruments sounding more like the real
thing, and of course he claims extensive and regular exposure to what
the real thing sounds like.


So do I, and he's talking crap.

He further claims that tremendous technological advances have been
made in vinyl reproduction technology in the last 30 years so mit now
sounds better than any of us old lags would have remembered hearing
back in its heyday in the 70's.


Bull****, the *records* have not changed at all.

Oh, and by the way, you can only achieve this incredible level of
quality by playing one of a few direct to disk records still in
circulation and of which any really decent hi-fi shop will have a few.


I have about fifteen, by Sheffield, Crystal Clear, Discwasher and RCA,
and they are only *marginally* superior to a good conventional
pressing. They are also noticeably inferior to a good CD, and *vastly*
inferior to a top-class CD such as any of the JVC XRCD range, of which
I have 32.
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

Stewart Pinkerton September 11th 04 06:34 AM

Hi end vinyl system
 
On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 21:50:07 +0100, ruffrecords
wrote:

JustMe wrote:


Is it your intention to purchase the setup if you like it?

I don't know. One problem is that apparently you need really good
vinyl, preferably direct to disk stuff. This is both rare and
unlikely to come anywhere near covering the breadth of my musical
tastes. That said I have an open mind, and a big enough cheque book,
so if it really is that good I might just well buy one.


I suggest that the SME 10 with the dedicated arm and say a Lyra Lydian
cartridge, is as good as anything you'll hear.
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

Stewart Pinkerton September 11th 04 06:37 AM

Hi end vinyl system
 
On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 21:54:01 +0100, ruffrecords
wrote:

Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , ruffrecords
wrote:



Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD. He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5 to
10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear waht I have been missing, so
that's waht I intend to do.



If he knows this, he presumably knows what system he heard, and where he
heard it. So I'd say it was up to him to say where you can listen to this
system he rates so highly. OTOH If his opinion is just a generalisation,
and he can't give you an example you can actually listen to, then judge his
opinion on that basis. :-)


Unfortunately he lives in Miami and refuses to let me visit him to
hear his sytem.


How convenient. He has of course at least posted a picture of this
system, to prove its existence?

I'm also a bit puzzled by the idea that what is needed is 5-10 grand of
'vinyl kit'. Does this include the power amps and speakers and listening
room being specifically 'vinyl kit', or is he just talking about the
cartridge, arm, deck, and RIAA preamp?


I think he means system from cartridge to speakers but probably
excluding room treatment. I asked him how his room was treated but he
refused to answer.


Interesting, as any *real* enthusiast would happily spend hours
discussing the details of how he's optimised his room.

Must admit I am also somewhat doubtful of recommending kit (apparently)
solely on the basis that it costs a lot of money...


He has no doubt about it at all. As I mentioned eleswhere he says he
has a $73,000 turntable and the rest of his sytem is of similar cost
and he reckons you can definitely hear how much better his sytem is
than a 5 to 10K one.


Sounds like a pure bull****ter, and of course he's talking about a
personal preference for the distinctive *added artifacts* of vinyl,
not anything to do with fidelity to the master tape. And he's wrong
abouty his own system, you can't tell any sensible difference in
quality above a few grand, as the vinyl itself is a severe limitation.
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

Stewart Pinkerton September 11th 04 09:17 AM

Hi end vinyl system
 
On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 22:43:53 +0100, ruffrecords
wrote:

Dersu wrote:
"ruffrecords" wrote in message
...

Unfortunately he lives in Miami and refuses to let me visit him to hear
his sytem.


As I mentioned eleswhere he says he

has a $73,000 turntable and the rest of his sytem is of similar cost and
he reckons you can definitely hear how much better his sytem is than a 5
to 10K one.


Sounds to me like someone is having his plonker pulled by an aspiring Grand
Master.


Indeed - it also seems doubtful that this fabled system actually
exists, since he refuses to be visited and won't supply pictures!


Not just me but an entire yahoo group.


Which group is that?

Lot's of us have argued with
him but he has that annoying habit of passing off his opinions as
fact. The fact that his total system cost around $250,000 makes it
for anyone else to say 'I heard one of those and it sucks'


Easy to say, less easy to back up.

After
pressing him to let me go listen to his system he said there was no
need and any 5 to 10K vinyl system would be obviously superior to and
CD system so I should go to my local hi-fi shop and hear one. I would
love to do this and be able to go back and say, I did that and it
still sounded crap. Hence the original question.


Could be all he actually has is a copy of Stereophile 'recommended
components', of course................

If you like natural sound reproduced with maximum fidelity, then you
*are* going to hear a 'high end' vinyl system and know that it's crap.
It's the classic cry of vinylphiles that those who don't agree with
them 'have obviously never heard a really good vinyl system'. Well, I
have a pretty decent vinyl rig, and I've heard the very best that any
ampount of money can buy, and vinyl *still* sucks compered to
well-made CD.

BTW, regarding that $73,000 turntable, you might be interested to know
that Stereophile considers the SME 30/2 to be at least its equal, and
the £3,000 SME 10 not far behind.
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

Jim Lesurf September 11th 04 12:43 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
In article , ruffrecords
wrote:
Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , ruffrecords
wrote:



Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD. He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5
to 10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear waht I have been missing, so
that's waht I intend to do.



If he knows this, he presumably knows what system he heard, and where
he heard it. So I'd say it was up to him to say where you can listen
to this system he rates so highly. OTOH If his opinion is just a
generalisation, and he can't give you an example you can actually
listen to, then judge his opinion on that basis. :-)


Unfortunately he lives in Miami and refuses to let me visit him to hear
his sytem.


If he did that to me I would conclude that I was under no compulsion to
regard his opinions as having any relevance or use to me. :-)


I'm also a bit puzzled by the idea that what is needed is 5-10 grand
of 'vinyl kit'. Does this include the power amps and speakers and
listening room being specifically 'vinyl kit', or is he just talking
about the cartridge, arm, deck, and RIAA preamp?


I think he means system from cartridge to speakers but probably
excluding room treatment. I asked him how his room was treated but he
refused to answer.


Again, I would personally take this as a sign that I could disregard his
opinions. I would not waste much sleep worring about his views.


Must admit I am also somewhat doubtful of recommending kit
(apparently) solely on the basis that it costs a lot of money...


He has no doubt about it at all. As I mentioned eleswhere he says he
has a $73,000 turntable and the rest of his sytem is of similar cost
and he reckons you can definitely hear how much better his sytem is
than a 5 to 10K one.


He is entitled to his opinion. You are entitiled to disregard it if he
refuses to offer any means for testing his opinion so you can form your own
conclusions w.r.t. his claims :-)

So far as I can see, all he has told you is that he had so much money that
he was willing and able to spend 73,000 USD on a turntable. At best, this
'proves' he was willing to spend lots on money. However I have my doubts
that being rich means you must have good hearing. :-)

My own decision would probably have been to put the money towards a better
house with a dedicated listening room, or modifying my existing home to get
an better listening room. Could probably do a nice job of that for 73,000
USD.

FWIW My experience is that - in general and regardless of LP versus CD
arguments - the weakest link in 'audio systems' tends to be the room
acoustics and factors like speaker/listener placement once you have spent
only a moderate amount (compared with 73,000 USD) on equipment.

With some of the other comments you report from him, you can also reflect
on how useful a system will be if only a tiny number of LPs are ( as
alleged by the same person) good enough to make full use of it. :-) Can't
really see the point myself on spending so much just to enjoy one or two
LPs. Life's too short. I'd rather buy some new plants and shove them in the
garden for the spring. :-)

Slainte,

Jim

--
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Audio Misc http://www.st-and.demon.co.uk/AudioMisc/index.html
Armstrong Audio http://www.st-and.demon.co.uk/Audio/armstrong.html
Barbirolli Soc. http://www.st-and.demon.co.uk/JBSoc/JBSoc.html

Jim Lesurf September 11th 04 12:50 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
In article , ruffrecords
wrote:
Dersu wrote:



Not just me but an entire yahoo group. Lot's of us have argued with
him but he has that annoying habit of passing off his opinions as fact.
The fact that his total system cost around $250,000 makes it for
anyone else to say 'I heard one of those and it sucks'


So try "Well since you are describing a system without offerring any way to
test your claims, we can't be bothered to take you seriously." Then simply
ignore any assertions he makes until such time as he offers to back them up
in a way you can use to test his claims. Trolls eventually starve if left
alone. :-)

After pressing him to let me go listen to his system he said there was
no need and any 5 to 10K vinyl system would be obviously superior to and
CD system so I should go to my local hi-fi shop and hear one.


If he knows this, he can specify a system that meets his criteria. If 'any'
will then he should find this easy enough if he has any clue. :-)

I would love to do this and be able to go back and say, I did that and
it still sounded crap. Hence the original question.


If he won't specify a system, then you can't listen to what he specifies.
Hence his claims are void of any practical meaning. His claims are the
information theory equivalent of random noise. This can be irritating when
you want a meaningful message, but you won't get far by trying to listen to
random noise and 'read meanings' into it. :-)

Life is too short. Ignore him and enjoy the music. Spend your money on more
music - LP or CD or DVD or whatever you prefer. :-)

Slainte,

Jim

--
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Audio Misc http://www.st-and.demon.co.uk/AudioMisc/index.html
Armstrong Audio http://www.st-and.demon.co.uk/Audio/armstrong.html
Barbirolli Soc. http://www.st-and.demon.co.uk/JBSoc/JBSoc.html

ruffrecords September 11th 04 02:39 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
Stewart Pinkerton wrote:
On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 22:03:49 +0100, ruffrecords
wrote:


Stewart Pinkerton wrote:
snip

For the OP's information, it's on my page at
http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/
and he's welcome to drop in any time for a listen, in much better
surroundings than he'll find in a hi-fi shop!


If you are not too far away I just moght take you up on that. I am in
North Norfolk near Cromer. Whereabouts are you?



A small village called Rempstone, on the A60 between Loughborough and
Nottingham.


Not too far away. I went to Notty Uni and my mother's family all live
around there so it is not unfamiliar territory. I'll get back to you.

Cheers

Ian

ruffrecords September 11th 04 02:42 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
Stewart Pinkerton wrote:
On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 21:47:49 +0100, ruffrecords
wrote:


Neil Jones wrote:

Jim Lesurf wrote:


In article , ruffrecords
wrote:




Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD. He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5
to 10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear waht I have been missing, so
that's waht I intend to do.

If he knows this, he presumably knows what system he heard, and where
he heard it. So I'd say it was up to him to say where you can listen
to this system he rates so highly. OTOH If his opinion is just a
generalisation, and he can't give you an example you can actually
listen to, then judge his opinion on that basis. :-)


Before you even get to this point you probably need to narrow down
exactly what he means by 'better'.

Neil



I don't want to repeat the entire argument but this guy lives in Miami
and claims to have a $73,000 turtable and similarly expensive other
components. Despite that, he argues that any vinyl based system in
the $5K to $10K range will 'blow away' any CD system of any kind and
that the differences will be so noticeable as to be obvious.



That would be the Rockport Sirius III. I've heard it, set up by the
designer himself, and with a £5,000 Clearaudio Insider cartridge, and
it still suffers all the problems due to the records it plays. Of
course, if I'd spent that much, I too would probably argue that it
'blows CD away'. However, back here in the real world, it just ain't
so, if the sound of the master tape is what you're after.


As to 'better' as you might expect this has been debated at length.
In summary it comes down to instruments sounding more like the real
thing, and of course he claims extensive and regular exposure to what
the real thing sounds like.



So do I, and he's talking crap.


He further claims that tremendous technological advances have been
made in vinyl reproduction technology in the last 30 years so mit now
sounds better than any of us old lags would have remembered hearing
back in its heyday in the 70's.



Bull****, the *records* have not changed at all.


Oh, and by the way, you can only achieve this incredible level of
quality by playing one of a few direct to disk records still in
circulation and of which any really decent hi-fi shop will have a few.



I have about fifteen, by Sheffield, Crystal Clear, Discwasher and RCA,
and they are only *marginally* superior to a good conventional
pressing. They are also noticeably inferior to a good CD, and *vastly*
inferior to a top-class CD such as any of the JVC XRCD range, of which
I have 32.


Thanks for that Stewart, that is all *very* useful ammo for the future.

Ian

ruffrecords September 11th 04 02:44 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
Stewart Pinkerton wrote:
On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 21:54:01 +0100, ruffrecords
wrote:


Jim Lesurf wrote:

In article , ruffrecords
wrote:




Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD. He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5 to
10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear waht I have been missing, so
that's waht I intend to do.


If he knows this, he presumably knows what system he heard, and where he
heard it. So I'd say it was up to him to say where you can listen to this
system he rates so highly. OTOH If his opinion is just a generalisation,
and he can't give you an example you can actually listen to, then judge his
opinion on that basis. :-)


Unfortunately he lives in Miami and refuses to let me visit him to
hear his sytem.



How convenient. He has of course at least posted a picture of this
system, to prove its existence?


No. I asked him too and he refused point blank.

Ian

ruffrecords September 11th 04 02:45 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
Stewart Pinkerton wrote:
On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 22:43:53 +0100, ruffrecords
wrote:


Dersu wrote:

"ruffrecords" wrote in message
...


Unfortunately he lives in Miami and refuses to let me visit him to hear
his sytem.


As I mentioned eleswhere he says he


has a $73,000 turntable and the rest of his sytem is of similar cost and
he reckons you can definitely hear how much better his sytem is than a 5
to 10K one.


Sounds to me like someone is having his plonker pulled by an aspiring Grand
Master.



Indeed - it also seems doubtful that this fabled system actually
exists, since he refuses to be visited and won't supply pictures!



Not just me but an entire yahoo group.



Which group is that?


reel2reel

Ian

Mike Gilmour September 11th 04 05:06 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 

"ruffrecords" wrote in message
...
Arny Krueger wrote:
"ruffrecords" wrote in message



Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD.



This is a well-known scam. You're supposed to believe him and pay
1,000's and 1,000's on a fruitless search for the holy grail of a vinyl
playback system that actually sounds better than the audio section of a
good $50US DVD player.


Hopefully I am a tad smater than that - hence my desire to listen to a
system localy.


He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5
to 10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear what I have been missing, so
that's what I intend to do.



Only if your time is not worth very much to you...


Well, I am retired, I do have an open mind and it is a long time since I
heard a so called high end system.

Ian


Ian,

As its a long time since you've heard a high end system and (if you have)
plenty of time being retired then I'd suggest you don't rush into a
purchase. Don't just visit 'a' hi-end shop..... Listen to as many high end
systems as you can of both retailers and private systems to get some idea of
what a good high end system can sound like. Remember most owners think
their system are the bees knees...some are and some are not! I know I was 12
years in the business. Include your listening room into the equation and be
sure to get lengthy home dems and don't be railroaded into anything if its
not what you want (some dealers in mind here ;-)
Happy hunting.

Mike



ruffrecords September 11th 04 06:50 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , ruffrecords
wrote:

Dersu wrote:




Not just me but an entire yahoo group. Lot's of us have argued with
him but he has that annoying habit of passing off his opinions as fact.
The fact that his total system cost around $250,000 makes it for
anyone else to say 'I heard one of those and it sucks'



So try "Well since you are describing a system without offerring any way to
test your claims, we can't be bothered to take you seriously." Then simply
ignore any assertions he makes until such time as he offers to back them up
in a way you can use to test his claims. Trolls eventually starve if left
alone. :-)

After pressing him to let me go listen to his system he said there was
no need and any 5 to 10K vinyl system would be obviously superior to and
CD system so I should go to my local hi-fi shop and hear one.



If he knows this, he can specify a system that meets his criteria. If 'any'
will then he should find this easy enough if he has any clue. :-)


I would love to do this and be able to go back and say, I did that and
it still sounded crap. Hence the original question.



If he won't specify a system, then you can't listen to what he specifies.
Hence his claims are void of any practical meaning. His claims are the
information theory equivalent of random noise. This can be irritating when
you want a meaningful message, but you won't get far by trying to listen to
random noise and 'read meanings' into it. :-)

Life is too short. Ignore him and enjoy the music. Spend your money on more
music - LP or CD or DVD or whatever you prefer. :-)

Slainte,

Jim


I agree with all you say. The silly thing is the yahoo group
concerned is for reel to reel tape recorder enthusiasts. Occasionaly
someone talks about transfering vinyl to tape and that's the cue for
this guy to pop up and say vinyl is best. On a group with about 1000
members he's bound to get someone who'll disagree and a whole bunch of
bandwidth gets wasted for a few days and even it drives away a few
members. This happens perhpas every three months or so. His argument
is always the same - go listen to a high end vinyl system and see the
error of your ways. As we are all reel to reel enthusiasts no-one has
a high end vinyl system so he is fairly safe. As with many such people
he states opinions as if they were facts and as none of us has heard a
high vinyl system its hard to just say he is talking crap.

So all I want to do is go listen to a good 5 to 10K vinyl system so
that next time I can say he is talking crap. Anyway, it would be nice
to know just what the state of the art vinyl sounds like for my own
personal edification.

Ian

ruffrecords September 11th 04 09:39 PM

Hi end vinyl system
 
Mike Gilmour wrote:
"ruffrecords" wrote in message
...

Arny Krueger wrote:

"ruffrecords" wrote in message




Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD.


This is a well-known scam. You're supposed to believe him and pay
1,000's and 1,000's on a fruitless search for the holy grail of a vinyl
playback system that actually sounds better than the audio section of a
good $50US DVD player.


Hopefully I am a tad smater than that - hence my desire to listen to a
system localy.


He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5
to 10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear what I have been missing, so
that's what I intend to do.


Only if your time is not worth very much to you...


Well, I am retired, I do have an open mind and it is a long time since I
heard a so called high end system.

Ian



Ian,

As its a long time since you've heard a high end system and (if you have)
plenty of time being retired then I'd suggest you don't rush into a
purchase. Don't just visit 'a' hi-end shop..... Listen to as many high end
systems as you can of both retailers and private systems to get some idea of
what a good high end system can sound like.


That's exactly what I planned to do. I mainly just want to listen to a
few to see if there is any basis at all to his claims. Only if it
really is absolutely astonishingly better than anything else will I
consider a purchase.

IAn

Rob September 12th 04 08:41 AM

Hi end vinyl system
 

"Mike Gilmour" wrote in message
...
:
: "ruffrecords" wrote in message
: ...
: Arny Krueger wrote:
: "ruffrecords" wrote in message
:
:
:
: Already am. Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
: reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
: CD.
:
:
: This is a well-known scam. You're supposed to believe him and pay
: 1,000's and 1,000's on a fruitless search for the holy grail of a vinyl
: playback system that actually sounds better than the audio section of a
: good $50US DVD player.
:
: Hopefully I am a tad smater than that - hence my desire to listen to a
: system localy.
:
:
: He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5
: to 10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear what I have been missing, so
: that's what I intend to do.
:
:
: Only if your time is not worth very much to you...
:
:
: Well, I am retired, I do have an open mind and it is a long time since I
: heard a so called high end system.
:
: Ian
:
: Ian,
:
: As its a long time since you've heard a high end system and (if you have)
: plenty of time being retired then I'd suggest you don't rush into a
: purchase. Don't just visit 'a' hi-end shop..... Listen to as many high end
: systems as you can of both retailers and private systems to get some idea
of
: what a good high end system can sound like. Remember most owners think
: their system are the bees knees...some are and some are not! I know I was
12
: years in the business. Include your listening room into the equation and
be
: sure to get lengthy home dems and don't be railroaded into anything if its
: not what you want (some dealers in mind here ;-)
: Happy hunting.
:
: Mike
:
I agree with all of this, and I'd add that you're getting in to serious
dimishing returns territory over £500 for a turntable/arm/cart. To add some
fuel to the underlying challenge, I transferred some vinyl to (Revox) r2r
years ago and the results were stunning, I really couldn't tell the
difference. I find LP-CD transfers pretty good too.

Rob



Rob September 12th 04 08:56 AM

Hi end vinyl system
 

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
ruffrecords wrote:
Having a disagreement with a guy on another group who
reckons hi end vinyl sounds way better - I mean obviously better than
CD. He suggested I should visit a hi-end hi-fi shop and listen to 5
to 10 grands worth of vinyl kit to hear waht I have been missing, so
that's waht I intend to do.


Standard argument from someone who doesn't know what they're on about -
find a more expensive xxxx


Well, those who spend silly money rationalise their decision on the back of
various technicist babble. That and weird kudos and sense-of-well-being
motivators.

No vinyl system can ever sound as good as CD - as a principle.


Nonsense - there is no *universal* principle of 'sounds as good'

Certain
records may sound 'better' than certain CDs, but that's for different
reasons.

Yes

There's an easy test for this. Transfer - using the best possible
equipment - an LP to CD. Ask the golden eared boys to tell which is which
in a blind test. They won't be able to. And I'll put serious money up for
a bet if someone wants to try. But they'll have to equal it.

I think a lot of people will tell the difference. IME acoustic instruments
and voice sound noticeably different. As to whether one is better than the
other, I don't think there's any answer to that. I'm not that concerned
about proving this to you, so hold on to your money Dave :-).

Do the same in reverse. Much more difficult, of course. But it can be
done. Anyone with quarter decent hearing will tell the difference.

As above
--

Rob



Dave Plowman (News) September 12th 04 10:13 AM

Hi end vinyl system
 
In article ,
Rob wrote:
To add some fuel to the underlying challenge, I transferred some vinyl
to (Revox) r2r years ago and the results were stunning, I really
couldn't tell the difference. I find LP-CD transfers pretty good too.


Some years ago, most LPs were mastered on 1/4" tape - and perhaps another
generation of multitrack before that. So the main degradation to the
'studio' signal that tape introduces had already occurred.

If you transfer a direct cut or digitally mastered LP to 1/4", you're
likely to hear the difference more readily.

--
*If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman (News) September 12th 04 10:18 AM

Hi end vinyl system
 
In article ,
Rob wrote:
No vinyl system can ever sound as good as CD - as a principle.


Nonsense - there is no *universal* principle of 'sounds as good'


There is to some - and that includes me. That is that the recording should
sound as close to the original as possible. And neither LP or analogue
tape comes near good digital in this respect.

You may well like the degradation that LP or tape introduces. That's your
choice. Many prefer their widescreen TV to distort 4:3 pictures to fill
the screen too. And consider that 'better' ;-)

--
*Marriage changes passion - suddenly you're in bed with a relative*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Arny Krueger September 12th 04 10:36 AM

Hi end vinyl system
 
"ruffrecords" wrote in message


I don't want to repeat the entire argument but this guy lives in Miami
and claims to have a $73,000 turtable and similarly expensive other
components.


More money than brains...

Despite that, he argues that any vinyl based system in
the $5K to $10K range will 'blow away' any CD system of any kind and
that the differences will be so noticeable as to be obvious.


The difference will be obvious. For reference purposes, the vinyl system is
the one with tics, pops, and other forms of audible noise and distortion.
The good CD system is the one that provides an audibly perfect replica of
the signal that was recorded.

As to 'better' as you might expect this has been debated at length.


Some people are addicted to the audible noise and distortion that is
inherent in the vinyl format.

In summary it comes down to instruments sounding more like the real
thing, and of course he claims extensive and regular exposure to what
the real thing sounds like.


That's why 99% sales of new recordings are CDs, not LPs. They sound less
like music than LPs.

He further claims that tremendous technological advances have been
made in vinyl reproduction technology in the last 30 years so mit now
sounds better than any of us old lags would have remembered hearing
back in its heyday in the 70's.


Actually, very little has changed. The last major technological change in
vinyl production was Direct Metal Mastering, and by most accounts, it was
not an unqualified improvement. The last major technological change in vinyl
playback was either laser tracking or digital denoising, and by most
accounts they are not unqualified improvements, either.

Oh, and by the way, you can only achieve this incredible level of
quality by playing one of a few direct to disk records still in
circulation and of which any really decent hi-fi shop will have a few.


Direct-to-disk was an improvement because it eliminated the tape
record/playback cycle which is in fact not sonically transparent. However,
digital recording and production can provide identical benefits and greatly
ease the production process.



Mike Gilmour September 12th 04 11:07 AM

Hi end vinyl system
 

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
...
"ruffrecords" wrote in message


Clip...

That's why 99% sales of new recordings are CDs, not LPs. They sound less
like music than LPs.


Freudian slip perhaps :-)




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