Buzz Out Loud Lounge forum: How many of us still listen to Vinyl Records

I have a large collection, old and new, enjoy listening to them when I can. MP3's are great for storage and portability, but I love my Vinyle for it's classic nature, durability and enduring versatility. It's music, just music, no plugh-ins required, no attached bots, no file corruption, just good oldfashoned, breakable,scratchable records.

I record each album side to hard drive without any filtering. I then edit each side using Magix Audio Cleaning Lab (Magix Computer Products Int. Corp. Germany). It isn't perfect but it does a better job of catching most clicks/pops without degrading audio quality than anything else I've tried. I select filters and levels manually based on the condition of the record, but the automatic "wizard" does a decent job. The "declicker" and "decrackler" eliminate most clicks and pops. Setting them too high may also affect certain percussion sounds, so be careful not to use more than you must. Using the "denoiser", background hiss/hum can be eliminated by sampling a silent section (I use a short section from the space between tracks) which the program then applies to the entire recording. This not only eliminates what is already present in the recording, but also what noise, if any, was introduced by your system and connections to the computer. If you use the "denoiser" this way, you don't need to use the "dehisser" which eliminates a preset amount of tape hiss from the recording. If you want to "sweeten" the treble response a little, use the brilliance enhancer in the Equalizer module. Too much will make the oboes and piccalos sound weird. For the perceptible scratches and pops that this program doesn't catch, I use Audacity (open source from Sourceforge.net) to redraw the wave form on short duration defects (say less than 1/100 sec). I haven't really found a way to deal with minor noises that last much longer without losing perceptible music as well. I also use Audacity to divide the album sides into individual tracks and adjust the overall volume level if necessary. Be sure to only cut a track at a "zero crossing" or you will introduce a small "pop" at the beginning and end of your tracks.

P.S. Before recording I clean the vinyl with warm tap water and dry with a microfiber cloth (always moving in the same direction as the grooves, NEVER across the grooves). This eliminates most static electricity from the disc as well as dust pops. I've never found an anti-static cleaning fluid that does a better job, and most leave residue when dry.

I totally agree, Magix Audio Cleaning lab is great for removing a LOT if unwanted sounds from recordings, I love the 'denoiser' and use it exactly the same way that you do, though sometimes I tone it down to make sure I retain some of the original ambience..
I made an online guide at: http://www.cassette2cd.co.uk/DIY/

I do wish I could listen to some of those old vinyl versions thou. The CD remasters they did of many of those old records and albums really weren't as good as the originals. Many old songs have never been converted to CDs, to bad we've lost a lot. So here we go again with a newer format HD or Blue Ray (Still pending). What will we loss this time? For those of you that weren't around then, you'll see. The world just isn't the same without those old songs, next will be your old songs. Sorry, some times new technology just isn't progress in some important small ways.

I just bought a new cartridge for my deck. I admit that I have digitalized some - to listen via portable mp3 at 320kbps (Try it)and wish I could find a better 78 deck to listen to some original Bird labels. I will listen to them until they no longer play. There is nothing like it, even the 320's.

Am a 73 year old mainstream jazz fan with a collection of close to 400 LPs and I try to listen as often as I can. It's the only music that I thoroughly enjoy, and could never afford to try to replace them with CDs. I have, however, bought an MP3 player and am in the process of transferring CDs and downloading old favorites where I can. However, since so much is out of print and/or unpopular, I still need to listen to my vinyl. Love it.

My dear friend, i must answer this question for you! You don't have a clue how many people, most older, 40-50 years, listen LP's. Just the fact that analog equipment is still most valuable in the Hi-Fi shops can answer your question. But, ther's a thing you may don't get! Just the real music lovers and people that have enough money buy such kind of equipment! It's not some cheap crap as MP3 or CD's! Take a round around and ask what people pay for a good LP, is many time valuable in money then cd's. It can cost up to 200 dollar if it's new for some numbers!
And old turntables, lamp amplifiers, stereo loudspeakers cost many 10.000$ my friend. Just ask a bit around!
Regards Zoran

Good morning, i am (54)fifty four years young! I have somewhere in the region of (280,000)two hundred an eighty thousand tunes.Records over a (100)hundred years old!,over a centaurion of music,from every part an age of this planet,since records began.Our lives are about music!,You, only get the systems(topofdapops tekno/television)version of what they want you to buy.Have you ever been to a TEKNIVAL, outside of the uk,that is any where with(100,000/200,000/300.000) one. two or three hundred thousand people,plus!!! Yeah well,i have a lot of commercial records as well,some of us do.Many of them i have/do not play,but my kids an many people of all ages still play them.I have a set of dex the other side of this (laptop)computer. this table is for electrix,computer,dex,twin tape amps.
This is how some of us actually live! I dont watch tv,nor listen to radios/ nor do i go to places that do not allow my children an or animals(pubs,clubs,bars).You have your version of how you wish to live your life,,we have ours.We live ours!!!,always. Be careful an have fun PaPARIAHTTZ

I have two crates of albums and 45s. The last turntable I bought in the late 80s was a linear arm turntable that of course acted up at the end of the warranty. The company held it for at least two months and sent it back claiming it worked for them; by then the warranty had expired. My brother was going to get both of us manual arm turntables, but at the time they were hard to find and expensive, and we both kind of forgot to pursue it further. Since I travel with my job, the crates are sitting in a "climate controlled" storage unit along with my stereo receiver, dual tape deck, speakers, box of my cassette tapes, VCR and two boxes of VHS tapes. The albums and 45s sat in my basement for about 3-4 years before the storage unit, so I have no idea how many are warped.

I got a turntable that connects to my computer, for Christmas, and it's a woderful thing. I get to listen to all my old albums. The software that came with it said that it would allow me to copy my albums to CD's, and that's true. What it won't let me do is record selected cuts off an album and burn them to a CD. Is there some software that will let me do that? I don't know about you guys but I don't like every cut on every album I own, ergo I don't want to burn every cut to a CD.

Thanks for your help.

Bill

I just started listening to vinyl again. It's been 15 years since I last listened to vinyl. Hooked up the old BSR, bought a new needle, broke the record stacker, other problems, yet it still plays. Wish I had the manual so I could understand the settings.

I never been much of a vinyl records listener. I'm a child of the 80s and grew up with audio tapes and walkmen. But if I wanted, I could listen to records today, since my mom's old record player ist still working. I also got an old Commodore 64, an Atari 5200 and an old Super 8 projector, which all work perfectly. I guess I can't get rid of the old electronic stuff for some weird nostalgic reason.