![]() I have about 2000 vinyl discs of which I've taken pretty fine care, and only the perfect and rarely played ones sound truly fabulous. Then there's embrittlement, which is a function of both age and work hardening from the bounce of the stylus in the groove. The bottom line is that those records simply won't sound like they used to, and high res through expensive processors can't put Humpty together again. ![]() This is made worse by any foreign material (like dust) in the groove, and very few people clean their records thoroughly before each trip to the TT (especially those in their youth). Vinyl also wears, and a stylus can't help but take a little tiny bit of surface material with it over years of play. As nothing is 100% elastic, the contours of the groove walls are subtly altered over time by inelastic deformation. Vinyl is elastic, i.e. it deforms under pressure and resumes its prior shape when the pressure is removed. Both playing and aging vinyl will alter its properties in ways that degrade fidelity to the recorded signal. It's hard to believe that those " old LPs from my youth" are pristine, unworn, and untouched by the ravages of time and storage conditions. As a musician, I've owned and used dozens of ADC boxes over the years, and the basic 2x2 USB interfaces from most music industry leaders are excellent units that will do everything you need and more for a fraction of the cost of some of the devices recommended above. With all due respect to those who've suggested "better" stuff, you might find my approach to have some merit for you. (I have a Mac Mini front end with 3500 CDs ripped plus Tidal as my digital source, feeding the DSD.) Ultimately, my goal is to digitize some existing LPs, and probably acquire some select titles in the future (primarily where mastering is clearly better on the vinyl vs digital release, or perhaps a few personal favorites that have very nice physical packaging to enjoy), and listen to this music from my digital setup instead of directly from vinyl. ![]() The other option I have earmarked as a baseline in a 2 piece setup is a high quality phono stage, plus the Korg DS-DAC-10R. The NPC of course is discontinued but a few are still available at the closeout pricing or occasionally pop up on secondary markets. I've had their DirectStream DAC for a few years now and it's been fantastic. Right now my baseline pick is a PS Audio Nuwave Phono Converter. So I'm pretty open on options in terms of a one or two piece solution. I also don't have a phono stage really commensurate with the Classic - I'm using an Emotiva XPS-1 which I've had for a few years. I've recently picked up a VPI Classic TT with Ortofon Bronze cartridge, but don't have any kind of ADC capability as of yet. I have some old LPs from my youth that I'm looking to convert to digital.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |