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Vinyl Facts


Gene C

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Unique or interesting information on the subject of Vinyl you would like to share.
 
 
Sales of Vinyl records have been on the rise since 1993! But you knew that already. emwink.gif
 
Despite millions of people world wide believing that vinyl records are a dying medium, record sales are actually on the rise according to statistics shared with Digital Music News. As it turns out, more people prefer to own a vinyl record than simply downloading an album online by paying for it, or even pirating it.
 

Most of the albums being purchased can be found at Indie music festivals and retailers, with a heavy focus on people wanting to buy rock music. In fact, in  2012 alone, over 4.6 million vinyl records were purchased and sold in the United States alone. According to the statistics provided, vinyl records have gone up a total of 17.7% since 2011! Record sales were only around 0.3 million in 1993!


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I think part of the mystic experience of the vinyl is the artwork of the album covers and the pictorials etc that came in them as well as the stories and background information that was included. It was something about it's size and information that the cd's couldn't compete with.
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Unique or interesting information on the subject of Vinyl you would like to share.
 
 
Sales of Vinyl records have been on the rise since 1993! But you knew that already. emwink.gif
 
Despite millions of people world wide believing that vinyl records are a dying medium, record sales are actually on the rise according to statistics shared with Digital Music News. As it turns out, more people prefer to own a vinyl record than simply downloading an album online by paying for it, or even pirating it.
 

Most of the albums being purchased can be found at Indie music festivals and retailers, with a heavy focus on people wanting to buy rock music. In fact, in  2012 alone, over 4.6 million vinyl records were purchased and sold in the United States alone. According to the statistics provided, vinyl records have gone up a total of 17.7% since 2011! Record sales were only around 0.3 million in 1993!

This is good and bad.  I started getting into vinyl about 6 years ago, and even I am noticing quite an increase in asking price for used vinyl.
 
Seems like every garage sale I go to says, "Oh, I hear vinyl is back, and tries to get $5 for a Lawrence Welk.
 
I do, however, like how new music is being released on vinyl (with varying quality of course), and a lot of great records that are impossible to find in good shape are getting audiophile represses (although pricing is borderlining on driving the common man to bankruptcy)
 
So in my mind...good and bad, but definitely more good. 
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I think part of the mystic experience of the vinyl is the artwork of the album covers and the pictorials etc that came in them as well as the stories and background information that was included. It was something about it's size and information that the cd's couldn't compete with.
I agree with this.
 
I was a big sports-card collector in the 90's and something about the posession and collecting of a physical medium just calls to me.  And the good album art look spectacular in jumbo size emteeth.gif 

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I think I've figured out the vinyl phenomenon: no other aspect of the sound reproduction process lends itself so readily to tweaking! :)
 
Look at the amazing turntables Perry and others have built, the debates over VTA and other adjustments, the delicate nature and high maintenance of the medium, the special equalization required, and the visible mechanical operation of the player. It's a dream-come-true for the audiophile who wants to constantly try to improve their setup!
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Birth of the gramophone

In 1877, over a century before the dawn of digital music recording, Thomas Edison discovered that by attaching a needle to the diaphragm of a telephone receiver, a visual representation of the sound could be drawn when the needle vibrated along a cylinder covered in tinfoil. By attaching a horn and rotating the cylinder by hand, the sound could then be reproduced. Edison put his work on the phonograph on hiatus while he focused on electricity. In the meantime, Emile Berliner stepped in to create a more practical machine that used flat black discs, but could only play and not record. This was the gramophone and its records could be mass-produced via Berliner’s Gramophone Company. The basic format for sound recording remained the same up until the Eighties, when cassette tapes became standard.

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I just heard a news report from Germany, where the sales of record albums has trippled and there are business folks looking high and low (Old Barns, wharehouses, ect) for all the old pressing equipment. It was explained as a "ZEN" thing for the younger set.
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In 1930, RCA Victor launched the first commercially-available vinyl long-playing record, marketed as "Program Transcription" discs. These revolutionary discs were designed for playback at 33⅓ rpm and pressed on a 12" diameter flexible plastic disc. In Roland Gelatt's book The Fabulous Phonograph, the author notes that RCA Victor's early introduction of a long-play disc was a commercial failure for several reasons including the lack of affordable, reliable consumer playback equipment and consumer wariness during the Great Depression. A good outline of this unsuccessful product launch can be found at the following

site.

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I was in Best Buy this weekend (don't ask), and I saw they had *two* new models of turntables out on the showroom. I don't recall the brands, but they were both around $100. I suppose they'd be useful for making pottery... One had an iPod dock, intended so the user could transfer all their vinyl albums to their handheld device. Now, when you think about it, an iPod dock on a turntable is a pretty weird thing. Or did I just happen to miss the combination "wire recorder/LaserDisk player" when it came out? ;)
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I was in Best Buy this weekend (don't ask), and I saw they had *two* new models of turntables out on the showroom. I don't recall the brands, but they were both around $100. I suppose they'd be useful for making pottery... One had an iPod dock, intended so the user could transfer all their vinyl albums to their handheld device. Now, when you think about it, an iPod dock on a turntable is a pretty weird thing. Or did I just happen to miss the combination "wire recorder/LaserDisk player" when it came out? ;)

Yes, those come with USB connections for transferring vinyl to your PC. msp_thumbdn.gif  Not sure how good that's going to sound considering most people have twice what that TT is worth tied up into their cart. emdgust.gif happy0009.gif
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We have a drug store up here in Canuckistan, its called "London Drugs".
Its a big chain country wide of large...think "Super sized"....stores.
They carry a fair size collection of VINYL and speakers and AVS gear.
They also carry new DUAL turntables, along with a few other cheap models.
 
I think its indicative of the resurgence of vinyl albums when a store like this
dedicates floor space.........very cool. 
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Dual is still in business? They vanished here from the US decades ago as far as I know.
 
I assumed they were still the same German company making them...??
But maybe not....
 
I've looked at them at the store....they are "shiny"!!
They come with a cheap AT cartridge sooooooo.....I'll take a better look at them
next time I'm at the store......doubt their worth the $3-500 price tag. 

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Dual is still in business? They vanished here from the US decades ago as far as I know.

 
I still have the 1229Q tt from back in the day.  Always played nicely, but now it is having hiccups.  Parts are no longer available.  everything looks ok on it but it doesn't come up to speed.  there is a lever under it that if you put some slight pressure on it it will come up to speed.  Something needs adjusting or there is a weak spring.  I decided to get a technics so haven't spent any time on it.  I may in the future but for now it can sit idle.  It has a shure V cartridge on it.
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...I still have the 1229Q tt from back in the day.  Always played nicely, but now it is having hiccups.  Parts are no longer available.  everything looks ok on it but it doesn't come up to speed.  there is a lever under it that if you put some slight pressure on it it will come up to speed.  Something needs adjusting or there is a weak spring.
Probably needs a new belt Dano. Should be pretty easy to replace.

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...I still have the 1229Q tt from back in the day.  Always played nicely, but now it is having hiccups.  Parts are no longer available.  everything looks ok on it but it doesn't come up to speed.  there is a lever under it that if you put some slight pressure on it it will come up to speed.  Something needs adjusting or there is a weak spring.
Probably needs a new belt Dano. Should be pretty easy to replace.

 Not sure it's a belt drive, the platter rides up against a rubber wheel If i put pressure on the lever that moves the rubber wheel against the platter it turns just fine.  I dunno thanks for the info though

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...I still have the 1229Q tt from back in the day.  Always played nicely, but now it is having hiccups.  Parts are no longer available.  everything looks ok on it but it doesn't come up to speed.  there is a lever under it that if you put some slight pressure on it it will come up to speed.  Something needs adjusting or there is a weak spring.
Probably needs a new belt Dano. Should be pretty easy to replace.

 Not sure it's a belt drive, the platter rides up against a rubber wheel If i put pressure on the lever that moves the rubber wheel against the platter it turns just fine.  I dunno thanks for the info though

You are correct Dan. I should have done my homework. emembarrassed.gif
 
The 1229Q uses a dual pole motor to drive an elastomer-covered idler wheel.
Over time the elastomer can dry out or acquire a glaze which causes slippage.
Try cleaning the idler wheel with solvent. Isopropyl alcohol should do the trick.
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...I still have the 1229Q tt from back in the day.  Always played nicely, but now it is having hiccups.  Parts are no longer available.  everything looks ok on it but it doesn't come up to speed.  there is a lever under it that if you put some slight pressure on it it will come up to speed.  Something needs adjusting or there is a weak spring.
Probably needs a new belt Dano. Should be pretty easy to replace.

 Not sure it's a belt drive, the platter rides up against a rubber wheel If i put pressure on the lever that moves the rubber wheel against the platter it turns just fine.  I dunno thanks for the info though

You are correct Dan. I should have done my homework. emembarrassed.gif
 
The 1229Q uses a dual pole motor to drive an elastomer-covered idler wheel.
Over time the elastomer can dry out or acquire a glaze which causes slippage.
Try cleaning the idler wheel with solvent. Isopropyl alcohol should do the trick.
Been there tried that Dom, even lightly ran emory over it so as to deglaze.  Need to put more tention on lever that moves the wheel against the platter.  just light pressure and it does fine.  Haven't really climed inside to have a look though eusa_think.gif   I know, I know, it could get cramped in there happy0009.gif
 
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A little MFSL History...
 
In November 1999 MFSL was forced to close its doors after it was unable to collect a large sum of money and product upon the bankruptcy of M.S. Distributing, one of its biggest distributors. At this time many unsold items were liquidated as cut-out items through discounters. At the same time other dealers also charged premium prices on the collectors market for the most rare and highly acclaimed titles. In 2001 the company's assets were acquired by the audiophile products company Music Direct, of Chicago, operated by Jim Davis. Music Direct now owns rights to the technology used in the proprietary mastering chain and all intellectual property owned by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab.
 
Herbert A. Belkin died in 2001 of a heart-attack at age 62. Mobile Fidelity has continued to produce Super Audio CDs, GAIN 2 Ultra Analog Limited Edition vinyl, Ultradisc II Gold CDs and Ultradisc CD-Rs since the company was re-established.
 
 
 
After listening tests and technical evaluations, Mobile Fidelity engineers decided to adopt the Super Audio CD over the DVD-Audio disc as a high resolution digital format. As with some other audiophile labels (such as Analogue Productions), Mobile Fidelity is of the opinion that Direct Stream Digital is sonically superior to Pulse-Code Modulation audio. On the label's Hybrid SACD releases, the SACD layer is a direct DSD recording of the analog master tape, while the CD layer is a digital down conversion of the DSD, with Super Bit Mapping applied. Post 2001 CD-only are sourced from DSD, but omit the SACD layer.
 

Since 1998, Mobile Fidelity has been using Studer A-80  ¼ inch tape machine, which was custom modified by audio designer Tim de Paravicini. The deck features custom high bandwidth playback heads and custom playback electronics. This machine exhibits frequency response, which is essentially flat from 10 Hz-44 kHz. Using this tape machine and a record cutting system (also designed by Pravicini), Mobile Fidelity engineers accidentally cut a 122 kHz tape bias tone onto a record lacquer. Mobile Fidelity has revisited several albums with their new mastering chain that were previously released on the old UltraDisc 2 system. Some listeners have noted that the new mastering chain exhibits a 'tighter' sound, particularly in the bass frequencies.

 
 
 Original Wikipedia link 
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...I still have the 1229Q tt from back in the day.  Always played nicely, but now it is having hiccups.  Parts are no longer available.  everything looks ok on it but it doesn't come up to speed.  there is a lever under it that if you put some slight pressure on it it will come up to speed.  Something needs adjusting or there is a weak spring.
Probably needs a new belt Dano. Should be pretty easy to replace.

 
 
1229s do not have belts.... They're "idler" drive tables....
 
My bet (and I've owned many of these) is that it merely needs cleaned and re-lubed...
 
When the oil and grease that was originally used when they were built gets old and dried out it gets stiff and parts won't want to move freely...  
 
The best way is to take it apart and clean with alcohol and then relube.... Some spots want 30wt motor oil and some spots grease (I like white lithium)...
 
 
In my opinion it's worth it.... They're quite nice tables  

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Does it matter how thick a vinyl record is?
 
Most new albums, particularly those released by independent labels, will be very well made and sound great on even a mediocre stereo system. A lot of new records will have some sticker announcing that it’s on “180 gram” vinyl, and that’s a good thing, especially if you’re an audiophile. The thicker, heavier vinyl will degrade more slowly than a thinner pressing and the records will stand up to repeat play a little better. That said, all vinyl degrades a tiny bit every time you play it. That’s just the way it is.
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Does it matter how thick a vinyl record is?
 
Most new albums, particularly those released by independent labels, will be very well made and sound great on even a mediocre stereo system. A lot of new records will have some sticker announcing that it’s on “180 gram” vinyl, and that’s a good thing, especially if you’re an audiophile. The thicker, heavier vinyl will degrade more slowly than a thinner pressing and the records will stand up to repeat play a little better. That said, all vinyl degrades a tiny bit every time you play it. That’s just the way it is.

 

Yea that sucks, it's not like a cd where there is no physical contact, however; I would think the better your stylus is the less wear affect it will have as with an inferior stylus.eusa_think.gif
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