Vinyl Thread • Page 272

Where are you buying from?

 

Record labels, merch companies, etc. None have been Amazon or private purchases

 

Ahhhh okay, I assume it’s the handling of the usps then. I’d be furious if that happened to me

 

Haven’t experienced that yet but that reminds me of when my mom got me Phantom on the Horizon by The Fall of Troy for Christmas in high school. She said the mailman put the record in the mailbox and snapped it clean in half so she had to order a replacement. I’m now anxious the Caspian records I just ordered will be damaged.

 

I just received 5 in the mail but honestly, I never open them. I mean, I will eventually, but I still have plenty of vinyl on my shelves that have been sitting there for years in the original wrapped Plastic.

 

I’m the same way.

 

For the Mercyful fate fans....

Amazon has pre orders up for the first EP, Melissa, and Don’t Break the Oath limited color vinyl reissues. EP is $20.99 and the albums are $23.99

 

I haven't had issues with record shipments lately. I've been buying a lot from Discogs to fill my own boredom as well as support independent sellers or record stores who moved their storefronts to Discogs. I can say, however, that I'm done with buying records from Amazon... I know everyone's milage must vary, but I CONSISTENTLY get very warped records from them. Some have been so bad I couldn't even get the needle to stay in the groove of the first couple songs.

During the COVID quarantine, I bought Radiohead's Hail To The Thief from Amazon; as they had the best price on it. The packaging was fine, so I know the damage wasn't from USPS handling. But the jacket had a huge crease in it and both discs were horribly warped. I'm guessing it probably has to do with the haphazard way records are stored in their warehouses + the handling of their unfairly overworked employees. Regardless, I'm committed to buying records elsewhere from now on. I'd rather wait a few more days and support an individual or independent seller than have the instant gratification when half the time, I have to send it back for a replacement anyway.

 

The only records I've ever received significantly damaged have been from Amazon. My copy of Murder By Death's Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon was shipped in a very thin cardboard mailer and was basically demolished when it arrived. It may have been partially due to shipping, but the mailer was absolute garbage. Had a similar experience when I ordered The Illusion of Safety.

 

What a shame to waste a MBD record!

 

Heart for a Hero: Send a Heart Shaped vinyl with Custom Song and Center label to the Heroes in Your life

 

That’s actually pretty cool. I’d probably just be sending it to myself though lmao

 

I need a little help if anyone is willing. I’m trying to upgrade from my crappy built-in speaker player to something better (but still on a budget).

So for the turntable I’m getting the U-Turn basic with the cue lever.

I’m thinking the Pyle Turntable Preamp.

For the amp, I’m looking at this Fosi Audio one.

And I was planning on getting these Dayton bookshelf speakers because they were under $50 and had great reviews, but they’re sold out now so I don’t know what I’ll do there.

Are these brands okay for the price? Am I missing anything crucial? And does anyone have speaker suggestions that won’t break the bank? I know everything here is on the cheap side but I really can’t drop a ton of money right now (or ever lmao).

 

I don't know how high you want to go budget-wise, but I cannot recommend these ELAC Debut 2.0 BB6.2 Bookshelves enough! They are $244 speakers that sound like $1000! The brand name is wholly unexciting, so I had my reservations. But the guy who recommended them said these ELAC speakers are designed by the guy who built all of the JBL speakers in their 70's & 80's prime. So, they had the right audio heritage to back them up. I gave them a shot and I've had so many people comment on how this systems sounds (even people that don't normally talk about stuff like that)! So, that could be one speaker option.

People seem to love the U-Turn turntables. So, I think that's a pretty good choice. Plus, other than the accuracy of the motor, the thing that matters most in the TT is the cartridge anyway. Which you can always change and upgrade later if you want.

The last thing I thought worth mentioning was considering tracking down a used stereo receiver from the 70's or 80's instead of the separate preamp and a modern, digital amp. All the gear from that era was much more purposefully built for music and would contain all analog circuits and electronics. IMO, for vinyl it just sounds warmer and better than modern general purpose amps. This is the receiver I have connected to those ELAC speakers. But that is just one example... any of these "silver-face" receivers from Harmon Kardon / Marantz / Pioneer / etc sound great! It seems like there's always someone selling these somewhere near me.... Craigslist, eBay, Facebook....

I realize its possible none of these suggestions may fit into your budget, but I think for the price, this kind of set up sounds 3-4x better than what it actually costs.

 

I’ll look into those! The speakers are a little high for me right now, but I’ll look around the local sellers for a receiver.

 

Anyone here have experience with Klipsch speakers? Had my eye on the RP-280F for a while and reviews seem positive.

 

Klipsch are VERY subjective. They all use variations of their proprietary horn tweeter system. So, good or bad, very few other speakers sound like them! Its probably a little harder right now, but I would suggest hearing them in person before buying.

My personal opinion is that they are all very well built, can handle lots of power and can be played real loud! I think the tweeter system misses some of the detail and accuracy that I've heard in other speakers. If detail is important, you may want to look at similarly priced Polk or Infinity models.

 

Great info, thanks!

Edit: Out of curiosity, what would be your top recommendation to check out in that price range (1kish a pair).

 

Sorry for the wrinkled bed sheets, but I’m super happy to finally get this completed

 

That's one great collection. bums me out I've never grabbed any of these over the years.

 

Thanks! OCL was the only one I got in real time. The rest I just spent the last several months watching deals and kind of overpaying sometimes lmao

 

I've got Gospel I could part with.

Or you can get it here:

Fireworks - Gospel Vinyl

To be honest, I don't even remember what variant I have--that's how long it has been since I've played it. I want to say red but it's a complete shot in the dark.

 

gospel on red was one of the first records I ever bought, it was at hot topic lol

 

The one by my house used to have some crazy sales. I think I picked it up for 5 bucks or something.

 

so temping lol

if Nearer My God is restocked, I'll probably grab Gospel and Oh Common Life with it.