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My buddy got a turntable and stereo setup this year, so I think I might actually start paying some attention to vinyl--if only to aware him of cool things. As for myself, vinyl collecting is a Pandora's Box I try not to open.

Picked up a bunch of new records...











Also got David Bowie Blackstar and Tom Petty Full Moon Fever, but they haven't come in yet.



I'm really pissed... I passed on getting Incubus If Not Now When? when it was released, and now it's not easy to find. It goes for $60+ on the used market, when it actually pops up. I REALLY wanna get a copy, but I don't know if I should hold out for a repressing or cough up the dough next time one pops up on eBay.

I picked up some sweet records yesterday:





both of which are my first two to own by him...(I have heard and love both, so pumped to get these remasters)

and this one, which is just the latest addition to what is essentially my full set of his stuff (split across vinyl and CD):

I bought a 7" single that I just got in the mail. I say 7" and not "45" because it actually plays at 33RPM! That's not so weird to me because I have a 12" that plays at 45RPM. Each record has 4 tracks (2 songs per side).

Anyways, the 7" I just got is Incubus Talk Show On Mute.

https://www.discogs.com/Incubus-Talk-Sh ... se/1045141

Another weird this about this single...

Mis-labeled sleeve.

Despite listing the song "Hello" coming after "Vitamin" on side B, the record does not contain the former.

"Vitamin (Live in Osaka 2004)" takes up the entirety of the second side. It is an extended rendition of the song performed on the 2004 tour, which included a drum jam followed by an excerpt from "The Odyssey" known as "Everything in Ebb"

The centered isn't punched out either, so it doesn't require an adapter. This is definitely the most unique 7" that I own.

I saw luke's messages and miss him.
Would you guys bid on vinyl in the charity auction @ $5 start? Are these valuable?
I got ripped off on the Segata Sanshiro record, they kept the cover as their store folded - I can verify it's inner vinyl authenticity...

Anyone experiment with different cartridges and styli?

I bought my current table used, and it came with the typical Audio-Technica stylus, this one I think. Last year I decided that it was probably time to replace that stylus, being that it had unknown amount of play time since I bought it used and I used it quite a bit after I got it. But I decided to upgrade and got the AT95e. That's what I've been using for about a year now, so I'm pretty used to how it sounds.

A friend of mine has had the Ortofon 2M Red. He decided to upgrade to the 2M Blue, and gave me his old Red. I decided to buy a new headshell. For those that don't know, it takes a bit to set up a new cartridge and dial in the alignment. But it's dead simple to swap out headshells. So I bought a new headshell and setup the Ortofon 2M Red. I've just been swapping back and forth between the Ortofon and my old AT95e. The difference is more subtle, but I gotta say the Ortofon is definitely brighter. So when swapping back to the AT95e, it's sounds dull or muffled by comparison. That makes it harder to tell if it's "better," being as subjective as that is. But it sounds like the Ortofon Red isn't just brighter, it has more highs. It doesn't seem to be missing any low end, so I guess it's all around better. I'll definitely be leaving it on.

The only thing is that my friend said they he owned it for about 4 years. He has no idea how many hours he's clocked on it, but since he listens to records a lot this stylus may be approaching or even past it's recommend threshold to get a new one. But I really don't mind since it was free. I was always curious to get the Ortofon 2M Read, but for $100 I really wanted to be sure it would be a noticeable improvement over the AT95e before spending that kind of money. Now after hearing it, even this used one, I wouldn't mind buying a replacement stylus.




edit: So a year ago I bought the current reissue of The Rise and Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars and had a lot of skipping on Side B. Sure enough, a lot of reviews on Amazon suggest that there's problems with Side B. Fast forward to now, I decided to test this out again now that I have the Ortofon 2M Red. I was able to play through Side B 3 times now without a single skip! This stylus just tracks a heck of a lot better.

Yeah I did, and went with it. I had the Audio Technica LP50(rebranded now as 60) and the default parts were in it. I upgraded to the lpgear carbon fiber tip needle on mine and a higher quality new belt and the change was very easily noticeable even if you didn't really listen for it, it was there, and if you were, even more obvious.

I have been using it just off an on for a bit now, but recently I got 2 nearly blemish free records one for the soundtrack to Beverly Hills Cop, the other today was The Police: Every Breath You Take and they're fantastic.

I almost excluviely buy Jazz on Vinyl. I have a few rock albums and there is some David Bowie I'd like and TONS of Rap albums but my love on Wax is Jazz.
I'm listening to Charles Mingus now and Original Copy of Let my Children hear music.

i actually just sold off my entire vinyl collection, still kept my vintage Polk Monitor 10 speakers though

one i connected them to the .flac files on my pc, and no longer had to worry about upgrading the cartridge, adjusting the tone arm, replacing the headshell leads - i just couldn't go back. the speakers sound warm enough, and the range of sound via the digital files surpasses the vinyl. it's amazing how much money and effort it takes to get a record to sound just as good as a lossless audio file. nly real benefit i see is maybe the physicality of it all... but i'm moreso a minimalist these days

About a week ago I scored a Grateful Dead, Beatles (Magical Mystery Tour with inside booklet intact), and a greatest hits James Taylor record all from the period for 99 cents a piece, a week later a holland printing hits package for Chuck Berry for 59 cents too. Right place, right time on that in a shopping cart to go out on the shelf at goodwill for the first three. There was a Thriller one that day, but it was jacked up so I pitched it, yet kept in inside liner in case I find another.