When talking to music lovers about the difference between vinyl and other sources, the warmer sound, the better positioning of instruments, the tighter bass and especially the better live’ feeling is often mentioned. I’m going to try to familiarize you somewhat in this matter without pretending to be the best person with the appropriate knowledge in doing this. I will pass the pros and contras of vinyl, (SA) CD and streaming under separate review and I already know that it will be hard to come to a decision. Why?
Because listening to music simply is very personal and subjective. We usually hear what we want to hear, and we like to slap ourselves on the back about the nice set we have. In other words, for the average music listener it doesn’t matter that much what’s behind that voice or those instruments, if it just offers him what music is made for, and that’s provoking emotions. And that’s meant in the broadest sense of the word. This may concern all forms of fun and high spirits, but also nostalgia and sorrow. We use music as a medium to deal with our emotions. And then preferably at a sound level you can control by yourself.
But for those happy few who read these articles and think there’s more than just the reproduction’, there are so many indefinite and fascinating possibilities, that this story is fortunately not over yet.
Relax, I’ll take you on a tour, without going into detail, because that’s other reviewers’ business.
Vinyl in all its facets
The upgrade and/or expansion possibilities of a record player are gigantic, and therefore it’s probably never completely finished. This is probably exactly the charm for the vinyl lover, that he’s able to influence his tone with some well thought-out adjustments and evolve this into the sound that’s most pleasant to him.
We assume you have the basis, in other words you have defined the brand and type, and now you can start building. A task I usually describe as a do-it-yourself kit. No doubt we all know the Mecano boxes. Here it’s also difficult for an inventive soul to stick to the supplied plans, and soon we can see constructions that leave many parent or friend speechless.
We use the same approach for our record player. The basis is important and guides you both with regards to the final form and the budget.
Now we decide which arm we want on this turntable. Do we prefer the same brand or do we make things a little more difficult by engaging a renowned arm builder. We can opt for a 9 inch, or do we select a 10 or 12 inch respectively? As regards the cabling of this arm, you can choose between the relatively simple (but not any worse) solution of the manufacturer himself, or one of the gurus from the cable industry that have a separate cable in their range for every budget and application.
