Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.

Welcome to the Hardcore Husky Forums. Folks who are well-known in Cyberland and not that dumb.

How do you know if your needle has gone bad?

2

Comments

  • YellowSnowYellowSnow Moderator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 35,812 Founders Club

    It's going to start to sound duller and less crisp especially on the highs. Age of carts can also be a problem. Even if they aren't in use the parts of a phono cart can degrade. If you have some valuable records in the collection just be safe and get a new one. They aren't that expensive for a decent phono cart.

    Thanks.

    Hey, were you aware of these super high end cartridges? This is 1% class shit.... --->>> https://www.needledoctor.com/analog/analog-components/Phono-Cartridges
    Oh yeah. Some people have stupid money for this hobby. I propose a luxury phono cartridge tax. I'm a pour so this is as fancy I'm able to afford. https://www.needledoctor.com/Rega-Exact-2-Cartridge
    Ran my Rega into the ground, just replaced with HANA SL
    Do you have a Rega TT as well @Gilbystaint ? The HANA is a moving coil so what phono pre are you running?
  • GilbystaintGilbystaint Member Posts: 1,061

    It's going to start to sound duller and less crisp especially on the highs. Age of carts can also be a problem. Even if they aren't in use the parts of a phono cart can degrade. If you have some valuable records in the collection just be safe and get a new one. They aren't that expensive for a decent phono cart.

    Thanks.

    Hey, were you aware of these super high end cartridges? This is 1% class shit.... --->>> https://www.needledoctor.com/analog/analog-components/Phono-Cartridges
    Oh yeah. Some people have stupid money for this hobby. I propose a luxury phono cartridge tax. I'm a pour so this is as fancy I'm able to afford. https://www.needledoctor.com/Rega-Exact-2-Cartridge
    Ran my Rega into the ground, just replaced with HANA SL
    Do you have a Rega TT as well @Gilbystaint ? The HANA is a moving coil so what phono pre are you running?
    Yes, we have an RP6. I am using a Linn Uphorik phono pre. I had a Heed unit for many years that was a great overachiever. You @YellowSnow?
  • GilbystaintGilbystaint Member Posts: 1,061
    Swaye said:

    I had no fucking idea that playing records was this big of a deal, or this fucking expensive. Jesus.

    I'll keep rocking shit on the cheap.


    Great collection! I just never stopped playing records from the 60’s.
  • YellowSnowYellowSnow Moderator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 35,812 Founders Club

    It's going to start to sound duller and less crisp especially on the highs. Age of carts can also be a problem. Even if they aren't in use the parts of a phono cart can degrade. If you have some valuable records in the collection just be safe and get a new one. They aren't that expensive for a decent phono cart.

    Thanks.

    Hey, were you aware of these super high end cartridges? This is 1% class shit.... --->>> https://www.needledoctor.com/analog/analog-components/Phono-Cartridges
    Oh yeah. Some people have stupid money for this hobby. I propose a luxury phono cartridge tax. I'm a pour so this is as fancy I'm able to afford. https://www.needledoctor.com/Rega-Exact-2-Cartridge
    Ran my Rega into the ground, just replaced with HANA SL
    Do you have a Rega TT as well @Gilbystaint ? The HANA is a moving coil so what phono pre are you running?
    Yes, we have an RP6. I am using a Linn Uphorik phono pre. I had a Heed unit for many years that was a great overachiever. You @YellowSnow?
    Damn @Gilbystaint , you've been holding back on us! @GrundleStiltzkin you can have a laff here, because I just got served in hi fi dick measuring.

    I got a RP3 a few years back (had a P2 for a long time before that). Went with the higher end (yellow, of course) Exact Cart though to try and get as close the P6 as possible. Both TT's have the same tone arm, but the P6 has some nice upgrades over the 3. I'm a big Rega fan and my next deck will probably be a P8.

    No separate phono pre amp for me at the moment. It's next on my list (looking to get a Parasound JC3 Jr.) I have a vintage McIntosh receiver from circa 1980 and those, of course, came with pretty decent internal phono stage. But getting a separate will definitely yield some more detail.
  • YellowSnowYellowSnow Moderator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 35,812 Founders Club
    Swaye said:

    I had no fucking idea that playing records was this big of a deal, or this fucking expensive. Jesus.

    I'll keep rocking shit on the cheap.


    So you never bought Kill 'em All and Ride the Lightning on vinyl? Sad. LPs along with cassettes still ruled the day for 1980's Metallica.

    My crappy little cassette collection made its way into the used shops on the Ave next to the 7-11. Back then, they'd give you $2 or $3 trade in on Beatles, Stones, Doors, Zeppelin tapes, which is actually more than you can get these days for trading in CDs of the same albums. How times have changed.
  • SwayeSwaye Moderator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 41,511 Founders Club

    Swaye said:

    I had no fucking idea that playing records was this big of a deal, or this fucking expensive. Jesus.

    I'll keep rocking shit on the cheap.


    So you never bought Kill 'em All and Ride the Lightning on vinyl? Sad. LPs along with cassettes still ruled the day for 1980's Metallica.

    My crappy little cassette collection made its way into the used shops on the Ave next to the 7-11. Back then, they'd give you $2 or $3 trade in on Beatles, Stones, Doors, Zeppelin tapes, which is actually more than you can get these days for trading in CDs of the same albums. How times have changed.
    I had Kill em All on vinyl. Shitty little record player though. I'm a poor.
  • GrundleStiltzkinGrundleStiltzkin Member Posts: 61,506 Standard Supporter

    It's going to start to sound duller and less crisp especially on the highs. Age of carts can also be a problem. Even if they aren't in use the parts of a phono cart can degrade. If you have some valuable records in the collection just be safe and get a new one. They aren't that expensive for a decent phono cart.

    Thanks.

    Hey, were you aware of these super high end cartridges? This is 1% class shit.... --->>> https://www.needledoctor.com/analog/analog-components/Phono-Cartridges
    Oh yeah. Some people have stupid money for this hobby. I propose a luxury phono cartridge tax. I'm a pour so this is as fancy I'm able to afford. https://www.needledoctor.com/Rega-Exact-2-Cartridge
    Ran my Rega into the ground, just replaced with HANA SL
    Do you have a Rega TT as well @Gilbystaint ? The HANA is a moving coil so what phono pre are you running?
    Yes, we have an RP6. I am using a Linn Uphorik phono pre. I had a Heed unit for many years that was a great overachiever. You @YellowSnow?
    Damn @Gilbystaint , you've been holding back on us! @GrundleStiltzkin you can have a laff here, because I just got served in hi fi dick measuring.

    I got a RP3 a few years back (had a P2 for a long time before that). Went with the higher end (yellow, of course) Exact Cart though to try and get as close the P6 as possible. Both TT's have the same tone arm, but the P6 has some nice upgrades over the 3. I'm a big Rega fan and my next deck will probably be a P8.

    No separate phono pre amp for me at the moment. It's next on my list (looking to get a Parasound JC3 Jr.) I have a vintage McIntosh receiver from circa 1980 and those, of course, came with pretty decent internal phono stage. But getting a separate will definitely yield some more detail.
    I know very little about the the audiophile scene, so I take your word for it. I did read years ago a WSJ piece about this Japanese guy that was so into high-high-end equipment that he paid the power company for a dedicated pole and specialty transformer for his apartment to get the "cleanest" power.

    I'm have Concord DJS on my 1200s, which would probably give you an anxiety attack to touch any of your collection.



  • YellowSnowYellowSnow Moderator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 35,812 Founders Club

    It's going to start to sound duller and less crisp especially on the highs. Age of carts can also be a problem. Even if they aren't in use the parts of a phono cart can degrade. If you have some valuable records in the collection just be safe and get a new one. They aren't that expensive for a decent phono cart.

    Thanks.

    Hey, were you aware of these super high end cartridges? This is 1% class shit.... --->>> https://www.needledoctor.com/analog/analog-components/Phono-Cartridges
    Oh yeah. Some people have stupid money for this hobby. I propose a luxury phono cartridge tax. I'm a pour so this is as fancy I'm able to afford. https://www.needledoctor.com/Rega-Exact-2-Cartridge
    Ran my Rega into the ground, just replaced with HANA SL
    Do you have a Rega TT as well @Gilbystaint ? The HANA is a moving coil so what phono pre are you running?
    Yes, we have an RP6. I am using a Linn Uphorik phono pre. I had a Heed unit for many years that was a great overachiever. You @YellowSnow?
    Damn @Gilbystaint , you've been holding back on us! @GrundleStiltzkin you can have a laff here, because I just got served in hi fi dick measuring.

    I got a RP3 a few years back (had a P2 for a long time before that). Went with the higher end (yellow, of course) Exact Cart though to try and get as close the P6 as possible. Both TT's have the same tone arm, but the P6 has some nice upgrades over the 3. I'm a big Rega fan and my next deck will probably be a P8.

    No separate phono pre amp for me at the moment. It's next on my list (looking to get a Parasound JC3 Jr.) I have a vintage McIntosh receiver from circa 1980 and those, of course, came with pretty decent internal phono stage. But getting a separate will definitely yield some more detail.
    I know very little about the the audiophile scene, so I take your word for it. I did read years ago a WSJ piece about this Japanese guy that was so into high-high-end equipment that he paid the power company for a dedicated pole and specialty transformer for his apartment to get the "cleanest" power.

    I'm have Concord DJS on my 1200s, which would probably give you an anxiety attack to touch any of your collection.



    If you set them the arm to 4 grams of tracking pressure (i.e., DJ settings) and got all whickey whichey with them I'd probably freak out. But that cart set to, say, 2.5 g's on a 1200 wouldn't hurt anyone's priceless LP collection. 1200s a great decks BTW and a lot of audiophiles are into them.

    My position on hi fi is that you get YUGE gains going from like a $500 TT to a $2000 one. But after a certain point the law of diminishing returns start to kick in. The Japanese guy you reference it's probably a bit of nut job.
  • GrundleStiltzkinGrundleStiltzkin Member Posts: 61,506 Standard Supporter
    edited July 2018

    It's going to start to sound duller and less crisp especially on the highs. Age of carts can also be a problem. Even if they aren't in use the parts of a phono cart can degrade. If you have some valuable records in the collection just be safe and get a new one. They aren't that expensive for a decent phono cart.

    Thanks.

    Hey, were you aware of these super high end cartridges? This is 1% class shit.... --->>> https://www.needledoctor.com/analog/analog-components/Phono-Cartridges
    Oh yeah. Some people have stupid money for this hobby. I propose a luxury phono cartridge tax. I'm a pour so this is as fancy I'm able to afford. https://www.needledoctor.com/Rega-Exact-2-Cartridge
    Ran my Rega into the ground, just replaced with HANA SL
    Do you have a Rega TT as well @Gilbystaint ? The HANA is a moving coil so what phono pre are you running?
    Yes, we have an RP6. I am using a Linn Uphorik phono pre. I had a Heed unit for many years that was a great overachiever. You @YellowSnow?
    Damn @Gilbystaint , you've been holding back on us! @GrundleStiltzkin you can have a laff here, because I just got served in hi fi dick measuring.

    I got a RP3 a few years back (had a P2 for a long time before that). Went with the higher end (yellow, of course) Exact Cart though to try and get as close the P6 as possible. Both TT's have the same tone arm, but the P6 has some nice upgrades over the 3. I'm a big Rega fan and my next deck will probably be a P8.

    No separate phono pre amp for me at the moment. It's next on my list (looking to get a Parasound JC3 Jr.) I have a vintage McIntosh receiver from circa 1980 and those, of course, came with pretty decent internal phono stage. But getting a separate will definitely yield some more detail.
    I know very little about the the audiophile scene, so I take your word for it. I did read years ago a WSJ piece about this Japanese guy that was so into high-high-end equipment that he paid the power company for a dedicated pole and specialty transformer for his apartment to get the "cleanest" power.

    I'm have Concord DJS on my 1200s, which would probably give you an anxiety attack to touch any of your collection.



    If you set them the arm to 4 grams of tracking pressure (i.e., DJ settings) and got all whickey whichey with them I'd probably freak out. But that cart set to, say, 2.5 g's on a 1200 wouldn't hurt anyone's priceless LP collection. 1200s a great decks BTW and a lot of audiophiles are into them.

    My position on hi fi is that you get YUGE gains going from like a $500 TT to a $2000 one. But after a certain point the law of diminishing returns start to kick in. The Japanese guy you reference it's probably a bit of nut job.
    I usually have tonearm weight set pretty low when I'm just messing around. Can't remember what I have tracking set to. But if you're playing live or recording a set and need things to be tight, you gotta crank up the weights and tracking. For me probably the biggest issue is cue burn.

    From what I know of audiophile, it's like many other hobbies. Steep curve of quality-to-money from entry level until it falls of a cliff at a point like the $2000 deck. Home brewing, fishing, whatever. You can spend as much money as you want on it, but after the point you're chasing the smallest marginal improvements.

    And yes that Japanese guy was nuts. I can't remember details, but he had a single component that was over $200,000.
  • SwayeSwaye Moderator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 41,511 Founders Club
    Goddamn, all of my e-friends here are audiophiles. Send me your old shit that isn't broken when you upgrade so I can get in on this fun. I have no shame in asking for second hand items from rich whites.
  • GrundleStiltzkinGrundleStiltzkin Member Posts: 61,506 Standard Supporter
    Swaye said:

    Goddamn, all of my e-friends here are audiophiles. Send me your old shit that isn't broken when you upgrade so I can get in on this fun. I have no shame in asking for second hand items from rich whites.

    You mean like the Oklahoma grant? ;-}
  • GrundleStiltzkinGrundleStiltzkin Member Posts: 61,506 Standard Supporter
    https://gizmodo.com/obsessed-audiophiles-in-japan-are-installing-their-own-1785291714

    The Wall Street Journal spoke to Takeo Morita, a retired lawyer in Japan with a personal sound system that already includes a $60,000 amplifier, gold and silver cables, and other gear that will put your bundled iPhone earbuds to shame. But with audiophiles there’s always room for improvement, and he realized that electromagnetic interference from his neighbors’ appliances was propagating through their shared power lines, reducing the quality of the sound he was getting.

    The solution was to receive power more directly from his local power grid, which required the installation of his own private utility pole. With upgraded wiring, a better transformer, and an improved circuit breaker, the upgrade can run close to $40,000, not including what your local power company decides to charge you for the privilege of private power.

  • YellowSnowYellowSnow Moderator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 35,812 Founders Club

    It's going to start to sound duller and less crisp especially on the highs. Age of carts can also be a problem. Even if they aren't in use the parts of a phono cart can degrade. If you have some valuable records in the collection just be safe and get a new one. They aren't that expensive for a decent phono cart.

    Thanks.

    Hey, were you aware of these super high end cartridges? This is 1% class shit.... --->>> https://www.needledoctor.com/analog/analog-components/Phono-Cartridges
    Oh yeah. Some people have stupid money for this hobby. I propose a luxury phono cartridge tax. I'm a pour so this is as fancy I'm able to afford. https://www.needledoctor.com/Rega-Exact-2-Cartridge
    Ran my Rega into the ground, just replaced with HANA SL
    Do you have a Rega TT as well @Gilbystaint ? The HANA is a moving coil so what phono pre are you running?
    Yes, we have an RP6. I am using a Linn Uphorik phono pre. I had a Heed unit for many years that was a great overachiever. You @YellowSnow?
    Damn @Gilbystaint , you've been holding back on us! @GrundleStiltzkin you can have a laff here, because I just got served in hi fi dick measuring.

    I got a RP3 a few years back (had a P2 for a long time before that). Went with the higher end (yellow, of course) Exact Cart though to try and get as close the P6 as possible. Both TT's have the same tone arm, but the P6 has some nice upgrades over the 3. I'm a big Rega fan and my next deck will probably be a P8.

    No separate phono pre amp for me at the moment. It's next on my list (looking to get a Parasound JC3 Jr.) I have a vintage McIntosh receiver from circa 1980 and those, of course, came with pretty decent internal phono stage. But getting a separate will definitely yield some more detail.
    I know very little about the the audiophile scene, so I take your word for it. I did read years ago a WSJ piece about this Japanese guy that was so into high-high-end equipment that he paid the power company for a dedicated pole and specialty transformer for his apartment to get the "cleanest" power.

    I'm have Concord DJS on my 1200s, which would probably give you an anxiety attack to touch any of your collection.



    If you set them the arm to 4 grams of tracking pressure (i.e., DJ settings) and got all whickey whichey with them I'd probably freak out. But that cart set to, say, 2.5 g's on a 1200 wouldn't hurt anyone's priceless LP collection. 1200s a great decks BTW and a lot of audiophiles are into them.

    My position on hi fi is that you get YUGE gains going from like a $500 TT to a $2000 one. But after a certain point the law of diminishing returns start to kick in. The Japanese guy you reference it's probably a bit of nut job.
    I usually have tonearm weight set pretty low when I'm just messing around. Can't remember what I have tracking set to. But if you're playing live or recording a set and need things to be tight, you gotta crank up the weights and tracking. For me probably the biggest issue is cue burn.

    From what I know of audiophile, it's like many other hobbies. Steep curve of quality-to-money from entry level until it falls of a cliff at a point like the $2000 deck. Home brewing, fishing, whatever. You can spend as much money as you want on it, but after the point you're chasing the smallest marginal improvements.

    And yes that Japanese guy was nuts. I can't remember details, but he had a single component that was over $200,000.
    Agree.

    Because I went the vintage route on speakers and amplification (both are nearly 4 decades old in my set up) my hi fi kit, would be had for about $4000.00 on ebay or in a local shop that sells used gear. Brand new gear that would have comparable sound would probably set you back $7000 to $8000 give or take.

    On of my BFF's - a DINK with no mortgage - has about $17,000 into his set up. It definitely sounds better than mine, but he had to spend a lot more to get there. I'm like 81% of the way there for 23% of the investment. And my ear is pretty trained...a lot of boofs here might not notice as much of a difference.
  • GrundleStiltzkinGrundleStiltzkin Member Posts: 61,506 Standard Supporter

    It's going to start to sound duller and less crisp especially on the highs. Age of carts can also be a problem. Even if they aren't in use the parts of a phono cart can degrade. If you have some valuable records in the collection just be safe and get a new one. They aren't that expensive for a decent phono cart.

    Thanks.

    Hey, were you aware of these super high end cartridges? This is 1% class shit.... --->>> https://www.needledoctor.com/analog/analog-components/Phono-Cartridges
    Oh yeah. Some people have stupid money for this hobby. I propose a luxury phono cartridge tax. I'm a pour so this is as fancy I'm able to afford. https://www.needledoctor.com/Rega-Exact-2-Cartridge
    Ran my Rega into the ground, just replaced with HANA SL
    Do you have a Rega TT as well @Gilbystaint ? The HANA is a moving coil so what phono pre are you running?
    Yes, we have an RP6. I am using a Linn Uphorik phono pre. I had a Heed unit for many years that was a great overachiever. You @YellowSnow?
    Damn @Gilbystaint , you've been holding back on us! @GrundleStiltzkin you can have a laff here, because I just got served in hi fi dick measuring.

    I got a RP3 a few years back (had a P2 for a long time before that). Went with the higher end (yellow, of course) Exact Cart though to try and get as close the P6 as possible. Both TT's have the same tone arm, but the P6 has some nice upgrades over the 3. I'm a big Rega fan and my next deck will probably be a P8.

    No separate phono pre amp for me at the moment. It's next on my list (looking to get a Parasound JC3 Jr.) I have a vintage McIntosh receiver from circa 1980 and those, of course, came with pretty decent internal phono stage. But getting a separate will definitely yield some more detail.
    I know very little about the the audiophile scene, so I take your word for it. I did read years ago a WSJ piece about this Japanese guy that was so into high-high-end equipment that he paid the power company for a dedicated pole and specialty transformer for his apartment to get the "cleanest" power.

    I'm have Concord DJS on my 1200s, which would probably give you an anxiety attack to touch any of your collection.



    If you set them the arm to 4 grams of tracking pressure (i.e., DJ settings) and got all whickey whichey with them I'd probably freak out. But that cart set to, say, 2.5 g's on a 1200 wouldn't hurt anyone's priceless LP collection. 1200s a great decks BTW and a lot of audiophiles are into them.

    My position on hi fi is that you get YUGE gains going from like a $500 TT to a $2000 one. But after a certain point the law of diminishing returns start to kick in. The Japanese guy you reference it's probably a bit of nut job.
    I usually have tonearm weight set pretty low when I'm just messing around. Can't remember what I have tracking set to. But if you're playing live or recording a set and need things to be tight, you gotta crank up the weights and tracking. For me probably the biggest issue is cue burn.

    From what I know of audiophile, it's like many other hobbies. Steep curve of quality-to-money from entry level until it falls of a cliff at a point like the $2000 deck. Home brewing, fishing, whatever. You can spend as much money as you want on it, but after the point you're chasing the smallest marginal improvements.

    And yes that Japanese guy was nuts. I can't remember details, but he had a single component that was over $200,000.
    Agree.

    Because I went the vintage route on speakers and amplification (both are nearly 4 decades old in my set up) my hi fi kit, would be had for about $4000.00 on ebay or in a local shop that sells used gear. Brand new gear that would have comparable sound would probably set you back $7000 to $8000 give or take.

    On of my BFF's - a DINK with no mortgage - has about $17,000 into his set up. It definitely sounds better than mine, but he had to spend a lot more to get there. I'm like 81% of the way there for 23% of the investment. And my ear is pretty trained...a lot of boofs here might not notice as much of a difference.
    I sure as hell wouldn't. My ears are blownout with misspent awesome youth of firecrackers and firearms, and subsequent WAY too hot headphones. Some DJ mixers have ridiculously powerful headphone amps.
  • YellowSnowYellowSnow Moderator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 35,812 Founders Club

    It's going to start to sound duller and less crisp especially on the highs. Age of carts can also be a problem. Even if they aren't in use the parts of a phono cart can degrade. If you have some valuable records in the collection just be safe and get a new one. They aren't that expensive for a decent phono cart.

    Thanks.

    Hey, were you aware of these super high end cartridges? This is 1% class shit.... --->>> https://www.needledoctor.com/analog/analog-components/Phono-Cartridges
    Oh yeah. Some people have stupid money for this hobby. I propose a luxury phono cartridge tax. I'm a pour so this is as fancy I'm able to afford. https://www.needledoctor.com/Rega-Exact-2-Cartridge
    Ran my Rega into the ground, just replaced with HANA SL
    Do you have a Rega TT as well @Gilbystaint ? The HANA is a moving coil so what phono pre are you running?
    Yes, we have an RP6. I am using a Linn Uphorik phono pre. I had a Heed unit for many years that was a great overachiever. You @YellowSnow?
    Damn @Gilbystaint , you've been holding back on us! @GrundleStiltzkin you can have a laff here, because I just got served in hi fi dick measuring.

    I got a RP3 a few years back (had a P2 for a long time before that). Went with the higher end (yellow, of course) Exact Cart though to try and get as close the P6 as possible. Both TT's have the same tone arm, but the P6 has some nice upgrades over the 3. I'm a big Rega fan and my next deck will probably be a P8.

    No separate phono pre amp for me at the moment. It's next on my list (looking to get a Parasound JC3 Jr.) I have a vintage McIntosh receiver from circa 1980 and those, of course, came with pretty decent internal phono stage. But getting a separate will definitely yield some more detail.
    I know very little about the the audiophile scene, so I take your word for it. I did read years ago a WSJ piece about this Japanese guy that was so into high-high-end equipment that he paid the power company for a dedicated pole and specialty transformer for his apartment to get the "cleanest" power.

    I'm have Concord DJS on my 1200s, which would probably give you an anxiety attack to touch any of your collection.



    If you set them the arm to 4 grams of tracking pressure (i.e., DJ settings) and got all whickey whichey with them I'd probably freak out. But that cart set to, say, 2.5 g's on a 1200 wouldn't hurt anyone's priceless LP collection. 1200s a great decks BTW and a lot of audiophiles are into them.

    My position on hi fi is that you get YUGE gains going from like a $500 TT to a $2000 one. But after a certain point the law of diminishing returns start to kick in. The Japanese guy you reference it's probably a bit of nut job.
    I usually have tonearm weight set pretty low when I'm just messing around. Can't remember what I have tracking set to. But if you're playing live or recording a set and need things to be tight, you gotta crank up the weights and tracking. For me probably the biggest issue is cue burn.

    From what I know of audiophile, it's like many other hobbies. Steep curve of quality-to-money from entry level until it falls of a cliff at a point like the $2000 deck. Home brewing, fishing, whatever. You can spend as much money as you want on it, but after the point you're chasing the smallest marginal improvements.

    And yes that Japanese guy was nuts. I can't remember details, but he had a single component that was over $200,000.
    Agree.

    Because I went the vintage route on speakers and amplification (both are nearly 4 decades old in my set up) my hi fi kit, would be had for about $4000.00 on ebay or in a local shop that sells used gear. Brand new gear that would have comparable sound would probably set you back $7000 to $8000 give or take.

    On of my BFF's - a DINK with no mortgage - has about $17,000 into his set up. It definitely sounds better than mine, but he had to spend a lot more to get there. I'm like 81% of the way there for 23% of the investment. And my ear is pretty trained...a lot of boofs here might not notice as much of a difference.
    I sure as hell wouldn't. My ears are blownout with misspent awesome youth of firecrackers and firearms, and subsequent WAY too hot headphones. Some DJ mixers have ridiculously powerful headphone amps.
    Ironically, my buddy used to be DJ and had a pair of 1200's. Ears still seem to work for him, but he only did it for about 3 years. Sold it off and got back into vinyl at my urging about 9 years ago.

    He's built up a pretty solid collection of fag tracks that you and @AZDuck would be impressed with.
  • GrundleStiltzkinGrundleStiltzkin Member Posts: 61,506 Standard Supporter

    It's going to start to sound duller and less crisp especially on the highs. Age of carts can also be a problem. Even if they aren't in use the parts of a phono cart can degrade. If you have some valuable records in the collection just be safe and get a new one. They aren't that expensive for a decent phono cart.

    Thanks.

    Hey, were you aware of these super high end cartridges? This is 1% class shit.... --->>> https://www.needledoctor.com/analog/analog-components/Phono-Cartridges
    Oh yeah. Some people have stupid money for this hobby. I propose a luxury phono cartridge tax. I'm a pour so this is as fancy I'm able to afford. https://www.needledoctor.com/Rega-Exact-2-Cartridge
    Ran my Rega into the ground, just replaced with HANA SL
    Do you have a Rega TT as well @Gilbystaint ? The HANA is a moving coil so what phono pre are you running?
    Yes, we have an RP6. I am using a Linn Uphorik phono pre. I had a Heed unit for many years that was a great overachiever. You @YellowSnow?
    Damn @Gilbystaint , you've been holding back on us! @GrundleStiltzkin you can have a laff here, because I just got served in hi fi dick measuring.

    I got a RP3 a few years back (had a P2 for a long time before that). Went with the higher end (yellow, of course) Exact Cart though to try and get as close the P6 as possible. Both TT's have the same tone arm, but the P6 has some nice upgrades over the 3. I'm a big Rega fan and my next deck will probably be a P8.

    No separate phono pre amp for me at the moment. It's next on my list (looking to get a Parasound JC3 Jr.) I have a vintage McIntosh receiver from circa 1980 and those, of course, came with pretty decent internal phono stage. But getting a separate will definitely yield some more detail.
    I know very little about the the audiophile scene, so I take your word for it. I did read years ago a WSJ piece about this Japanese guy that was so into high-high-end equipment that he paid the power company for a dedicated pole and specialty transformer for his apartment to get the "cleanest" power.

    I'm have Concord DJS on my 1200s, which would probably give you an anxiety attack to touch any of your collection.



    If you set them the arm to 4 grams of tracking pressure (i.e., DJ settings) and got all whickey whichey with them I'd probably freak out. But that cart set to, say, 2.5 g's on a 1200 wouldn't hurt anyone's priceless LP collection. 1200s a great decks BTW and a lot of audiophiles are into them.

    My position on hi fi is that you get YUGE gains going from like a $500 TT to a $2000 one. But after a certain point the law of diminishing returns start to kick in. The Japanese guy you reference it's probably a bit of nut job.
    I usually have tonearm weight set pretty low when I'm just messing around. Can't remember what I have tracking set to. But if you're playing live or recording a set and need things to be tight, you gotta crank up the weights and tracking. For me probably the biggest issue is cue burn.

    From what I know of audiophile, it's like many other hobbies. Steep curve of quality-to-money from entry level until it falls of a cliff at a point like the $2000 deck. Home brewing, fishing, whatever. You can spend as much money as you want on it, but after the point you're chasing the smallest marginal improvements.

    And yes that Japanese guy was nuts. I can't remember details, but he had a single component that was over $200,000.
    Agree.

    Because I went the vintage route on speakers and amplification (both are nearly 4 decades old in my set up) my hi fi kit, would be had for about $4000.00 on ebay or in a local shop that sells used gear. Brand new gear that would have comparable sound would probably set you back $7000 to $8000 give or take.

    On of my BFF's - a DINK with no mortgage - has about $17,000 into his set up. It definitely sounds better than mine, but he had to spend a lot more to get there. I'm like 81% of the way there for 23% of the investment. And my ear is pretty trained...a lot of boofs here might not notice as much of a difference.
    I sure as hell wouldn't. My ears are blownout with misspent awesome youth of firecrackers and firearms, and subsequent WAY too hot headphones. Some DJ mixers have ridiculously powerful headphone amps.
    Ironically, my buddy used to be DJ and had a pair of 1200's. Ears still seem to work for him, but he only did it for about 3 years. Sold it off and got back into vinyl at my urging about 9 years ago.

    He's built up a pretty solid collection of fag tracks that you and @AZDuck would be impressed with.
    Pics or its a lie.

    I didn't "professionally" DJ much longer than your boy, but cuz my ears were kinda bad to begin with, I always had my phones up too loud. The guy I worked with had been in the business for 15 years at that point and his were ruthless loud. Plus we'd be like in a middle school gym or some shit, terrible acoustics, and you had to have loud monitoring to have an clue what the true sound was over the echoes.

    I have Mackie mixer now. Mackie's DJ mixer line didn't really seem to catch on well, clearly nothing like their PA stuff. Despite it's flaws with the digital stuff they added on to it, the sound quality on this mixer is superb including the headphone amp. Blow your shit right out if you crank it.

    Here I am pretending like I know something. I was a DJ in the slimmest, lowest sense. @AZDuck did the real thing.
  • YellowSnowYellowSnow Moderator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 35,812 Founders Club

    It's going to start to sound duller and less crisp especially on the highs. Age of carts can also be a problem. Even if they aren't in use the parts of a phono cart can degrade. If you have some valuable records in the collection just be safe and get a new one. They aren't that expensive for a decent phono cart.

    Thanks.

    Hey, were you aware of these super high end cartridges? This is 1% class shit.... --->>> https://www.needledoctor.com/analog/analog-components/Phono-Cartridges
    Oh yeah. Some people have stupid money for this hobby. I propose a luxury phono cartridge tax. I'm a pour so this is as fancy I'm able to afford. https://www.needledoctor.com/Rega-Exact-2-Cartridge
    Ran my Rega into the ground, just replaced with HANA SL
    Do you have a Rega TT as well @Gilbystaint ? The HANA is a moving coil so what phono pre are you running?
    Yes, we have an RP6. I am using a Linn Uphorik phono pre. I had a Heed unit for many years that was a great overachiever. You @YellowSnow?
    Damn @Gilbystaint , you've been holding back on us! @GrundleStiltzkin you can have a laff here, because I just got served in hi fi dick measuring.

    I got a RP3 a few years back (had a P2 for a long time before that). Went with the higher end (yellow, of course) Exact Cart though to try and get as close the P6 as possible. Both TT's have the same tone arm, but the P6 has some nice upgrades over the 3. I'm a big Rega fan and my next deck will probably be a P8.

    No separate phono pre amp for me at the moment. It's next on my list (looking to get a Parasound JC3 Jr.) I have a vintage McIntosh receiver from circa 1980 and those, of course, came with pretty decent internal phono stage. But getting a separate will definitely yield some more detail.
    I know very little about the the audiophile scene, so I take your word for it. I did read years ago a WSJ piece about this Japanese guy that was so into high-high-end equipment that he paid the power company for a dedicated pole and specialty transformer for his apartment to get the "cleanest" power.

    I'm have Concord DJS on my 1200s, which would probably give you an anxiety attack to touch any of your collection.



    If you set them the arm to 4 grams of tracking pressure (i.e., DJ settings) and got all whickey whichey with them I'd probably freak out. But that cart set to, say, 2.5 g's on a 1200 wouldn't hurt anyone's priceless LP collection. 1200s a great decks BTW and a lot of audiophiles are into them.

    My position on hi fi is that you get YUGE gains going from like a $500 TT to a $2000 one. But after a certain point the law of diminishing returns start to kick in. The Japanese guy you reference it's probably a bit of nut job.
    I usually have tonearm weight set pretty low when I'm just messing around. Can't remember what I have tracking set to. But if you're playing live or recording a set and need things to be tight, you gotta crank up the weights and tracking. For me probably the biggest issue is cue burn.

    From what I know of audiophile, it's like many other hobbies. Steep curve of quality-to-money from entry level until it falls of a cliff at a point like the $2000 deck. Home brewing, fishing, whatever. You can spend as much money as you want on it, but after the point you're chasing the smallest marginal improvements.

    And yes that Japanese guy was nuts. I can't remember details, but he had a single component that was over $200,000.
    Agree.

    Because I went the vintage route on speakers and amplification (both are nearly 4 decades old in my set up) my hi fi kit, would be had for about $4000.00 on ebay or in a local shop that sells used gear. Brand new gear that would have comparable sound would probably set you back $7000 to $8000 give or take.

    On of my BFF's - a DINK with no mortgage - has about $17,000 into his set up. It definitely sounds better than mine, but he had to spend a lot more to get there. I'm like 81% of the way there for 23% of the investment. And my ear is pretty trained...a lot of boofs here might not notice as much of a difference.
    I sure as hell wouldn't. My ears are blownout with misspent awesome youth of firecrackers and firearms, and subsequent WAY too hot headphones. Some DJ mixers have ridiculously powerful headphone amps.
    Ironically, my buddy used to be DJ and had a pair of 1200's. Ears still seem to work for him, but he only did it for about 3 years. Sold it off and got back into vinyl at my urging about 9 years ago.

    He's built up a pretty solid collection of fag tracks that you and @AZDuck would be impressed with.
    Pics or its a lie.

    I didn't "professionally" DJ much longer than your boy, but cuz my ears were kinda bad to begin with, I always had my phones up too loud. The guy I worked with had been in the business for 15 years at that point and his were ruthless loud. Plus we'd be like in a middle school gym or some shit, terrible acoustics, and you had to have loud monitoring to have an clue what the true sound was over the echoes.

    I have Mackie mixer now. Mackie's DJ mixer line didn't really seem to catch on well, clearly nothing like their PA stuff. Despite it's flaws with the digital stuff they added on to it, the sound quality on this mixer is superb including the headphone amp. Blow your shit right out if you crank it.

    Here I am pretending like I know something. I was a DJ in the slimmest, lowest sense. @AZDuck did the real thing.
    Is this feegy enuff? Listening to OG fatherland pressings of Kraftwerk on a high end system gives one a new appreciation for electronic music.


  • GrundleStiltzkinGrundleStiltzkin Member Posts: 61,506 Standard Supporter

    It's going to start to sound duller and less crisp especially on the highs. Age of carts can also be a problem. Even if they aren't in use the parts of a phono cart can degrade. If you have some valuable records in the collection just be safe and get a new one. They aren't that expensive for a decent phono cart.

    Thanks.

    Hey, were you aware of these super high end cartridges? This is 1% class shit.... --->>> https://www.needledoctor.com/analog/analog-components/Phono-Cartridges
    Oh yeah. Some people have stupid money for this hobby. I propose a luxury phono cartridge tax. I'm a pour so this is as fancy I'm able to afford. https://www.needledoctor.com/Rega-Exact-2-Cartridge
    Ran my Rega into the ground, just replaced with HANA SL
    Do you have a Rega TT as well @Gilbystaint ? The HANA is a moving coil so what phono pre are you running?
    Yes, we have an RP6. I am using a Linn Uphorik phono pre. I had a Heed unit for many years that was a great overachiever. You @YellowSnow?
    Damn @Gilbystaint , you've been holding back on us! @GrundleStiltzkin you can have a laff here, because I just got served in hi fi dick measuring.

    I got a RP3 a few years back (had a P2 for a long time before that). Went with the higher end (yellow, of course) Exact Cart though to try and get as close the P6 as possible. Both TT's have the same tone arm, but the P6 has some nice upgrades over the 3. I'm a big Rega fan and my next deck will probably be a P8.

    No separate phono pre amp for me at the moment. It's next on my list (looking to get a Parasound JC3 Jr.) I have a vintage McIntosh receiver from circa 1980 and those, of course, came with pretty decent internal phono stage. But getting a separate will definitely yield some more detail.
    I know very little about the the audiophile scene, so I take your word for it. I did read years ago a WSJ piece about this Japanese guy that was so into high-high-end equipment that he paid the power company for a dedicated pole and specialty transformer for his apartment to get the "cleanest" power.

    I'm have Concord DJS on my 1200s, which would probably give you an anxiety attack to touch any of your collection.



    If you set them the arm to 4 grams of tracking pressure (i.e., DJ settings) and got all whickey whichey with them I'd probably freak out. But that cart set to, say, 2.5 g's on a 1200 wouldn't hurt anyone's priceless LP collection. 1200s a great decks BTW and a lot of audiophiles are into them.

    My position on hi fi is that you get YUGE gains going from like a $500 TT to a $2000 one. But after a certain point the law of diminishing returns start to kick in. The Japanese guy you reference it's probably a bit of nut job.
    I usually have tonearm weight set pretty low when I'm just messing around. Can't remember what I have tracking set to. But if you're playing live or recording a set and need things to be tight, you gotta crank up the weights and tracking. For me probably the biggest issue is cue burn.

    From what I know of audiophile, it's like many other hobbies. Steep curve of quality-to-money from entry level until it falls of a cliff at a point like the $2000 deck. Home brewing, fishing, whatever. You can spend as much money as you want on it, but after the point you're chasing the smallest marginal improvements.

    And yes that Japanese guy was nuts. I can't remember details, but he had a single component that was over $200,000.
    Agree.

    Because I went the vintage route on speakers and amplification (both are nearly 4 decades old in my set up) my hi fi kit, would be had for about $4000.00 on ebay or in a local shop that sells used gear. Brand new gear that would have comparable sound would probably set you back $7000 to $8000 give or take.

    On of my BFF's - a DINK with no mortgage - has about $17,000 into his set up. It definitely sounds better than mine, but he had to spend a lot more to get there. I'm like 81% of the way there for 23% of the investment. And my ear is pretty trained...a lot of boofs here might not notice as much of a difference.
    I sure as hell wouldn't. My ears are blownout with misspent awesome youth of firecrackers and firearms, and subsequent WAY too hot headphones. Some DJ mixers have ridiculously powerful headphone amps.
    Ironically, my buddy used to be DJ and had a pair of 1200's. Ears still seem to work for him, but he only did it for about 3 years. Sold it off and got back into vinyl at my urging about 9 years ago.

    He's built up a pretty solid collection of fag tracks that you and @AZDuck would be impressed with.
    Pics or its a lie.

    I didn't "professionally" DJ much longer than your boy, but cuz my ears were kinda bad to begin with, I always had my phones up too loud. The guy I worked with had been in the business for 15 years at that point and his were ruthless loud. Plus we'd be like in a middle school gym or some shit, terrible acoustics, and you had to have loud monitoring to have an clue what the true sound was over the echoes.

    I have Mackie mixer now. Mackie's DJ mixer line didn't really seem to catch on well, clearly nothing like their PA stuff. Despite it's flaws with the digital stuff they added on to it, the sound quality on this mixer is superb including the headphone amp. Blow your shit right out if you crank it.

    Here I am pretending like I know something. I was a DJ in the slimmest, lowest sense. @AZDuck did the real thing.
    Is this feegy enuff? Listening to OG fatherland pressings of Kraftwerk on a high end system gives one a new appreciation for electronic music.


    I wouldn't call Kraftwerk too faggy, at least not above the Teutonic techno bassline (lulz). I gotta confess, I like Kraftwerk the Chinfluencer much more than Kraftwerk itself.
  • YellowSnowYellowSnow Moderator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 35,812 Founders Club

    It's going to start to sound duller and less crisp especially on the highs. Age of carts can also be a problem. Even if they aren't in use the parts of a phono cart can degrade. If you have some valuable records in the collection just be safe and get a new one. They aren't that expensive for a decent phono cart.

    Thanks.

    Hey, were you aware of these super high end cartridges? This is 1% class shit.... --->>> https://www.needledoctor.com/analog/analog-components/Phono-Cartridges
    Oh yeah. Some people have stupid money for this hobby. I propose a luxury phono cartridge tax. I'm a pour so this is as fancy I'm able to afford. https://www.needledoctor.com/Rega-Exact-2-Cartridge
    Ran my Rega into the ground, just replaced with HANA SL
    Do you have a Rega TT as well @Gilbystaint ? The HANA is a moving coil so what phono pre are you running?
    Yes, we have an RP6. I am using a Linn Uphorik phono pre. I had a Heed unit for many years that was a great overachiever. You @YellowSnow?
    Damn @Gilbystaint , you've been holding back on us! @GrundleStiltzkin you can have a laff here, because I just got served in hi fi dick measuring.

    I got a RP3 a few years back (had a P2 for a long time before that). Went with the higher end (yellow, of course) Exact Cart though to try and get as close the P6 as possible. Both TT's have the same tone arm, but the P6 has some nice upgrades over the 3. I'm a big Rega fan and my next deck will probably be a P8.

    No separate phono pre amp for me at the moment. It's next on my list (looking to get a Parasound JC3 Jr.) I have a vintage McIntosh receiver from circa 1980 and those, of course, came with pretty decent internal phono stage. But getting a separate will definitely yield some more detail.
    I know very little about the the audiophile scene, so I take your word for it. I did read years ago a WSJ piece about this Japanese guy that was so into high-high-end equipment that he paid the power company for a dedicated pole and specialty transformer for his apartment to get the "cleanest" power.

    I'm have Concord DJS on my 1200s, which would probably give you an anxiety attack to touch any of your collection.



    If you set them the arm to 4 grams of tracking pressure (i.e., DJ settings) and got all whickey whichey with them I'd probably freak out. But that cart set to, say, 2.5 g's on a 1200 wouldn't hurt anyone's priceless LP collection. 1200s a great decks BTW and a lot of audiophiles are into them.

    My position on hi fi is that you get YUGE gains going from like a $500 TT to a $2000 one. But after a certain point the law of diminishing returns start to kick in. The Japanese guy you reference it's probably a bit of nut job.
    I usually have tonearm weight set pretty low when I'm just messing around. Can't remember what I have tracking set to. But if you're playing live or recording a set and need things to be tight, you gotta crank up the weights and tracking. For me probably the biggest issue is cue burn.

    From what I know of audiophile, it's like many other hobbies. Steep curve of quality-to-money from entry level until it falls of a cliff at a point like the $2000 deck. Home brewing, fishing, whatever. You can spend as much money as you want on it, but after the point you're chasing the smallest marginal improvements.

    And yes that Japanese guy was nuts. I can't remember details, but he had a single component that was over $200,000.
    Agree.

    Because I went the vintage route on speakers and amplification (both are nearly 4 decades old in my set up) my hi fi kit, would be had for about $4000.00 on ebay or in a local shop that sells used gear. Brand new gear that would have comparable sound would probably set you back $7000 to $8000 give or take.

    On of my BFF's - a DINK with no mortgage - has about $17,000 into his set up. It definitely sounds better than mine, but he had to spend a lot more to get there. I'm like 81% of the way there for 23% of the investment. And my ear is pretty trained...a lot of boofs here might not notice as much of a difference.
    I sure as hell wouldn't. My ears are blownout with misspent awesome youth of firecrackers and firearms, and subsequent WAY too hot headphones. Some DJ mixers have ridiculously powerful headphone amps.
    Ironically, my buddy used to be DJ and had a pair of 1200's. Ears still seem to work for him, but he only did it for about 3 years. Sold it off and got back into vinyl at my urging about 9 years ago.

    He's built up a pretty solid collection of fag tracks that you and @AZDuck would be impressed with.
    Pics or its a lie.

    I didn't "professionally" DJ much longer than your boy, but cuz my ears were kinda bad to begin with, I always had my phones up too loud. The guy I worked with had been in the business for 15 years at that point and his were ruthless loud. Plus we'd be like in a middle school gym or some shit, terrible acoustics, and you had to have loud monitoring to have an clue what the true sound was over the echoes.

    I have Mackie mixer now. Mackie's DJ mixer line didn't really seem to catch on well, clearly nothing like their PA stuff. Despite it's flaws with the digital stuff they added on to it, the sound quality on this mixer is superb including the headphone amp. Blow your shit right out if you crank it.

    Here I am pretending like I know something. I was a DJ in the slimmest, lowest sense. @AZDuck did the real thing.
    Is this feegy enuff? Listening to OG fatherland pressings of Kraftwerk on a high end system gives one a new appreciation for electronic music.


    I wouldn't call Kraftwerk too faggy, at least not above the Teutonic techno bassline (lulz). I gotta confess, I like Kraftwerk the Chinfluencer much more than Kraftwerk itself.
    My appreciation is more from the historical / chinfluencer perspective as well. Still fun to listen to now and then.
Sign In or Register to comment.