u/TheRandomHumanoid

I know all 4 bands from their few radio hits, but have never listened to any of these albums in their entirety. Hope to listen to at least 2 or 3 tomorrow morning!

So, I posted a week or so back that I ordered $7k+ of equipment from Crutchfield (after much research).

I was upgrading from an LP120, Sony DH190 amp, and Polk bookshelf speakers. To me, this system always sounded very good. However, after 8 years of this setup I wanted to upgrade and make a little more noise. I usually play 1-5 records a day, so I was willing to spend a little money for my "endgame" system. I bought A Technics SL1500CS, NAD C3050, POLK R700 speakers, and SVS SB-2000 Pro subwoofer.

I know many people are going to say I should have looked used, but I rarely see good deals on used stuff and didn't want any drama...Again, I was willing to spend some money for something I planned to keep a very long time.

When the delivery came, I hooked up the new NAD C3050 amp to my old LP120 turntable and Polk speakers. The sound was immediately different than what I was used to. It was much higher. Much more treble.."brighter", if that makes sense. Not necessarily saying it was better or worse...but different. Higher and louder perhaps.

Next, I hooked up the Technics turntable with the factory installed Ortofon red cartridge. Much "brighter" sound than my LP120 with VM540ML. I was a little disappointed playing some of my rougher records, as they became almost unlistenable with the increased crackles, and pops. Records I previously thought sounded perfect on my old setup now sounded like trash. Yes, the cart was lined up correctly and I adjusted anti-skate, etc etc...made no difference.

Finally, I hooked up the new R700 floor speakers and SVS subwoofer. At low volumes, not a huge difference versus the bookshelf low-end polks...but when you crank the volume and get those VU meters rocking...WOW!! I was absolutely blown away. It's literally like having a concert in your house.

I then put a VM955P/H cartridge in my LP120 for playing 78s and it works well, but the crackles are pretty pronounced with this amp/speaker combo. I tried every combination of Phono or Line in with both turntables to the NAD C 3050 and really couldn't tell any discernable difference. I also tried running my old Polk bookshelfs in addition to the R700s, and decided they just weren't really needed, so I moved those and the Sony amp to another room.

I should add, the motor on the Technics is dead silent, versus my LP120. You can hear the LP120 when you stick your ear near it..It also sometimes chatters a bit when getting up to speed. I do miss the speed adjustability of the LP120...I probably should have went with the Technics SL1200...but I can live with either.

Final notes: I really want to say the original setup I had sounded very good for the price. Fuck whatever the gatekeeping nerd assholes in our hobby say about it. I strongly recommend it to anyone on a budget, looking for a starter system, stuck in a small room, etc.

I'm sure the new combo I'm running will benefit greatly from a little more tuning. I haven't played with the subwoofer much yet and I'd like to change the Ortofon red cart to a VM740XML. I'll probably try a separate pre-amp also at some point. I suspect that will tone down some of the "brightness" of the current setup and lessen the harshness of the crackling on rougher records.

Oh, and before someone complains about it...the little speakers on the table are just the Vizio surround sound speakers. Never on the same time as the system. Actually, I tried hooking the NAD C3050 to my TV via the HDMIarc and has some issues with it working reliably. Their tech support gave me some suggestions I may try...you can use the optical out, but then I'd have to use the amp remote to control volume, and it's in the other direction. Just a weird room layout and I'm working with what I've got for now.

I understand this is low end compared to what a lot of people here have, but spending this amount on a sound system is totally insane to any of the people in my life. For them, just playing music out of your phone or to a small bluetooth speaker is enough.

I agonized over this for at least a month...Researching what I could and going into the few local audio stores this area has...This is what I settled on. I'm sure it'll be much better than what I have now. I'm hoping this will be my "endgame" setup.

Still need speaker cables and I will probably be swapping the cartridge on the Technics for a AT-VM740xML...which also means I need an external pre-amp to match. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

All numbers are rough approximations.

I was a mess in my early-mid 20s not really having any steady jobs, but I kept busy doing what I could to making a buck here and there.

I felt very fortunate that a company took a chance and hired me in 2011. I was able to take a $10/hr opportunity and get to nearly 6 figures in a few years.

I was becoming very bored in this field around 2018-19 which is why I went back to school. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to parlay my new education into a different career yet. I've sort of given up for the moment. I know Intl Studies/Affairs isn't the best for career prospects, but I decided to study what I found most interesting. I studied Accounting when I was younger because I thought it would result in a good job, but that was a huge mistake. I hated the jobs. So, I went the total opposite direction this last time. May consider a PHD/Doctorate at some point just for fun.

I should also add I have zero retirement savings, and I don't really care. I plan to always work doing something and will have a pretty substantial house paid for. No other debt and I cash-flowed school.

This dude was a great song writer. Maybe not the best voice to get mainstream success, but very nice, simple, rock music.

Was an auction car I bought just to goof around with. Definitely hadn't run in decades.

I started it first in the fall with the valve cover and side cover removed just with starter fluid... Since then, I changed the tank, fuel pump, line, drained tranny, etc.. Decided to modify a carb adapter to fit an Edelbrock I had laying around. Had to do some careful trimming and build an extra adapter plate out of aluminum stock. Running surprisingly well. Hooked the belt up, and no coolant leaks...shockingly.

Running on 12V now, but I'll put a 6V battery in it next and hook it up to the rest of the electrical system. Hopefully 6V will be enough to crank that old starter. I know it'll be a lot slower to crank.

Guess I need to sort the brakes out and see if she drives! Already ordered a master, wheel cylinders, shoes, and rear axle seals (leaking like crazy).

Still need to move over more video games/movies/records and do some more organizing/decorating... Would also like a larger CRT, but they are getting harder to come by in my area.

Sorry.. Couldn't hold my laugh in even though it was my 3rd time watching it.. Uncle Phil f'd up bad 🤣🤣🤣

Going back thru watching Fresh Prince for the first time in probably 25 years. It holds up so much better than I expected it to. I'm surprised how many scenes I still remember from my childhood. I can remember watching this one when it originally aired and the whole family getting a good laugh from it.

The ad said "Great Condition". Drove over 2 hours for it...The people were super nice and I loaded it up without looking at it. It was only $75, so I wasn't too worried regardless.

Fast forward a few hours, I get it home and realize the record they have on the platter is a normal LP 🤣 Underneath that I found the Edison disc label??

I also see a nail pinning the speed control lever in place.

Lifted up the platter, and the spindle started spinning and making some pretty awful noises. This went on for several minutes. So, someone was monkey'ing with it at some point and had it wound very tight.

I don't blame the people selling it...I think they just had no idea what this was or how to use it.

Anyways, I'm not an expert on these things, but I want to make it function properly. I'm sure I'll have more into than it's worth, but that's OK.. Can anyone recommend a place I can ship to motor off to for service/repair? I may do it myself, but I have too many projects already at the moment. I'm more of a car guy, so I'd need to watch some videos on this and get some education before tearing into it.

I've played a lot of picture discs, and honestly never really thought they sounded any different. Well, that changed today. This one just sounded terrible on the first side. Tons of extra noise... Then I flip it over, and the B side is just the exact same tracks!

I guess they weren't kidding when they put that warning on the back saying the sound quality may not be equal.

Anyways, this will make a good candidate for framing, because I definitely won't bother playing it again.

I look forward to the downvotes and comments from people who only read the title and don't understand sarcasm. 🫡

Heard about this band when reading about the influential KSHE radio station. Decided to jump on eBay and pick up a vinyl. Really enjoying it so far. Very talented group with great harmony. Definitely recommend this album and will keep my eyes peeled for their others.

Found someone selling off a collection of 78s, including a cabinet, that belonged to their grandfather who passed away around 30 years ago.

I contacted the seller and told them I wasn't a reseller and was mainly interested in just learning/exploring new music and I could pay $300 for it. The seller agreed and I just got it all home. Everything fit with one load in a minivan...We were cramming records in every crevice we could find. He also let me have 2-3 boxes of LPs they were getting rid of. Doesn't look like anything super interesting/valuable, but figured I might as well take them.

Anyways, I'm wondering if I should catalog all of this... I know that would be a ridiculous amount of work, but it would be nice to know exactly what we have here. Looks like be a lot of classical music, which I suspect isn't super collectible..

The records in the boxes are somewhat alphabetized and are all in their original paper sleaves. I have found a few broken records, but hopefully not too many. Have barely scratched the surface with what's here.

I'd really like to upload a lot of these songs to youtube, but know even a lot of this really old stuff will still hit content matches.

I bought this setup in 2018 new and have been very happy with it. For me, it sounds great. Especially with the VMN40ML cartridge.

Anyways, after several years and playing records almost every day, I figured it was time to flirt with the idea of upgrading.

For the turntable, I was thinking a Technics 1500c along with a cartridge similar to what I'm running on this LP120. From what I understand, the built in pre-amp is better than what comes on the LP120...and I'm sure the overall build quality is better, given the $1500 price. Is it worth still doing a separate preamp?

No idea what receiver or speakers to pick, but I would go with larger, floor speakers.

I'd probably keep my old turntable and convert it for exclusively playing 78s with the proper cartridge.

Any guidance or suggestions are appreciated!

First time listening thru. Very good bluesy/rock album! Sounds great on vinyl...although my copy had a couple skips and it looks like a dog took a bit out of the corner of the cover..

Picked this up from an antique mall the other day. I have a few other albums of theirs and enjoyed all of them. First time listening to this one and it's a very solid album.

It's unfortunate they didn't get bigger. The flat as a pancake album is excellent. I think if they had worked with the right producer, such as Mutt Lange, they could have really blew up... Although, that's probably true for a lot of bands I guess.

The story behind this record and it's later rediscovery and popularity is really amazing. So glad it got reissued.