35th Anniv. of CD in US

[Jeffrey Michael]

I can’t remember too much that far back but I do remember getting one of the first Sanyo Compact Disc players because I couldn’t afford the Sony. Also, I remember Slooooowly purchasing some of the Columbia label’s first offerings like Cyndi Lauper because of the high cost when they were first introduced. At one point, my lp’s and cd’s lived side by side until I regrettably sold all my lp’s Only out of convenience of the compact disc. I hated the sound of cd’s until about the last few years when players got better but, by then, most discs purchased had terrible compression. To this day, I still think about getting that turntable but I won’t purchase any vinyl records that were mastered digitally.

 

[markshan]

To this day, I still think about getting that turntable but I won’t purchase any vinyl records that were mastered digitally.

You should get a table. You shouldn't rule out digitally mastered vinyl. Often it is an improvement on the CD. I'll use REMs Accelerate as one example. The CD is all but unlistenable due to it's brickwall distortion. Stan Ricker cut the vinyl, and while it's not audiophile, his EQ along with the softening effect of the vinyl make it quite listenable.

Also, lots of early digital releases sound better on vinyl. Same softening, different problem. Some of the early A/D converters had a harsh edge that the vinyl cut aides. A good example is the German only vinyl of "Arkansas Traveler" by Michelle Shocked. The CD sounds good, the record sounds great.

 

[Snood]

I see what you did there.

Snood no get joke?? @:

 

[Jeffrey Michael]

You should get a table.

Any recommendations under $500, give or take?

 

[markshan]

Any recommendations under $500, give or take?

If you are buying new, the U-Turn Orbit seems to be the under $500 table of choice, and the basic model is under $200. For a little more (but still well under budget), the Fluance RT81 is well regarded. For a little more than your budget, the Pioneer Pro DJ PLX-1000 seems to be the defacto replacement for the Technics 1200 these days, and is a somewhat economical direct drive player.

I've never bought a new table, and if you are handy, used tables from the vinyl heyday represent the biggest bargain. I have two direct drives; a JVC QL-A7 and a Technics 1200. I also have a Philips 212. Lastly, in my console is a Dual (idler drive, too finicky for me to work on, but I had it serviced) and it is really nice in that application.

Edit: The budget tables will certainly benefit from an upgraded cartridge (though the AT95 on the Fluance is pretty good), and the Pioneer doesn't come with one, so keep that in mind as you decide your purchase.

If you decide to go used, I'd be happy to keep an eye on your local CraigsList if you like.

 

[markshan]

Snood no get joke?? @:

"Jealous Again" was one of the singles from that album.

 

[Snood]

"Jealous Again" was one of the singles from that album.

Urrrrrrrgh that trickster Dr. Simple

 

[Jeffrey Michael]

If you are buying new.....

What is your take on the Pro-Ject turntable brand?

 

[markshan]

What is your take on the Pro-Ject turntable brand?

In that budget, I think they are less table for more money than the ones I mentioned. If I'm going a more traditional route, I'd go VPI over Pro-Ject simply because they are American made (so is the U-Turn, FWIW). The expense of Pro-Ject and VPI tables is a big part of what made companies like U-Turn and Fluance viable business models. Modern Denon tables are crap (sadly) and Sony is more focused these days on USB than they are on quality playback (it's what the market dictates, I suppose).

 

[Jeffrey Michael]

Wow! I was thinking either Pro-Ject or a Denon to match my AVR. :yikes

Edit: If I were to buy today, I would go to my local Best Buy and charge on my BB card whatever they have available. If not, I’d need to save for a while.

 

[markshan]

Wow! I was thinking either Pro-Ject or a Denon to match my AVR. :yikes

Edit: If I were to buy today, I would go to my local Best Buy and charge on my BB card whatever they have available. If not, I’d need to save for a while.

I just went to their site. Based on what my local store stocks, I would go with the AT-LP120-USB. It's kind of a dumbed down Technics 1200, very similar styling (it wouldn't be unfair to call it a knock off) with the decent AT95 cartridge included. The other four tables in stock in my store are all complete crap.

If your local store is a Magnolia you will have more choices, but I still think that is the best sub $500 table they carry. They don't have any of my recommendations even available as special order. They do have the Rega Planar 1, which is considered to be a good entry level table, but I'd still strongly recommend the Fluance or U-Turn as best price vs performance.

The thing about buying a turntable is that a bad one will actively destroy your records. It's not like a CD player where a bad one will simply sound bad or be difficult to use, a bad table will interact with the vinyl in a detrimental way.

 

[Jeffrey Michael]

Mark,

What I’m hearing you say is, in order:

1) Fluance or U-Turn
2) AT-LP120-USB

 

[markshan]

Mark,

What I’m hearing you say is, in order:

1) Fluance or U-Turn
2) AT-LP120-USB

That is my considered opinion. I almost included the AT-LP120 in my initial recommendation, but I think the others are slightly better for slightly less money.

 

[dr. simple]

Interesting that a thread about CDs on a multichannel music forum would morph into a conversation about vinyl. @:

To add my $0.02:
1. I think my first CD was Mike Stern, “Upside Downside”, followed closely by Robben Ford, “Talk To Your Daughter” and Joe Jackson, “Live 1980/1986”.

2. I have a U-Turn Orbit, and I’m very happy with it, but I think the Audio Technica AT-LP120 is very comparable. In fact, due to some limitations of the Orbit, I’d recommend the AT-LP120 as an alternative.

The Orbit used to NOT have a cue lever, but you could buy a “Q-UP” device for lifting the cartridge at the end of the record (which I did buy and I find it very useful). However, I believe that now they come with a cue lever, and I don’t think the Q-UP thing will fit on the base. Frankly I’d rather put the needle down manually and have it automatically pop up at the end of the record. This may seem insignificant, but the two tables are so comparable that a minor inconvenience like this could tip the scale.

- Paul

 

[markshan]

Okay, back on topic, my first CD was "Buddy Holly - From the Original Master Tapes". Still one of the best sounding CDs I own.

 

[Quad Linda]

I was absolutely blown away by the sound quality on that CD. I still haven't had a chance to A-B it to the new SACD. Based on my recollection (and Markshan's), I doubt they sound all that different, fidelity wise. We'll see when lazy me A-B's them.

Okay, back on topic, my first CD was "Buddy Holly - From the Original Master Tapes". Still one of the best sounding CDs I own.

 

[markshan]

Frankly I’d rather put the needle down manually and have it automatically pop up at the end of the record.

- Paul

That's what my QL-A7 does.

 

[privateuniverse]

I bought my first CD player in 1984. I was a college freshman at the time and certainly didn't have the money for such luxury items. A basic player was $500. But I had to have one so I cashed out my meal plan for the entire semester so I could buy it. (I hope my dad never reads this, LOL.) The store that I bought the player at had a selection of CDs from the Sony family of labels. I bought Pink Floyd's The Final Cut & Wish You Were Here as well as Billy Joel's The Nylon Curtain. There were so few titles available on CD at the time and I was so psyched that these three existed. At the time, they were three of my all-time favorite albums. Thirty-four years later, they still are.

On the subject of long boxes, for some odd reason I have held on to a few. One curious thing to note.... If you look at the ones on the right, you will notice a symbol on the bottom left corner of the long box. As long boxes were starting to be phased out, record labels would put this symbol on long boxes to indicate that the CDjewel case inside the box was sealed in cellophane. That way retailers who preferred to stock CDs without long boxes could discard of the long box and still have sealed CDs to put on their shelves. The industry and retailers initially resisted getting rid of long boxes. Retailers liked them because the larger size meant that CDs were more difficult for thieves to sneak out of stores. However, many environmentally minded artists began to protest because of how many millions of the things were filling up the garbage dumps. When Peter Gabriel released his Shaking the Tree CD in 1990, he became the first major label artist to insist that a CD be released with no long box. It cost him some sales as several retailers refused to carry the disc, but within a few years everyone fell in line and the long box was a thing of the past.....

 

[Jeffrey Michael]

I forgot all about the Longbox. I thought it was a good idea at the time. It seemed to better help a consumer used to the full size LP vinyl jackets gravitate to purchase the CD’s with the smaller artwork with the included booklets. In a nostalgic sense, I wish they still were packaged this way. Especially, since most of us recycle now. Or, so I would hope!

 

[Quadly McQuadmeister]

I think it was designed primarily as a theft deterrent. I didn't keep a single one. Very few, if any that I bought had any proprietary information about an individual release. Many were very nearly generic outside of the label or some other trademark probably intended to mark "Intellectual property" territory. In that way, they're a pleasant time capsule of a time when we purchased it in a brick and mortar environment. I usually didn't buy "Billboard Top 100" Titles though. Maybe some Sting or Chicago CD's. The rest were Classical or Jazz, so the marketing budgets were probably lower...