Large LP Pressing Plant Is Shutting Down

[markshan]

Nowadays if the source is digital why bother putting it on analog vinyl ??!

The same reason we bother to play through tubes. Both add characteristic distortions which can be more pleasant to listen to. I have more than a few digitally sourced pressings that I enjoy listening to more than the CD.

 

[markshan]

Vinyl is fun to play and that will never change.

I guess you really are a Spinner!

 

[Beefalo]

Perfect fit. Same body type. I didn't dig the faux gold on the new cart so I just got a new stylus.

I put a VM95ML on my 35 year old Technics 1200. Seems to be a perfect match.

 

[markshan]

I put a VM95ML on my 35 year old Technics 1200. Seems to be a perfect match.

AT and big S-armed DD are a perfect marriage in my estimation.

 

[Beefalo]

The same reason we bother to play through tubes. Both add characteristic distortions which can be more pleasant to listen to. I have more than a few digitally sourced pressings that I enjoy listening to more than the CD.

I can relate to that.
I've also seen some loudness war CD's where the vinyl version has better dynamic range & fidelity.

 

[Philip Spinner]

I guess you really are a Spinner!

Yep. I was spinning vinyl as a child before I even had a turntable. Used to spin old 45's on the carpet and pretend my thumb was the cartridge. Made my own music. also ruined a lot of 45's.

 

[ar surround]

I love my 70's 1st press vinyl. Some of it has a certain analog magic to it.
Nowadays if the source is digital why bother putting it on analog vinyl ??!

Interesting point. I recently heard a flac rip of 180 gram vinyl and had an SACD for comparison. To my ears, the vinyl rip was somewhat smoother than the SACD. So, given that these are both digital sources at the end of the chain, why does the digital-from-vinyl source sound smoother? And then why can’t the mastering engineers make the SACD sound like vinyl?

 

[GOS]

Yep. I was spinning vinyl as a child before I even had a turntable. Used to spin old 45's on the carpet and pretend my thumb was the cartridge. Made my own music. also ruined a lot of 45's.

Well, when I was about 15 or so, for some reason, I decided that my older 45's would make great flying saucers........only they would shatter when they hit the ground.

 

[Philip Spinner]

Well, when I was about 15 or so, for some reason, I decided that my older 45's would make great flying saucers........only they would shatter when they hit the ground.

I did the same thing with 78's. We used to blow records up too. Attach an M80 to one, light the fuse and let it fly. Pretty cool.

 

[4-earredwonder]

I did the same thing with 78's. We used to blow records up too. Attach an M80 to one, light the fuse and let it fly. Pretty cool.

Which in all probability preceded the VINYL EXPLOSION of recent years. P. Spinner: Visionary!

 

[Cyber 1]

I thought that the new line of carts and their stylus' do not fit the older 440ML?

Anyway, no, it's the AT VM540ML

Same stylus and is a plug and play for the 440 and the new VM's but the new series uses a stiff suspension so more VTF is required for the 440

 

[bmoura]

The view on the Apollo Master production facility fire from David Robinson at Positive Feedback:

Apollo Masters was the only US production plant producing lacquers for LP production, and was, to my knowledge, only one of two lacquer-making facilities in the world. (The other is in Japan, and wasn't nearly as large.)

Without lacquers, the global production of LPs will slow down significantly as the backlog of current inventory is used up in 2020. How long that will take is anyone's guess, but the supply is not unlimited.

If new production does not come online in the reasonably near future, then you can count on release delays for new LPs, higher prices most likely, and perhaps serious interruptions or shutdowns in future LP enterprises.

Yes, it is potentially that serious.

So…once again, the time to buy your target LPs is now.

Until a way forward is found, the loss of Apollo Mastering will continue to haunt high-end audio for the foreseeable future.

https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/from-an-editors-notebook-a-tale-of-two-woes/

 

[4-earredwonder]

The view on the Apollo Master production facility fire from David Robinson at Positive Feedback:



https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/from-an-editors-notebook-a-tale-of-two-woes/

A VERY sobering article Brian and remember, all of our beloved OPPOs were MADE In CHINA incuding parts should your unit need repair.

 

[Franklin]

Same stylus and is a plug and play for the 440 and the new VM's but the new series uses a stiff suspension so more VTF is required for the 440

This is interesting as I found the 440/150 to be wanting with some warped records and a stiffer suspension and greater VTF could improve things. I wonder if it may negatively impact on really tricky records like the Telarc 1812 though.

 

[quicksrt]

This is interesting as I found the 440/150 to be wanting with some warped records and a stiffer suspension and greater VTF could improve things. I wonder if it may negatively impact on really tricky records like the Telarc 1812 though.

I bottomed out with the 440ML a few times and had to lighten the weight a tad. I had a record with some slight wear and faint warp. When ever I’m capturing to digital an LP with what looks like play wear I track it slightly heavier after a good (H2O) cleaning. Then the warp became more an issue.

This was the Cat Stevens - “Saturnight” Live in Japan LP. One I felt was important being that there was not issue outside of Japan. I dont recall a CD released - and Cat is in such fine form here and all.

My needle drop came out great - after click repair applied to the files it’s not obvious the record was on the lower end of VG+

 

[Franklin]

I lost suspension on a 440 once but that was in the process of trying to fix other (as I recall) child related damage. I currently use a 150Mlx on a 440 body and track at around 2g which is just over their maximum recommendation.

 

[Cyber 1]

That's why they stiffed up the suspension a little on the Vm's the 440 stylus lives on the edge of bottoming out. I'm moving on up to a VM 760 SLC shortly.