Introductory Nomenclature

This is going to be my first "non-technical" post on the blog. I'm actually sitting in the chair pictured above listening to The Postal Service's 2003 album "Give Up," on 180 gram vinyl. I don't know that I could tell you the audible difference between 180 gram or whatever but I enjoy listening to it. Perhaps I could after my record collection grows a bit. For those that are interested it's a Technics SL-D2 Direct Drive Automatic Turntable with a Shure M97xE cartridge mounted to a blue Ortofon headshell. The blue really makes no difference, I just liked it. The turntable is connected to an ART USB Phono Plus, which is then connected to a pair of Sennheiser HD-380 headphones. I need to make some new cables so I can connect the phono pre to my M-Audio BX8a Studio Monitors.

So Why the Infatuation with Vintage Technology

Listening to a vinyl record commands your attention. It takes effort. Turntables are not portable. You can 't just stick a 12" record into a slot in the dash of your car. You also can't fit hundreds to thousands of songs on one record. You can't spin a 45 on a Sony Recordman while you hammer out a workout at the Y. You pretty much have to stop what you're doing and actually listen to the album. It becomes more than background music, or noise.

That's what I love about it. I'm so busy throughout the week. I actually work at a sound company. I'm around music, and noise all the time. It's great to just stop and listen. The music sounds so rich. Yes, there are some pops and clicks (ironically The Postal Service has simulated record pops on their album.) But aside from that even the low frequency content is so thick. It might be possible to cave my head in if I turn my headphones up enough. I hear things in the stereo field that I don't hear listening in my car. Things that get masked by road noise. Things that the car's speakers just won't reproduce. Finally the cymbals don't sound like crap. They ring out and sustain like they would if the drummer was in the same room with me.

The other thing is that it takes me back. Maybe I'm getting old and have some nostalgia for the past. But when I was a kid my parents used to play some amazing albums. Allman Brothers Band's Live at the Filmore, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. Christmas albums with Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. Stuff by Carole King, James Taylor, Emmylou Harris, Gordon Lightfoot ( I absolutely loved "Sundown" when I was really little. It's probably a good thing I didn't undertand the lyrics.) Then there was Yes, Led Zeppelin, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Little Feat. So much variety.

Finally who can forget the artwork? An album sleeve for a 12" record provided a great canvas. There were albums that creeped me out like Emerson Lake & Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery's artwork by H.R. Geiger to the Alan Parson's Project I Robot which looked like some sort of odd shopping mall/airport concourse. I've never really wanted to stare at my iPhone for the artistic appeal of it.

~Andy