With help from my nephew, I’m finally converting the few vinyl records I still have to lossless digital files. I cite my nephew because I have none of the required gear to play vinyl records. The only way I could do this is with his help. He let me borrow a Stanton turntable and a Creek phono preamp. I need the phono preamp because my preamp doesn’t have a phono input. I am so grateful to him!
I haven’t touched any vinyl in twenty-odd years so what’s my impression now? It’s as much of a pain in the ass as I remember! For a good recording, the records have to be cleaned very well. The quality is there, but some records can really make one work for it.
And what about vinyl itself? As with anything, there are advantages and disadvantages. At its best, vinyl sounds good. The problem is it takes time, money, and effort to get vinyl to that state. And even at its best, it’s a technology a hundred years old, and it shows its age with all sorts of technical shortcomings.
CDs and digital files sound as good with far less time, money, and effort. And that’s why I have no vinyl gear and why I’m doing this conversion.