Ironically, speaking of "therapist", your channel is my audio therapy. Your channel is down to earth with great advice and common sense. Rare things now-a-days.
Being an Ex-Sony audio tech, I get asked similar things all the time, and I guess my answers usually follow the same line. Expensive was, and still is, expensive. Painfully so sometimes. People's remembrance, for instance, of cassettes, was of their crummy beat box with cheapo cassettes from the local store. When I show them an ES Sony deck with chrome or metal tapes, they're usually blown away by the fact that it sounds virtually as excellent as CD. Same for wattage, it's the quality not necessarily the quantity that matters. Long live vintage. 😀
As a teenager growing up in a town of 40,000 people in the late 60’s and early 70’s we had 6 high end stereo shops! Myself and my friends would hang around these shops after school and weekends just shooting the breeze with the owners and employees while drooling over the equipment and hoping one day to be able to buy some of those beautiful pieces of equipment. Hifi was huge back then. If you didn’t have your own stereo system, 9 times out of 10 your parents did even if it was just a Magnavox console. To me, your channel reminds me of those days hanging around the stereo store asking questions of the owner who always took the time to chat with us even though we probably only had enough money to buy an album, if even that. But those stereo gurus knew that one day, we could become future customers and treated us no differently from the buying customers. Working as a dishwasher after school and weekends in 1970, I was able to save up enough money to buy my first true hifi system, a Marantz 1060 integrated amplifier, an AR Turntable w/ Shure Cartridge and a pair of JBL L100’s. I still have this system and it works just as well as it did in 1970 albeit with a few repairs over the years. I paid $997 for the system which works out to $7720.94 in today’s money. Presently, our town has grown to over 80,000 people and with the exception of a very marginal Best Buy, there are no stereo stores selling new or vintage equipment. Having your channel to watch on TH-cam, while not a replacement for these stores, is the next best thing and I thank you Kevin, for the service and memories you provide!
I have a new pair of $7,000 Kef R11 speakers and i use a 1976 Pioneer sx1050 reciever , which i run spotify thru and it sounds great ....There is nothing like vintage !!!!....The quality was off the charts !!!!
I have always been into audio ever since I was a kid. I was a pre teen during the stereo power wars. My brother who was 10 yrs older than me had a pioneer sx1080 and large advents and a pioneer pl540. It sounded great. I used to love to hang out in the audio room of service merchandise, brendles, audition hi fi, and radio shack. I have quite a vintage audio collection now and still love it. It's like a time machine to the past. Thanks, you have an awesome channel and audio store.
I can really identify with the drooling. It’s one of the reasons I sprung for a vintage Pioneer SX-780. It sounds great, looks brand new out of the box, came with its original box, and was reasonably priced. Good for you that you kept your system. I gave my first receiver, HK 330i, to my niece and now she’s enjoying it.
Yep. ' stereo stores' like wall to wall in near every mll ( horrid place to listen but at least Ya could SEE 20 different receivers, t'table etc. ) gone the way of the dinosaur. and don't even try to find a decent electronic repair place.
Particularly if you go with digital sources and want something that's only needs to be faithful to the music and not to annoy the neighbors with extreme volume it seems that you can have some very good sound for a pretty modest investment these days...
The "I was wrong then, no big deal" part can be and SHOULD BE taught in schools for every aspect of our lives because being wrong and being able to admit it is an important part of any learning process.
Bruh, Could not agree with you more!! I was choppin it up with an old friend, and we were taking boomers to task when it comes to their dropping of the ball after partially causing the mess we are in. They are 90% incapable of owning their mistakes and poor choices. I don’t think they were always this way. But the trend is viral, as well as staggering. First generation (I’m aware of) where our elder community as a whole, DOES NOT fit the archetype we have become accustomed to. I wish i was wrong.
I haven't owned a stereo system in at least 25 years, but I've become addicted to these videos. I love looking at vintage equipment and the presentation is so down to earth and calming that I watch as an antidote to all the fast-paced screaming negative bs on the internet. Thanks for being a positive influence!
I'm late to the party here, but I will say what keeps me coming back is your knowledge of HiFi. The fact that you are humble or even keeled in your presentation. You enjoy the hobby just like many others do without being condescending about what brands are the best versus what is affordable. I like that. You are doing a great job.
What keeps me coming here on Sunday mornings is that it's just refreshing to hear someone talk about an interesting yet very subjective hobby with a calm and reasoned approach while attempting to be objective.
Kevin, your voice is almost hypnotic and your dryness and clarity always cuts through all the crap out there, without the over showmanship and adding to the white noise which is the source of the 2023 static and hiss that you hear through your vintage speakers that definitely wasn’t there in the 70’s! Keeping it just black and white is a rarity now a days I love you buddy and keep up the great work
Always enjoy your Sunday videos. My dad still owns his SX-980 and HPM-100's that he bought brand new in the late 70's. I brought the 980 home several years ago and cleaned the pots and switches as he had sidelined this receiver for years and had replaced it with an Onkyo from the 90's. I've had my share of spiteful comments on my meager, little TH-cam channel, so I know what you mean. There's always an "expert" out there who knows everything and won't hesitate to tell you as much. Keep the videos coming, those of us who truly enjoy the hobby appreciate you. Thanks
This is one of my favorite channels! On one hand, I wish I lived closer so I could stop by the store. On the other hand, I don't need that kind of equipment temptation on a regular basis.
I dont even own vintage equipment, and I don't miss a video. You explain things in a manner that makes sense. And it applies to new equipment as well as vintage. A good example is wattage. You made valid points about wattage that I never really thought about before. Keep up the great work. I hope the channel keeps growing.
I grew up on vinyl records. Then I was there for the CD introduction. I simply don't understand how anyone, anyone can say vinyl sounds better than a CD.
A common misconception that I recall from my years in 70's audio retail was that "12 o'clock on the volume control was only half maximum volume". I can't begin to count the number of blown tweeters coming into the shop from turning the volume up too high. 1-2 o'clock was often the point where amplifiers and receivers would reach their maximum ability before amplifier distortion (clipping) would occur and potentially damage speaker components. These life lessons would sometimes result in the sale of a larger amplifier.
I've always noticed this. 3/4 volume was the max I'd run my system, and that was out in the park during a keg party. There seemed to be a fall off in noticeable volume decibel after that and a loss of sound quality even though very slight.
Dude I was a computer systems analyst for 21 of the best years of my life. I loved computers and would have gladly done the job for free. You give the same vibe when you talk about vintage audio. I'm retired in my 60's now and I love my vintage audio collection. I come here to share everything I love about vintage audio with you all. I'm sure YOU know this. Just because a song is digital does not mean it ALWAYS sounds better than vinyl. Determinants in digital sound quality is source quality, sample rate usually 44.1 KHz and finally bit depth i.e. 16-bit: 65,536 values 24-bit: 16,777,216 values & 32-bit: 4,294,967,296 values. Each element can improve or denude digital sound quality. I think this channel is the BOMB BIGGITY!
Of course all digital is not created the same... nor is all analog, like an 8-track tape can't sound nearly as good as a reel to reel tape, both played from a great system. MP3s aren't great but I would argue that the standard for CD was really well thought out and even with competition from higher resolution and greater bit depth formats, it still holds up. There's a point where any extra resolution and bit depth isn't really perceived by human ears. Particularly when it comes to bit depth, greater than CD quality is pretty much wasted. There isn't music that even contains dynamic range greater than what a CD is capable of. The highest but rates can do dynamics that might go from the equivalent of a pin dropping on the floor to a jet plane taking off 50 feet away... and what music do you know of that has that kind of dynamic range?
@@aaronhayman8558 Any number of variables change the quality of sound being reproduced. If I wanted to I could write a tome filled with facts and variables to consider in a near infinite number of sound reproduction situations using different tools. My response was a confined to a very limited set of parameters regards audio quality. If you need to be right on this or any other subject I raise then by all means, "You're Right!" I'm not here to fight over details. I'm here enjoy and learn from the awesome videos shared by the Skylabs video creator and his amazing guests. I here to enjoy learn about new things vintage and new. I'm here to gain insights and get help collecting quality vintage audio.
I have about 3500 vinyl records. I used to sell hi-fi between 1976 and 1983. If I'm ever JUST listening to music, it's ALWAYS vinyl. However, all things being equal, there is no way on God's green earth that vinyl sounds as good as a CD. But the key qualifier is "All things being equal". The problem with any digital format, however, is that often the source put into the format is not as good as the source put on the vinyl, e.g. loudness wars. But if one takes the original master recordings and puts them on a CD and vinyl, the CD will more accurately reproduce what was actually on the master recording (tape or otherwise) and it will be easily audible. The reason? In order to create a final master to convert to a vinyl stamper they have to reduce the dynamic range to ensure the needle stays in the groove when played back. Also, to get a decent amount of time on a record, without too much space being taken up by the groove. It's that simple, IF all things are equal. But since sources are NOT always equal, there are times when the vinyl will sound better than the CD. Again, a perfect example is the loudness wars. All that being said, there are so many other ways that I enjoy vinyl that have nothing to do with sound quality. i.e. the experience.
I've watched a few vintage equipment channels with different presenters and I always keep coming back here. Down to earth clear & concise assessments from a decent and friendly person. Keep up the great work!
Totally Agree with the WATTS ratings.. I have a 1974'ish Pioneer SX-737, recently restored, on some recent model Klipsch bookshelf speakers that will go loud enough to really disturb the neighbors and it's got a modest 35 WPC rating. Nice points as always. Keep on rocking it.
I had a student worker who kept insisting that you had to have 1000 watts in a car stereo. I took him to the loading dock with a pair of 50 watt Macintosh amps and a pair of Bose 802 stage speakers. He was punching my arm telling me to turn it down.
Thank you for being honest with your viewers and to yourself. Huge respect! Owning a small vintage stereo shop is winning in my book. Wishing you future success.
Kevin, thanks for creating a great space and community via your TH-cam channel. This is one of my favorite places on all of TH-cam and the web. Really appreciate your humility, passion, and willingness to share. Such an enjoyable and positive space… I hope to make the trip to Iowa and see the store in-person some day. Meanwhile, I look for the next video… keep doing what you’re doing. It’s great.
@8:50 My dad was selling audio equipment in the very early 70's 1970-73. They would have one stereo that was 15 watts per channel but THD was much lower that the one that was 20 Watts per channel, he had a hard time convincing some guys that the lower powered unit would actually sound louder and cleaner than the higher powered one. A lot of them bought the 20 Watt version just based on the output not the quality of it.
If you run a receiver with power meters on any normal pair of speakers in a residential-sized room, turning the volume to a generous, but not uncomfortable level, you'll rarely see the needles go over the .1 watt mark. Of course, the peaks bring it up exponentially and a bigger space will need a lot more power, but 15 watts will easily annoy most people's neighbors without distorting. PS: I remember working in a movie theater in which the speakers behind the screen were so efficient that they could be (and were) powered by a 10 watt amplifier. But the surround sound theater systems of that vintage (1950s-1970s) used smaller speakers that were less efficient, so they needed more powerful amplifiers.
Kevin, very cool episode. I especially like the "Misconceptions about Me (You)". You under rate the amount of knowledge you share out here. Your insight of Audio, and how different people perceive Audio is huge. Most everyone on the planet in some form enjoys hearing & listening to music. The fact that you focus on the Vintage era of equipment and how we can get more out of it is really cool. Keep doing what you do. I'm on my 2nd purchase of a Pioneer SX receiver. Really fun watching & taking in your advice of the hobby. -Thank you.
I think your channel is successful because you have tapped into a vein of happy memories, I think almost everyone my age remembers going into a stereo retailer in the 70s and the feeling of magic that all that glorious gear held. To own a little piece of it nowadays is powerful stuff!
There's a slew of vintage audio (or just audio) channels on TH-cam. I've watched many, and Skylabs is the one I look forward to each week. Kevin's manner is relaxing and his truthful presentation is always welcome. I can't remember the last time I saw a negative comment, and if it exists, was likely some piss-ant hater who doesn't have much nice to say about anything, regardless. Keep up the great work!
As far as CDs vs vinyl I did do a comparison of the same CD and vinyl for my son. Yes the CD was clear and no pops and hiss, but the vinyl was more organic, with a bigger bottom end sound. But that;s also up to the listener weather they like that sound, or clear and no background sound. Also as fr as watts, i do have a 100wt Realistic receiver and just picked up a Scott R-306 receiver with 15 watts. With a good set of efficient speakers, 15 watts pumped out some great sound. Again, it's a preference thing. As a kid, I did spend my Saturday afternoons in a high end stereo store getting some knowledge into equipment and what works best pared together.
Please do a video on the price point / tech point at which equipment improvements are outweighed by listening environment ie room shape, size and acoustic treatment. I also think that like in wine, there’s a sophistication point at which the average person can’t really perceive improvements in quality. True oenophiles and audiophiles can detect the differences, but the majority are using price as an index to quality and allowing reviews and appearance influence their level of satisfaction. It is well established that if you give people a wine and tell them it’s rated 96 points, then they enjoy it much more than if you tell them it’s 85 points
I have heard about this feature of "warmth" from a vinyl record. It seems that there are folks that violently defend vinyl for its sound reproduction. I haven't read about the answer to "isn't that just unwanted noise"... or I would guess wanted noise for the audiophiles. It's an intriguing topic. I have not read any dialoge around reproducing silence on vinyl... I would think this is not possible. How do audiophiles answer this one? I'm just curious. Do they get mad at this topic? From the statement of... no vinyl record has ever been able to play "zero", but in contrast there should be some digital media that could reproduce silence. I am curious as to what the best response to this is.
Thanx for your expertise! On the topic of digital vs. vinyl: I have found that the dynamics of the music to be superior on CDs. We used to use a dbx expander to achieve that type of depth from vinyl at the store I worked in back in the day. Also, the obvious advantages of less noise and better durability made CDs my favorite.
Kevin: You may not even have the time to read this, but nevertheless; I thoroughly enjoy your channel. I recently retired @ 67 and purchased a Marrantz 2238B receiver, Yamaha turntable and set of Boston Acoustics speakers all in great condition. In the late 70's I bought a Marrantz 2238B but later when it developed some issues, I sold it at a Yard Sale! Did I blaspheme? Lol...I only hope the guy who bought it refurbished it! Anyway, late congratulations on opening a business that you are obviously passionate about! I recently purchased your record cleaner from Skylabs and will be busy soon cleaning my vinyl! Keep the videos coming and I many others truly appreciate your knowledge and time to bring it to us!!!
My biggest thing I love about my vintage equipment is that I can control everything from the knobs and buttons. Everything is pre remote controls. I hate how most modern stuff is made where you can’t operate or change certain settings without having the remote(they remove buttons, knobs for sake of sleekness on the front). And inevitably the remote gets misplaced or broke(something spilled on it). If you know, you know. Thanks again Kevin for the great vids.
The ultimate argument against equipment that is only operable with a remote control is, to paraphrase Frank Zappa, "battery leaks will cost you more than a quarter..." (from "Florentine Pogen")
I really don't miss having a remote, though I really do like the convenience of a semi-auto turntable that stops the record at the end of a side rather than skipping on the end of it until I pull the tonearm off of it and shut the motor down...
Slowly but surely, this old hippie is going to learn enough to put a vintage system together. Didn't realize how much I missed music until I found your channel. Thank you for your effort in providing us knowledge, Kevin.
Well you deserve positive comments for just being down-to-earth and giving honest opinions. What you said about vinyl versus CD is spot-on in every regard and I don't know anyone that could have given a better synopsis of that and every other topic you touched on in this video.. you're very humble Kevin and I know you'll keep up the great work. And I actually do plan on making an album purchase from you at some point later this month
I just discovered your channel last night and I learned so much. Thanks for posting and making videos like you do, it helps to get some perspective about audio.
Loved the final segment of this video. I'm 20 years older than you so I actually got to hang out in LOTS of Twin Cities stereo stores, but once I bought something I'd quit looking and live with it, so I really love watching and learning from your channel. I wish I would have known what you teach (yes you do) in the 90's when I took my Harman Kardon 930 receiver to the electronics recycling center. 😩 I'm going to take the 4 hr drive down to your store someday. Might stop at Fix My Dual while I'm there (and while he's still there) to buy a 1229 dust cover to replace my scratched up one.
I can't thank you enough for the thought and work you put into the channel and vintage stereo. Having recently moved from Iowa, I thought I could find other stores easily in bigger areas. That has not been the case unfortunately. Keep up the good work!
Great Video, it's nice to see that someone dosent go " Vinyl are better sounding" right off the bat. You are absolutely right, it all depends on the system and tu use you make of it. I have a 45-year-old Sansui G-6000 and I just love it. Got it completely recapped last year, I'll try to get another 45 years out of it! Paired with some Kef's 105.4, this system sounds amazing for what it is. I stream, have cd's and also have a record player (Rega P6 paired with a Hana SL cart and a Moon LP110 V2 phono pre amp). Not a bad setup but still, I have cd's that sound better, it is what it is. Keep up the good work, love the videos. Cheers
All I can say is “Thank You Kevin”!!!!! Like I stated before, Skylabs is part of my Sunday morning routine. Watching your channel, coffee and absorbing the information! Case in point, I building a new system and I’m incorporating a WiiM Mini. Keep it up! Frank
I just went to the "dark side" and added a WiiM Pro+ to my vintage system. I love my vinyl sytem and the experience of playing vinyl but, for myself, I find that I tend to exist in an echo chamber of music that I grew up with. I usually don't discover new music when purchasing vinyl, I just go with the artists that I know and love. I am hoping that the WiiM Pro+, along with the Tidal streaming service, introduces me to new artists and music that I may not encounter otherwise.
@@dmonthomeI purchased the WiiM Mini for a specific reason and that’s to stream my SiriusXM subscription and Amazon music subscription through this new system. I have two other systems and they are powered by my Sansui 9090DB and a Marantz 8006PM!
I grew up in Chicago back in the 60’s and 70’s and have been in a J C Whitney store. They also went by the name Warshasky. And I can’t describe the feeling of walking the isles with automotive items and parts except to say it was like a kid in a candy store. I still use my old Kenwood KR8050 that I bought from a store called Pacific Stereo and it has a beautiful warm sound with A, B and C speaker selection. Wish I could go back in time and enjoy stores like that again. Now a days I mostly use a Yamaha AS 3200 amp for my main stereo and a pair of Paradigm speakers and/or old JBL L100’s (which I bought new in 1974, and that tells you how old I am) I think we all have nostalgic feelings sometimes but in this case it’s warranted.
I enjoy your weekly videos! I knew some things about vintage stereos as I grew up listening to my father’s Pioneer SX-1500T and other equipment of his but I never got in deep until this year. I’ve learned a ton and bought a ton of Pioneer gear. I’ve also made a few new friends getting into the hobby as well. Learning and talking to others has probably been the most fun aspect of it overall. Keep up the great and informative vids!
I really enjoy your videos and I can’t know how hard it is to make a video. You have taught me quite a bit about vintage gear and will continue to watch and I’m also close enough to come visit. Good job Kevin
Kevin I know your busy,, but one question, do vintage receivers seem to sound better after warm up. If so is it the Electrolict capacitor issues, tell me what I will see if need of recap??? Anyone have a answer , I would like to hear??
I am always sharing your videos with people that have vintage hi-fi questions. As you have covered a lot of great stuff from repairs to your favorites or things to watch out for in specific brands. Hopefully they have become fans.
Another good TH-cam post. Old vs New, Vinyl vs Digital are strictly preferences. Some days I put on a record, other times I steam from my digital playlist. I find older recordings like "Papa was a rolling stone" have a great mix in quad/ stero separation, and I have found new music with a great prodution mix. A prefer the older mixes however but I think its mostly out of years of brain memory and being familiar with the nuance's in the mix.
I signed in just to reply. Papa just sounds so damn good anyway, right? LOL And I couldn't agree with you more abou the OG mixes. They are imprinted in our minds and that's the way we want to hear 'em. Kinda like replacing a cherry vintage Camaro with a "new" one...nah, thanks!
Hi, This is teh first video on your channel that I watched, since I just discovered your channel. Man was I amazed to see one of the most sincere and honest videos I've seen so far on YT, no audiophile bs, no pretentious opinion, just sharing information and knowledge, this is cool. Keep up the good work, YT needs more like this. Best regards from Amsterdam.
I completely agree with your assessment about vinyl. I love it. I think I have 9 or 10 turntables? Not all of them work great. I have about 3000 Albums. Classic rock, plus jazz, show tunes, classical. I buy almost any albums that are in fantastic condition. I sit there, listen to them, look at the cover, look at the liner notes just like you described. Some.... I will never listen to again. Some have changed my thoughts on particular genres. For convenience, I listen to CDs a lot too. It is also a little nostalgic to me and for a while I was able to pick them up for very little money. I love vintage audio and love your channel. We had a few stereo stores in Jackson MS. Mainly Hooper Sound for higher end and then Radio Shack. I used to ride my bike to them before I got my license.
As long as there are boomers still alive, you won't run out of vintage equipment, or crappy old equipment or nice modern equipment for that matter. I say that as a 69 year old guy with some of all three and a collection that is split 50/50 between LPs and CDs. I just sold a Goldring turntable (off brand Rega w/ great tonearm) to a vintage collector and he told me that most of his friends/customers had nothing but vintage equipment. He told me that he really loved my system that's mostly made up of new equipment that you could buy tomorrow. No component costs more than $1500. It's centered around a Vincent SV-500 2x50 watt hybrid integrated amp.
Keep up the great work Kevin! Always enjoy watching your videos and gleaning your knowledge. Looking forward to driving to DesMoines and visiting your shop again.
I really enjoy your videos. I learned decades ago about the power rating deceptions. I have a 150 watt/channel Pioneer and a pair mach ones if i want to rock the neighborhood, but the stereo i listen to every day is an old school 7 watt/channel and a very efficient pair of 8" bookshelf speakers. sound is fantastic and plenty loud for every day listening. Agree with your vinyl vs digital perspective 100 %. I still enjoy the tactile experience of playing records, but most of the time listening through Bluetooth adapter to the vintage equipment. Looking forward to more videos.
Well done Kevin. I just restored (as far as cleaning, lamps, and Deoxit controls) on a friends Yamaha 1010, plus restored the wood & new crossover caps on NLA Advent speakers. They added a iFi Zen Blue Bluetooth interface and they are super happy on the sound.
Back when I used a turntable mine weighed 40 pounds and had shock absorbers for the feet. Every time an album is played you do a little damage to it. That's caused by a diamond or a sapphire traveling those soft grooves in a record and they produce wear. You can track light, maybe 1/2 gram but that makes the tone arm more susceptible to bass resonance which leads to feedback and the tonearm skipping. Let's not forget you're going to want to spend as much as you can afford on a cartridge. In my day it was either a high dollar shure or audio technical and they both had different sound signatures (usually ). And let's not forget having to wash the disk before use and then using an anti-static gun on the disk before playing. as well as manually adjusting the speed of the platter unless you had a phase-locked loop direct drive turntable. After all that you only have to worry about surface noise from a poorly manufactured disk and the albums naturally wanting to warp from storage. Compact Disk were the audio break through that audiophiles were waiting for.
I feel like you summed up my own thoughts about vinyl versus digital beautifully. I think it's much more about the master than the format, AND the interaction of any given master with the specific system that you're playing on. What I've been saying to people for years is: vinyl has been more than good enough since the late '60s, IF you are using good enough equipment. Very basic cheap turntables aren't as good as very well made models. That was the beauty of the CD - even cheap CD players sound pretty good, relatively speaking.
I am a guitar player so I own a DAW and it's super fun to listen to very high resolution digital audio. 24-bit 192 kilohertz. It's not a question of digital versus vinyl so much as quality versus lack of quality. I think a lot of people did not like CDs when they came out because they had bad experiences with Hardware or bad CDs. A quality system should be able to play any type of audio and make people happy.
Another thing you don't mention when talking about mastering in the 80s is record companies started mixing for cassettes to be played on boom boxes. No rock or pop music in the 80s had any bass, and I think this is part of what spurred rap producers to bring the bass back
Your best video ever! Canadian guy here. You bring such great, well balanced, perspective to all this and thanks for everything you do. I've learned more useful things about this subject than from anywhere else on the internet. In the last week I've used your advice to purchase a Pioneer sx-737 receiver and a Technics Sl-Q2 turntable. Can't believe my good fortune in finding your channel and perspective. If I'm ever in Des Moines I hope to pop by your store and shake your hand. Keep up the great work.
I always look forward to your videos. Vintage audio is my favorite subject and you cover it so well. In 1985 my wife surprised me with a CD player for my birthday. I fell in love with it and never looked back. I sold most of my vinyl and about 25 years ago gave my turntable to my son. Now if a manufacturer could come up with a device that could add clicks, pops, scratch and surface noise to my CDs.... Just kidding, my son loves vinyl and I think vinyl is cool, but it's just not for me.
I tend to be 80% vinyl ... "Ritualistic" reasons. Completely agree with your comments on mastering. Fwiw, I've stopped trying to make vinyl sound like a CD and vise versa.. each playback medium has its own virtues. One misconception I cringe at is the notion of "Pure Audio means 'original sound playback'". It may be useful when playing recordings of birds chirping or thunderstorms etc. (not my thing.. really) but I don't know that such thing as "original sound" playback can exist for musical playback unless you were in a live studio (or in the producer's head). Everything is coloured to a certain extent via one's playback equipment and, ultimately, ears. At the end of the day, it is just stereo equipment, as you say, and whatever sounds good to your own ears is the right thing. Thanks always for the fun videos, I try to watch whenever I see new ones uploaded. You may not be the all-knowing master of audio equipment, but your providing a forum for thought and curiosity is very much appreciated.
Another great video and, like in the past, very humble and full of good information. I love vintage gear, I gave a shot at an amp with raging reviews here on TH-cam but after 1 month I returned it today because my SX780 is far better sounding and looking. Great channel, keep it going, thank you.
Hello Kevin I look forward to your videos. You speak my language, and I get a lot of common sense advice from you. Thank you. I wrote you before I am planning a motorcycle vacation probably to Sturgis in 2024. On this trip I plan on going to various vintage audio shops on my journey. I really hope to meet you and your staff next year. Keep up the great work. Thank you and take care
I really love channels like yours as it indulges my need for the nostalgia in audio. Speaking for myself, I am over 60 years old and remember the 70's when what we call vintage audio was in full swing. I used to go to my local hifi store and check out the new stuff, and would just dream of owning all the gear I would see. Recently, I found a really good Pioneer SX-780, which was one of the pieces of gear, I remember seeing all those years ago. Like you say, there is equipment out there today, that would likely surpass it in overall performance, but for me, there is the nostalgia and the tactile feel of turning the tuning dial, that just does it for me. I am investing in upgrading the Darlington Power packs, to newly invented modules, as well as a complete, restoration. It would not be worth it for a lot of people to spend money on an old piece of gear like I am but I'm sure there are people here, that can relate. Thanks for the work you put in to this channel, it gives an old guy a lot of pleasure.
You and me brother,I’m in my 60’s and loving it. Kevin does vintage GREAT! I have 11 vintage pieces,I’m not a hoarder,I’m a lover of vintage. I truely love my equipment. Pioneer 780,880,980,1080, Marantz,Sansui…..enjoy my brother,enjoy!😎
Hi Kevin, I remember that back in the heyday of the record player the discussions direct drive versus belt drive where already passionate. So in a way, the story just continues. It is also nice to be passionate about something :) BTW, back in the day, there where also similar discussions about straight tone arms versus S shaped tone arms :D Perhaps less of a topic today, but back in the 80's, there would also be heated debates on whether the high end cassette decks had overtaken the reel to reel recorders, with passionate advocates on both sides.
Thank you for the good, honest commentary. Audio has been a passion for me even in my pre-teen years, starting with a 'Voice of Music' (VM) tape recorder with tube electronics. I hung around audio shops drooling over equipment and chatting with people there. Lafayette Radio Electronics stores also provided equipment and interesting accessories as well as quality well-known brands often mentioned here. Working a paper route provided money to buy equipment. At that time I'd usually buy the electronic components, then build my own loudspeakers after much research and reading magazines like Audio, High Fidelity, High Fidelity, Popular Electronics, and then Stereophile, Audio Amateur and Speaker Builder as well as various books. This led to my decision to become an Electrical Engineer. Of course I made a stereo power amplifier for my college senior design project. At one point I co-owned a stereo shop. It was great meeting people, and I got to play and test a lot of gear. I set up many turntables, did repairs, and even build and modified equipment. (Somewhat now over-looked are American-made products by Dynaco and Hafler.) This took me on a path to work with sound for live bands, and as well as involvement with discotheque equipment and DJ work, which then branched into radio stations and mobile sound. As they say, "Those were the days." It's been interesting to watch "audio" evolve. Thankfully equipment from that era was well-made so much has survived for us to enjoy!
As Carole Kaye of The Wrecking Crew put it, digital recording solved all of the problems that engineers had been dealing with for years. Records can sound incredible in spite of their shortcomings, but yeah it takes a big investment in playback gear to get you there. I too like both formats however there's one format you'll never find me making a dive back into and that's the world of cassette tapes. Thanks again for another great program.
Kevin, your channel rocks! I love and appreciate that you speak from the experience you have. I also can tell that you speak honestly. If I lived closer I would definitely visit your store.
I totally agree with everything you say. Your more common sense than almost 99% of audiophiles out there. I like CD's and records. With a good turntable, a record can sound as good as a CD. As well as wattage, I remember this comment from Julian Hirch from Stereo Review, if you double the wattage from 50 watts to 100 watts, your only increasing the volume by only 3db. Really, 15 watts per channel can fill up a room easily with sound. Producers in recording studios always catered to the listening audience. During the early 60's, Phil Spector mastered the 'Wall of Sound' to cater to teens with portable mono turntables.
The wattage thing is a little nuts. Like Kevin said, most people can’t stand more than 10 or 15 watts into 8 ohms in a normal listening environment. That’s loud, man.
I started watching your channel only because one video came up as a suggestion. Because I watched the video I remembered that out in my garage was a system that I bought in the 1980's and hadn't set up in over 15 years (inexpensive Technics). A little clean up and a new belt for the turntable and I now have a method to play my old cassettes, vinyl, and CDs. I'm 74 and still have vinyl that I bought new in the 60's, cassettes from the 70's, and CDs from the late 80's and as recently as 5 years ago. I actually have duplicates on all three platforms, and can't really tell much difference in sound quality. Although that may be because of my stint in the Navy when I had to listen to Morse code for up to 16 hours a day.... Love your channel and would ask to please keep up the good work. I really enjoy your discussions. Thank you!
An aspect of the wattage myth that you forgot to mention is the importance of current in the output stage. A high current, low wattage amp will sound thicker, fuller and more controlled at reasonable listening levels than a low current, high wattage amp. Cheers!
Correct. Wattage is average power (RMS) and current is peak power. My first receiver was an Advent 300 with a number of interesting features such as an FM only tuner and a pre-amp out/main amp in capability. It was only rated at 15 watts but was high current.
The nature of the output sound is more dependent on the speaker design and whether you can exactly match the amplifier power to that design. A lower watt - mid current design works extremely well for very high efficiency (96db+) in my experience. The best advice is get the best speakers that meet your taste and than get the components that will run them.
@@richardrose2606Well in truth current isn't power at all but it is true that for inductive drive (most) speaker's the cone's motion is determined by current. In the real world the amplifier and speaker are a team and the impedance curve and sensitivity of the speaker must be compatible with the output characteristics of the amp.
At 13:43 into your video, I see my company's flagship showroom demonstrator, the Audio Authority Model 310 Efficiency Compensating Comparator. It is very gratifying to see it in use some 40 years after we designed and built it in Lexington, KY. It was the very best of its day. Thanks for your thoughtful videos and educating folks about vintage audio gear. Jonathan Sisk, Audio Authority Corp.
Well thank you for building such a quality piece of equipment! We have had some pretty high offers from people wanting to purchase it. I was told it came from a McIntosh dealer in Kansas City. Thanks for watching!
Your attitude towards negative comments is not only wonderful in this case but the general philosophy I tried to teach my kids and the community members with whom I work (both kids and adults). If Somebody is negative, just tried to give them some grace and appreciate that they probably need some positivity in their life. it not probably helps them get a better attitude but helps us not take it personally. I welcome negativity as a challenge to see if I can make their life happier 🙂 Your friendly, honest, and funny delivery is what makes this channel my favorite of everything on TH-cam right now. 🙂
Just started watching Skylabs and frankly your videos have sparked an interest for me with this hobby. I'm now searching the classifieds for vintage gear, hoping to build a system. Keep doing what you're doing. You all are great!
The loudness wars was the biggest act of violence against music and sound. They made every song to sound like an advertisement. Flat and Dry! And this is the reason why vinyl gets preferred over digital. Ironically the limitations of vinyl technology, saved the recordings from the aftermath of this insane over-compression.
For a proper analog vs. digital comparison, the turntable equation is tricky -- because there are many factors that determine how good a record will sound. Here are three: 1) Who set up the turntable, and did they know what they were doing? If you just plop down the turntable, and start playing records, you will likely get noticeably inferior sound quality. For a record to sound its best, all of the following must be dialed in with precision: -- the effective length of the tone-arm -- the cartridge's weight -- the vertical tracking alignment / rake angle -- the anti-skating -- the overhang -- the offset -- the zenith angle -- the cartridge's azimuth. If any of the above are out of alignment, by the slightest amount, then your sound quality will suffer. It will probably take a turntable guru approximately 90 minutes of tedious work to professionally dial in a turntable. But when done right, you will be rewarded with ear candy. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for your stylus to rub in exactly the right places within the record's groove. And then there is a possible manufacturing issue with some cartridges (even some multi-thousand dollar cartridges). Some manufacturers install the stylus into the cantilever at an improper angle, and will be beyond anything you can adjust to compensate for the improper stylus position. This will be more prevalent with mass produced cartridges -- but it sometimes happens with high-end cartridges, too. Last item for #1 is to isolate your turntable from vibrations / feedback. If, when you turn up the volume, you get any hum, that will kill the sound quality. Even if you hear no hum, you might still have some feedback. After I put my turntable on some bearings, my sound quality improved. There are also shelves that are built to isolate your turntable (or any other gear) from vibrations. It gets expensive. But the quality shelves really work. I do not own one, but have heard in-person demonstrations. 2) Phono amp. A phono amp is just as important as a pre-amp, or power amp. The better ones get pricey. If your manufacturer skimped on the phono amp (such as, if you have a receiver with a built-in phono amp, and the manufacturer put 5% of its cost into the phono stage), then your sound quality will reflect that level of design. 3) Most vinyl pressings suck, sound quality wise. You can have a dream turntable, professionally set-up, and it will sound lifeless with many, many, many records. But when you land a gem of a record, your stereo will sound like it just tripled in price. A pressing can make your stereo sound like it is playing re-produced music. Or... Your pressing can make your stereo sound like it is not there -- that you are in the studio with the band. Unfortunately, the pressing gems are the exception. Most pressings have sub-par sound quality. And even if you find a gem, it might have outstanding sound quality on only one of its two sides. How one side sounds has almost no relationship to how good the other side will sound. If you get everything right with the turntable, phono amp, and pressings (as well as cleaning the pressings), you will be rewarded with a wonderful listening experience. The above is hard to achieve, making digital a better choice for most folks. Digital has its own issues, including that most digital releases have sub-par sound quality (what the heck goes on in the studios?). But bang for the buck, as well as convenience, digital is the best bet for most folks. Good video!
You got it 100% right IMHO. In the military in the Viet Nam War days, we spent our pay on stereo gear. It was "who's is the best and loudest." And those really good components and vinyl came home with us, to the awe and envy of many. Reckon that got a lot of folks who heard it into it too. But in 1983 or 4, an audiophile engineer I worked with showed me a CD... It was Mozart or something, said I had to hear it. It blew me away! As time passed, we could hear so much more -- albums we knew by heart, on CD's. Our vinyl was just to hold, look at, & read -- maybe hang on the wall. The goal became getting the highest CD sampling players & CDs. Thanks.
You're the same kind of collector that I am. I was buying vinyl all through the period where people were selling their LPs to replace them with CD's. That was kind of a mini-golden age for record buyers. I also have both CD and LP versions of my most played or favorite albums. Some record companies produced really inferior pressings in the 70's thru the 90's, and CDs are much more convenient.
Great content as always! Love watching the videos and all the information sharing. I want to make a trip to the store front. It’s about 8 1/2 hours from east lansing Michigan where I am located. Hoping to make a road trip this summer!
Ironically, speaking of "therapist", your channel is my audio therapy. Your channel is down to earth with great advice and common sense. Rare things now-a-days.
especially with the copious amounts of snake oil in the industry.
Such common sense. I wish he would run for president. But that bar is too low for him.
I'm a 64 year old collector of vintage gear. Love your videos and try to watch them all.
Your point about the mastering is spot on - CD's that are poorly mastered can sound worse than vinyl. However, vinyl degrades with every play.
The CD version of Rumours by Fleetwood Mac was a big disappointment, sonically. The remaster completely makes up for it.
Yep. I have a Marshall Tucker Band CD from the late 80s that is noticably mid-fi in signal and dynamic range.
Being an Ex-Sony audio tech, I get asked similar things all the time, and I guess my answers usually follow the same line. Expensive was, and still is, expensive. Painfully so sometimes. People's remembrance, for instance, of cassettes, was of their crummy beat box with cheapo cassettes from the local store. When I show them an ES Sony deck with chrome or metal tapes, they're usually blown away by the fact that it sounds virtually as excellent as CD. Same for wattage, it's the quality not necessarily the quantity that matters. Long live vintage. 😀
Current is the important ingredient.
Thank you
As a teenager growing up in a town of 40,000 people in the late 60’s and early 70’s we had 6 high end stereo shops! Myself and my friends would hang around these shops after school and weekends just shooting the breeze with the owners and employees while drooling over the equipment and hoping one day to be able to buy some of those beautiful pieces of equipment. Hifi was huge back then. If you didn’t have your own stereo system, 9 times out of 10 your parents did even if it was just a Magnavox console. To me, your channel reminds me of those days hanging around the stereo store asking questions of the owner who always took the time to chat with us even though we probably only had enough money to buy an album, if even that. But those stereo gurus knew that one day, we could become future customers and treated us no differently from the buying customers. Working as a dishwasher after school and weekends in 1970, I was able to save up enough money to buy my first true hifi system, a Marantz 1060 integrated amplifier, an AR Turntable w/ Shure Cartridge and a pair of JBL L100’s. I still have this system and it works just as well as it did in 1970 albeit with a few repairs over the years. I paid $997 for the system which works out to $7720.94 in today’s money. Presently, our town has grown to over 80,000 people and with the exception of a very marginal Best Buy, there are no stereo stores selling new or vintage equipment. Having your channel to watch on TH-cam, while not a replacement for these stores, is the next best thing and I thank you Kevin, for the service and memories you provide!
I have a new pair of $7,000 Kef R11 speakers and i use a 1976 Pioneer sx1050 reciever , which i run spotify thru and it sounds great ....There is nothing like vintage !!!!....The quality was off the charts !!!!
I have always been into audio ever since I was a kid. I was a pre teen during the stereo power wars. My brother who was 10 yrs older than me had a pioneer sx1080 and large advents and a pioneer pl540. It sounded great. I used to love to hang out in the audio room of service merchandise, brendles, audition hi fi, and radio shack. I have quite a vintage audio collection now and still love it. It's like a time machine to the past. Thanks, you have an awesome channel and audio store.
@@audiopyle3606 great comment, a time machine to the past ..i love it
I can really identify with the drooling. It’s one of the reasons I sprung for a vintage Pioneer SX-780. It sounds great, looks brand new out of the box, came with its original box, and was reasonably priced.
Good for you that you kept your system. I gave my first receiver, HK 330i, to my niece and now she’s enjoying it.
Yep. ' stereo stores' like wall to wall in near every mll ( horrid place to listen but at least Ya could SEE 20 different receivers, t'table etc. ) gone the way of the dinosaur. and don't even try to find a decent electronic repair place.
A guy who knows vintage stereo and about JC Whitney catalogs? A rare breed indeed!
JC Whitney was the bomb
People forget how crazy expensive stereo gear was in the 1960's and 1970's. Also we had a strong middle class to support the industry.
Agree a Nakamichi Taperecorder cost close to 3000 dollars
I remember a paying 800 for a basic 21 inches colour TV around 1986. It was very expensive.
Particularly if you go with digital sources and want something that's only needs to be faithful to the music and not to annoy the neighbors with extreme volume it seems that you can have some very good sound for a pretty modest investment these days...
@@rolandlickert2904 The Nakamichi Dragon when it was released in 1982...was $1850. Now...they are three times that.
Sorry got that wrong it was 3000germanmarks in Germany@@davidbutler8096
I just turned 70, and I’m still looking to add to my vintage equipment collection. I love to learn from your channel as well as others.
I am the same age and just added 20 vinyl albums to my rather large collection.
The "I was wrong then, no big deal" part can be and SHOULD BE taught in schools for every aspect of our lives because being wrong and being able to admit it is an important part of any learning process.
It's the Teacher Unions that are instructing our teachers to put out the...let's just say, crap. Parents need to be involved at board meetings.
Instead we have a generation of flakes sitting on the fence.
You are right!
@@CohibaJoeStop it. This is a vinyl collecting video, not a place to spread your propaganda.
Bruh, Could not agree with you more!! I was choppin it up with an old friend, and we were taking boomers to task when it comes to their dropping of the ball after partially causing the mess we are in. They are 90% incapable of owning their mistakes and poor choices. I don’t think they were always this way. But the trend is viral, as well as staggering. First generation (I’m aware of) where our elder community as a whole, DOES NOT fit the archetype we have become accustomed to. I wish i was wrong.
“I am not an expert”. Your honesty makes me listen to you.
Greetings from the Netherlands
No misconception here, we love you and Skylabs. It's genuinely a surprise and joy every Sunday morning.
Thank you, Craig!
If someone thinks that vinyl sounds better than digital, that's up to them, The beauty is in the eye of the beholder, nothing mythical about that.
I haven't owned a stereo system in at least 25 years, but I've become addicted to these videos. I love looking at vintage equipment and the presentation is so down to earth and calming that I watch as an antidote to all the fast-paced screaming negative bs on the internet. Thanks for being a positive influence!
Thank you for keeping vintage alive!
I'm late to the party here, but I will say what keeps me coming back is your knowledge of HiFi. The fact that you are humble or even keeled in your presentation. You enjoy the hobby just like many others do without being condescending about what brands are the best versus what is affordable. I like that. You are doing a great job.
Thank you. Much appreciated
What keeps me coming here on Sunday mornings is that it's just refreshing to hear someone talk about an interesting yet very subjective hobby with a calm and reasoned approach while attempting to be objective.
Kevin, your voice is almost hypnotic and your dryness and clarity always cuts through all the crap out there, without the over showmanship and adding to the white noise which is the source of the 2023 static and hiss that you hear through your vintage speakers that definitely wasn’t there in the 70’s!
Keeping it just black and white is a rarity now a days
I love you buddy and keep up the great work
Always enjoy your Sunday videos. My dad still owns his SX-980 and HPM-100's that he bought brand new in the late 70's. I brought the 980 home several years ago and cleaned the pots and switches as he had sidelined this receiver for years and had replaced it with an Onkyo from the 90's. I've had my share of spiteful comments on my meager, little TH-cam channel, so I know what you mean. There's always an "expert" out there who knows everything and won't hesitate to tell you as much. Keep the videos coming, those of us who truly enjoy the hobby appreciate you. Thanks
Really appreciate your channel and your no nonsense way of covering our subject! Hope one day to visit you in Iowa too.
This is one of my favorite channels! On one hand, I wish I lived closer so I could stop by the store. On the other hand, I don't need that kind of equipment temptation on a regular basis.
Honest, humble, knowledgeable. IMO, the best vintage (and more) audio info channel available. Good job.
Appreciate that
Love your channel, keep it rolling
What a genuine honest dude talking about a hobby i love. Easiest subscribe button click of my life
Thank you! I appreciate that
I dont even own vintage equipment, and I don't miss a video. You explain things in a manner that makes sense. And it applies to new equipment as well as vintage. A good example is wattage. You made valid points about wattage that I never really thought about before. Keep up the great work. I hope the channel keeps growing.
I grew up on vinyl records. Then I was there for the CD introduction. I simply don't understand how anyone, anyone can say vinyl sounds better than a CD.
A common misconception that I recall from my years in 70's audio retail was that "12 o'clock on the volume control was only half maximum volume". I can't begin to count the number of blown tweeters coming into the shop from turning the volume up too high. 1-2 o'clock was often the point where amplifiers and receivers would reach their maximum ability before amplifier distortion (clipping) would occur and potentially damage speaker components. These life lessons would sometimes result in the sale of a larger amplifier.
I've always noticed this. 3/4 volume was the max I'd run my system, and that was out in the park during a keg party. There seemed to be a fall off in noticeable volume decibel after that and a loss of sound quality even though very slight.
How can I be over drawn? I still have checks. 😇
Dude I was a computer systems analyst for 21 of the best years of my life. I loved computers and would have gladly done the job for free. You give the same vibe when you talk about vintage audio. I'm retired in my 60's now and I love my vintage audio collection. I come here to share everything I love about vintage audio with you all. I'm sure YOU know this. Just because a song is digital does not mean it ALWAYS sounds better than vinyl. Determinants in digital sound quality is source quality, sample rate usually 44.1 KHz and finally bit depth i.e. 16-bit: 65,536 values 24-bit: 16,777,216 values & 32-bit: 4,294,967,296 values. Each element can improve or denude digital sound quality. I think this channel is the BOMB BIGGITY!
Of course all digital is not created the same... nor is all analog, like an 8-track tape can't sound nearly as good as a reel to reel tape, both played from a great system. MP3s aren't great but I would argue that the standard for CD was really well thought out and even with competition from higher resolution and greater bit depth formats, it still holds up. There's a point where any extra resolution and bit depth isn't really perceived by human ears. Particularly when it comes to bit depth, greater than CD quality is pretty much wasted. There isn't music that even contains dynamic range greater than what a CD is capable of. The highest but rates can do dynamics that might go from the equivalent of a pin dropping on the floor to a jet plane taking off 50 feet away... and what music do you know of that has that kind of dynamic range?
@@aaronhayman8558 Any number of variables change the quality of sound being reproduced. If I wanted to I could write a tome filled with facts and variables to consider in a near infinite number of sound reproduction situations using different tools. My response was a confined to a very limited set of parameters regards audio quality. If you need to be right on this or any other subject I raise then by all means, "You're Right!" I'm not here to fight over details. I'm here enjoy and learn from the awesome videos shared by the Skylabs video creator and his amazing guests. I here to enjoy learn about new things vintage and new. I'm here to gain insights and get help collecting quality vintage audio.
I have about 3500 vinyl records. I used to sell hi-fi between 1976 and 1983. If I'm ever JUST listening to music, it's ALWAYS vinyl. However, all things being equal, there is no way on God's green earth that vinyl sounds as good as a CD. But the key qualifier is "All things being equal".
The problem with any digital format, however, is that often the source put into the format is not as good as the source put on the vinyl, e.g. loudness wars.
But if one takes the original master recordings and puts them on a CD and vinyl, the CD will more accurately reproduce what was actually on the master recording (tape or otherwise) and it will be easily audible. The reason? In order to create a final master to convert to a vinyl stamper they have to reduce the dynamic range to ensure the needle stays in the groove when played back. Also, to get a decent amount of time on a record, without too much space being taken up by the groove.
It's that simple, IF all things are equal. But since sources are NOT always equal, there are times when the vinyl will sound better than the CD. Again, a perfect example is the loudness wars.
All that being said, there are so many other ways that I enjoy vinyl that have nothing to do with sound quality. i.e. the experience.
I've watched a few vintage equipment channels with different presenters and I always keep coming back here. Down to earth clear & concise assessments from a decent and friendly person. Keep up the great work!
Totally Agree with the WATTS ratings.. I have a 1974'ish Pioneer SX-737, recently restored, on some recent model Klipsch bookshelf speakers that will go loud enough to really disturb the neighbors and it's got a modest 35 WPC rating. Nice points as always. Keep on rocking it.
I had a student worker who kept insisting that you had to have 1000 watts in a car stereo. I took him to the loading dock with a pair of 50 watt Macintosh amps and a pair of Bose 802 stage speakers. He was punching my arm telling me to turn it down.
@@techguy9023 Love that Hahaha!
Thank you for being honest with your viewers and to yourself. Huge respect! Owning a small vintage stereo shop is winning in my book. Wishing you future success.
Kevin, thanks for creating a great space and community via your TH-cam channel. This is one of my favorite places on all of TH-cam and the web. Really appreciate your humility, passion, and willingness to share. Such an enjoyable and positive space… I hope to make the trip to Iowa and see the store in-person some day. Meanwhile, I look for the next video… keep doing what you’re doing. It’s great.
@8:50 My dad was selling audio equipment in the very early 70's 1970-73. They would have one stereo that was 15 watts per channel but THD was much lower that the one that was 20 Watts per channel, he had a hard time convincing some guys that the lower powered unit would actually sound louder and cleaner than the higher powered one. A lot of them bought the 20 Watt version just based on the output not the quality of it.
If you run a receiver with power meters on any normal pair of speakers in a residential-sized room, turning the volume to a generous, but not uncomfortable level, you'll rarely see the needles go over the .1 watt mark. Of course, the peaks bring it up exponentially and a bigger space will need a lot more power, but 15 watts will easily annoy most people's neighbors without distorting.
PS: I remember working in a movie theater in which the speakers behind the screen were so efficient that they could be (and were) powered by a 10 watt amplifier. But the surround sound theater systems of that vintage (1950s-1970s) used smaller speakers that were less efficient, so they needed more powerful amplifiers.
I think everybody out here appreciates the time and effort you put into the videos please keep them coming
Kevin, very cool episode. I especially like the "Misconceptions about Me (You)". You under rate the amount of knowledge you share out here. Your insight of Audio, and how different people perceive Audio is huge. Most everyone on the planet in some form enjoys hearing & listening to music. The fact that you focus on the Vintage era of equipment and how we can get more out of it is really cool. Keep doing what you do.
I'm on my 2nd purchase of a Pioneer SX receiver. Really fun watching & taking in your advice of the hobby. -Thank you.
'Every day is a School day.'
I think your channel is successful because you have tapped into a vein of happy memories, I think almost everyone my age remembers going into a stereo retailer in the 70s and the feeling of magic that all that glorious gear held. To own a little piece of it nowadays is powerful stuff!
There's a slew of vintage audio (or just audio) channels on TH-cam. I've watched many, and Skylabs is the one I look forward to each week. Kevin's manner is relaxing and his truthful presentation is always welcome. I can't remember the last time I saw a negative comment, and if it exists, was likely some piss-ant hater who doesn't have much nice to say about anything, regardless. Keep up the great work!
As far as CDs vs vinyl I did do a comparison of the same CD and vinyl for my son. Yes the CD was clear and no pops and hiss, but the vinyl was more organic, with a bigger bottom end sound. But that;s also up to the listener weather they like that sound, or clear and no background sound. Also as fr as watts, i do have a 100wt Realistic receiver and just picked up a Scott R-306 receiver with 15 watts. With a good set of efficient speakers, 15 watts pumped out some great sound. Again, it's a preference thing. As a kid, I did spend my Saturday afternoons in a high end stereo store getting some knowledge into equipment and what works best pared together.
Please do a video on the price point / tech point at which equipment improvements are outweighed by listening environment ie room shape, size and acoustic treatment.
I also think that like in wine, there’s a sophistication point at which the average person can’t really perceive improvements in quality. True oenophiles and audiophiles can detect the differences, but the majority are using price as an index to quality and allowing reviews and appearance influence their level of satisfaction. It is well established that if you give people a wine and tell them it’s rated 96 points, then they enjoy it much more than if you tell them it’s 85 points
I've been listening to you for about a year now and I've enjoyed every moment and ill be 60 in march 2024 keep pushing vintage Audio ❤👍
I have heard about this feature of "warmth" from a vinyl record. It seems that there are folks that violently defend vinyl for its sound reproduction.
I haven't read about the answer to "isn't that just unwanted noise"... or I would guess wanted noise for the audiophiles. It's an intriguing topic. I have not read any dialoge around reproducing silence on vinyl... I would think this is not possible. How do audiophiles answer this one? I'm just curious. Do they get mad at this topic? From the statement of... no vinyl record has ever been able to play "zero", but in contrast there should be some digital media that could reproduce silence. I am curious as to what the best response to this is.
Another great video Kevin. Your honesty, candor and advice is very much appreciated. I look forward to your next one. Thank you so much!
Thanks very much for your videos! You are providing a much needed service to music listeners everywhere!
Thanx for your expertise! On the topic of digital vs. vinyl: I have found that the dynamics of the music to be superior on CDs. We used to use a dbx expander to achieve that type of depth from vinyl at the store I worked in back in the day. Also, the obvious advantages of less noise and better durability made CDs my favorite.
Durability was (is) a big deal for me. I recorded all my records to cassette and played the cassettes to avoid the vinyl getting worn/damaged.
Kevin: You may not even have the time to read this, but nevertheless; I thoroughly enjoy your channel. I recently retired @ 67 and purchased a Marrantz 2238B receiver, Yamaha turntable and set of Boston Acoustics speakers all in great condition. In the late 70's I bought a Marrantz 2238B but later when it developed some issues, I sold it at a Yard Sale! Did I blaspheme? Lol...I only hope the guy who bought it refurbished it! Anyway, late congratulations on opening a business that you are obviously passionate about! I recently purchased your record cleaner from Skylabs and will be busy soon cleaning my vinyl! Keep the videos coming and I many others truly appreciate your knowledge and time to bring it to us!!!
Been there, done that, even the swearing bit 🤣👍
My biggest thing I love about my vintage equipment is that I can control everything from the knobs and buttons. Everything is pre remote controls. I hate how most modern stuff is made where you can’t operate or change certain settings without having the remote(they remove buttons, knobs for sake of sleekness on the front). And inevitably the remote gets misplaced or broke(something spilled on it). If you know, you know. Thanks again Kevin for the great vids.
🙌
Yeah. Having total control over what you buy is a luxury these days.
The ultimate argument against equipment that is only operable with a remote control is, to paraphrase Frank Zappa, "battery leaks will cost you more than a quarter..." (from "Florentine Pogen")
The biggest thing that sux is no remote on 'vintage' gear.
...and that gear has less control functions than contemporary quality gear.
I really don't miss having a remote, though I really do like the convenience of a semi-auto turntable that stops the record at the end of a side rather than skipping on the end of it until I pull the tonearm off of it and shut the motor down...
Slowly but surely, this old hippie is going to learn enough to put a vintage system together. Didn't realize how much I missed music until I found your channel. Thank you for your effort in providing us knowledge, Kevin.
Well you deserve positive comments for just being down-to-earth and giving honest opinions. What you said about vinyl versus CD is spot-on in every regard and I don't know anyone that could have given a better synopsis of that and every other topic you touched on in this video.. you're very humble Kevin and I know you'll keep up the great work.
And I actually do plan on making an album purchase from you at some point later this month
I just discovered your channel last night and I learned so much. Thanks for posting and making videos like you do, it helps to get some perspective about audio.
Awesome, thank you!
Loved the final segment of this video. I'm 20 years older than you so I actually got to hang out in LOTS of Twin Cities stereo stores, but once I bought something I'd quit looking and live with it, so I really love watching and learning from your channel. I wish I would have known what you teach (yes you do) in the 90's when I took my Harman Kardon 930 receiver to the electronics recycling center. 😩
I'm going to take the 4 hr drive down to your store someday. Might stop at Fix My Dual while I'm there (and while he's still there) to buy a 1229 dust cover to replace my scratched up one.
I can't express how much I enjoy your channel and look forward to your newest videos!
I can't thank you enough for the thought and work you put into the channel and vintage stereo. Having recently moved from Iowa, I thought I could find other stores easily in bigger areas. That has not been the case unfortunately. Keep up the good work!
Great Video, it's nice to see that someone dosent go " Vinyl are better sounding" right off the bat. You are absolutely right, it all depends on the system and tu use you make of it. I have a 45-year-old Sansui G-6000 and I just love it. Got it completely recapped last year, I'll try to get another 45 years out of it! Paired with some Kef's 105.4, this system sounds amazing for what it is. I stream, have cd's and also have a record player (Rega P6 paired with a Hana SL cart and a Moon LP110 V2 phono pre amp). Not a bad setup but still, I have cd's that sound better, it is what it is. Keep up the good work, love the videos. Cheers
All I can say is “Thank You Kevin”!!!!! Like I stated before, Skylabs is part of my Sunday morning routine. Watching your channel, coffee and absorbing the information! Case in point, I building a new system and I’m incorporating a WiiM Mini. Keep it up!
Frank
I just went to the "dark side" and added a WiiM Pro+ to my vintage system. I love my vinyl sytem and the experience of playing vinyl but, for myself, I find that I tend to exist in an echo chamber of music that I grew up with. I usually don't discover new music when purchasing vinyl, I just go with the artists that I know and love. I am hoping that the WiiM Pro+, along with the Tidal streaming service, introduces me to new artists and music that I may not encounter otherwise.
@@dmonthomeI purchased the WiiM Mini for a specific reason and that’s to stream my SiriusXM subscription and Amazon music subscription through this new system.
I have two other systems and they are powered by my Sansui 9090DB and a Marantz 8006PM!
I grew up in Chicago back in the 60’s and 70’s and have been in a
J C Whitney store. They also went by the name Warshasky. And I can’t describe the feeling of walking the isles with automotive items and parts except to say it was like a kid in a candy store. I still use my old Kenwood KR8050 that I bought from a store called Pacific Stereo and it has a beautiful warm sound with A, B and C speaker selection. Wish I could go back in time and enjoy stores like that again. Now a days I mostly use a Yamaha AS 3200 amp for my main stereo and a pair of Paradigm speakers and/or old JBL L100’s (which I bought new in 1974, and that tells you how old I am) I think we all have nostalgic feelings sometimes but in this case it’s warranted.
I enjoy your weekly videos! I knew some things about vintage stereos as I grew up listening to my father’s Pioneer SX-1500T and other equipment of his but I never got in deep until this year. I’ve learned a ton and bought a ton of Pioneer gear. I’ve also made a few new friends getting into the hobby as well. Learning and talking to others has probably been the most fun aspect of it overall. Keep up the great and informative vids!
I always enjoy your videos and visiting your shop is on my bucket list. Keep up the great work.
I really enjoy your videos and I can’t know how hard it is to make a video. You have taught me quite a bit about vintage gear and will continue to watch and I’m also close enough to come visit. Good job Kevin
Thanks Bruce. Always good to see you and your wife.
Kevin I know your busy,, but one question, do vintage receivers seem to sound better after warm up.
If so is it the Electrolict capacitor issues, tell me what I will see if need of recap???
Anyone have a answer , I would like to hear??
I am always sharing your videos with people that have vintage hi-fi questions. As you have covered a lot of great stuff from repairs to your favorites or things to watch out for in specific brands. Hopefully they have become fans.
Thanks for taking the time to make these videos. I love learning about vintage stereo equipment & your channel is one of the best in this field.
Another good TH-cam post. Old vs New, Vinyl vs Digital are strictly preferences. Some days I put on a record, other times I steam from my digital playlist. I find older recordings like "Papa was a rolling stone" have a great mix in quad/ stero separation, and I have found new music with a great prodution mix. A prefer the older mixes however but I think its mostly out of years of brain memory and being familiar with the nuance's in the mix.
I signed in just to reply. Papa just sounds so damn good anyway, right? LOL And I couldn't agree with you more abou the OG mixes. They are imprinted in our minds and that's the way we want to hear 'em. Kinda like replacing a cherry vintage Camaro with a "new" one...nah, thanks!
Hi,
This is teh first video on your channel that I watched, since I just discovered your channel.
Man was I amazed to see one of the most sincere and honest videos I've seen so far on YT, no audiophile bs, no pretentious opinion, just sharing information and knowledge, this is cool.
Keep up the good work, YT needs more like this.
Best regards from Amsterdam.
I completely agree with your assessment about vinyl. I love it. I think I have 9 or 10 turntables? Not all of them work great. I have about 3000 Albums. Classic rock, plus jazz, show tunes, classical. I buy almost any albums that are in fantastic condition. I sit there, listen to them, look at the cover, look at the liner notes just like you described. Some.... I will never listen to again. Some have changed my thoughts on particular genres. For convenience, I listen to CDs a lot too. It is also a little nostalgic to me and for a while I was able to pick them up for very little money. I love vintage audio and love your channel. We had a few stereo stores in Jackson MS. Mainly Hooper Sound for higher end and then Radio Shack. I used to ride my bike to them before I got my license.
As long as there are boomers still alive, you won't run out of vintage equipment, or crappy old equipment or nice modern equipment for that matter. I say that as a 69 year old guy with some of all three and a collection that is split 50/50 between LPs and CDs.
I just sold a Goldring turntable (off brand Rega w/ great tonearm) to a vintage collector and he told me that most of his friends/customers had nothing but vintage equipment. He told me that he really loved my system that's mostly made up of new equipment that you could buy tomorrow. No component costs more than $1500. It's centered around a Vincent SV-500 2x50 watt hybrid integrated amp.
Those who claim vinyl sound better use a phono cartridge that costs more than my whole system.
Keep up the great work Kevin! Always enjoy watching your videos and gleaning your knowledge. Looking forward to driving to DesMoines and visiting your shop again.
I really enjoy your videos. I learned decades ago about the power rating deceptions. I have a 150 watt/channel Pioneer and a pair mach ones if i want to rock the neighborhood, but the stereo i listen to every day is an old school 7 watt/channel and a very efficient pair of 8" bookshelf speakers. sound is fantastic and plenty loud for every day listening. Agree with your vinyl vs digital perspective 100 %. I still enjoy the tactile experience of playing records, but most of the time listening through Bluetooth adapter to the vintage equipment. Looking forward to more videos.
A 10W channel tube amplifier (or solid state) with sensitive speakers can be very loud.
I’d recommend getting a WiiM mini over playing through Bluetooth. It allows lossless wireless streaming. Significantly better than Bluetooth
Well done Kevin. I just restored (as far as cleaning, lamps, and Deoxit controls) on a friends Yamaha 1010, plus restored the wood & new crossover caps on NLA Advent speakers. They added a iFi Zen Blue Bluetooth interface and they are super happy on the sound.
Love your videos you seem very honest and to be able to admit your passed mistakes proves that keep up the great work
Back when I used a turntable mine weighed 40 pounds and had shock absorbers for the feet. Every time an album is played you do a little damage to it. That's caused by a diamond or a sapphire traveling those soft grooves in a record and they produce wear. You can track light, maybe 1/2 gram but that makes the tone arm more susceptible to bass resonance which leads to feedback and the tonearm skipping. Let's not forget you're going to want to spend as much as you can afford on a cartridge. In my day it was either a high dollar shure or audio technical and they both had different sound signatures (usually ). And let's not forget having to wash the disk before use and then using an anti-static gun on the disk before playing. as well as manually adjusting the speed of the platter unless you had a phase-locked loop direct drive turntable. After all that you only have to worry about surface noise from a poorly manufactured disk and the albums naturally wanting to warp from storage. Compact Disk were the audio break through that audiophiles were waiting for.
I feel like you summed up my own thoughts about vinyl versus digital beautifully. I think it's much more about the master than the format, AND the interaction of any given master with the specific system that you're playing on. What I've been saying to people for years is: vinyl has been more than good enough since the late '60s, IF you are using good enough equipment. Very basic cheap turntables aren't as good as very well made models. That was the beauty of the CD - even cheap CD players sound pretty good, relatively speaking.
I am a guitar player so I own a DAW and it's super fun to listen to very high resolution digital audio. 24-bit 192 kilohertz. It's not a question of digital versus vinyl so much as quality versus lack of quality. I think a lot of people did not like CDs when they came out because they had bad experiences with Hardware or bad CDs. A quality system should be able to play any type of audio and make people happy.
First Skylabs video I’ve watched. Great info, very useful, much appreciated!
Another thing you don't mention when talking about mastering in the 80s is record companies started mixing for cassettes to be played on boom boxes. No rock or pop music in the 80s had any bass, and I think this is part of what spurred rap producers to bring the bass back
Your best video ever! Canadian guy here. You bring such great, well balanced, perspective to all this and thanks for everything you do. I've learned more useful things about this subject than from anywhere else on the internet. In the last week I've used your advice to purchase a Pioneer sx-737 receiver and a Technics Sl-Q2 turntable. Can't believe my good fortune in finding your channel and perspective. If I'm ever in Des Moines I hope to pop by your store and shake your hand. Keep up the great work.
Thank you! Glad to help
I always look forward to your videos. Vintage audio is my favorite subject and you cover it so well. In 1985 my wife surprised me with a CD player for my birthday. I fell in love with it and never looked back. I sold most of my vinyl and about 25 years ago gave my turntable to my son. Now if a manufacturer could come up with a device that could add clicks, pops, scratch and surface noise to my CDs.... Just kidding, my son loves vinyl and I think vinyl is cool, but it's just not for me.
I tend to be 80% vinyl ... "Ritualistic" reasons. Completely agree with your comments on mastering. Fwiw, I've stopped trying to make vinyl sound like a CD and vise versa.. each playback medium has its own virtues.
One misconception I cringe at is the notion of "Pure Audio means 'original sound playback'". It may be useful when playing recordings of birds chirping or thunderstorms etc. (not my thing.. really) but I don't know that such thing as "original sound" playback can exist for musical playback unless you were in a live studio (or in the producer's head). Everything is coloured to a certain extent via one's playback equipment and, ultimately, ears.
At the end of the day, it is just stereo equipment, as you say, and whatever sounds good to your own ears is the right thing.
Thanks always for the fun videos, I try to watch whenever I see new ones uploaded.
You may not be the all-knowing master of audio equipment, but your providing a forum for thought and curiosity is very much appreciated.
Another great video and, like in the past, very humble and full of good information.
I love vintage gear, I gave a shot at an amp with raging reviews here on TH-cam but after 1 month I returned it today because my SX780 is far better sounding and looking.
Great channel, keep it going, thank you.
Hello Kevin
I look forward to your videos. You speak my language, and I get a lot of common sense advice from you. Thank you. I wrote you before I am planning a motorcycle vacation probably to Sturgis in 2024. On this trip I plan on going to various vintage audio shops on my journey. I really hope to meet you and your staff next year. Keep up the great work. Thank you and take care
I really love channels like yours as it indulges my need for the nostalgia in audio. Speaking for myself, I am over 60 years old and remember the 70's when what we call vintage audio was in full swing. I used to go to my local hifi store and check out the new stuff, and would just dream of owning all the gear I would see. Recently, I found a really good Pioneer SX-780, which was one of the pieces of gear, I remember seeing all those years ago. Like you say, there is equipment out there today, that would likely surpass it in overall performance, but for me, there is the nostalgia and the tactile feel of turning the tuning dial, that just does it for me. I am investing in upgrading the Darlington Power packs, to newly invented modules, as well as a complete, restoration. It would not be worth it for a lot of people to spend money on an old piece of gear like I am but I'm sure there are people here, that can relate. Thanks for the work you put in to this channel, it gives an old guy a lot of pleasure.
You and me brother,I’m in my 60’s and loving it. Kevin does vintage GREAT! I have 11 vintage pieces,I’m not a hoarder,I’m a lover of vintage. I truely love my equipment. Pioneer 780,880,980,1080, Marantz,Sansui…..enjoy my brother,enjoy!😎
Thanks for the reply. I can see more gear in my future, once I finish my current project.....lol
@@Silverface1987
More clean RMS power means better sound at lower volume levels ( especially bass).
Hi Kevin, I remember that back in the heyday of the record player the discussions direct drive versus belt drive where already passionate. So in a way, the story just continues. It is also nice to be passionate about something :)
BTW, back in the day, there where also similar discussions about straight tone arms versus S shaped tone arms :D
Perhaps less of a topic today, but back in the 80's, there would also be heated debates on whether the high end cassette decks had overtaken the reel to reel recorders, with passionate advocates on both sides.
Thank you for the good, honest commentary. Audio has been a passion for me even in my pre-teen years, starting with a 'Voice of Music' (VM) tape recorder with tube electronics. I hung around audio shops drooling over equipment and chatting with people there. Lafayette Radio Electronics stores also provided equipment and interesting accessories as well as quality well-known brands often mentioned here. Working a paper route provided money to buy equipment. At that time I'd usually buy the electronic components, then build my own loudspeakers after much research and reading magazines like Audio, High Fidelity, High Fidelity, Popular Electronics, and then Stereophile, Audio Amateur and Speaker Builder as well as various books. This led to my decision to become an Electrical Engineer. Of course I made a stereo power amplifier for my college senior design project. At one point I co-owned a stereo shop. It was great meeting people, and I got to play and test a lot of gear. I set up many turntables, did repairs, and even build and modified equipment. (Somewhat now over-looked are American-made products by Dynaco and Hafler.) This took me on a path to work with sound for live bands, and as well as involvement with discotheque equipment and DJ work, which then branched into radio stations and mobile sound. As they say, "Those were the days." It's been interesting to watch "audio" evolve. Thankfully equipment from that era was well-made so much has survived for us to enjoy!
As Carole Kaye of The Wrecking Crew put it, digital recording solved all of the problems that engineers had been dealing with for years. Records can sound incredible in spite of their shortcomings, but yeah it takes a big investment in playback gear to get you there. I too like both formats however there's one format you'll never find me making a dive back into and that's the world of cassette tapes. Thanks again for another great program.
How about making a dive into 8-track tapes? To me, that's the biggest crap format.
Kevin, your channel rocks! I love and appreciate that you speak from the experience you have. I also can tell that you speak honestly. If I lived closer I would definitely visit your store.
Good, common-sense advice. No hype. Refreshing!
I totally agree with everything you say. Your more common sense than almost 99% of audiophiles out there. I like CD's and records. With a good turntable, a record can sound as good as a CD. As well as wattage, I remember this comment from Julian Hirch from Stereo Review, if you double the wattage from 50 watts to 100 watts, your only increasing the volume by only 3db. Really, 15 watts per channel can fill up a room easily with sound. Producers in recording studios always catered to the listening audience. During the early 60's, Phil Spector mastered the 'Wall of Sound' to cater to teens with portable mono turntables.
The wattage thing is a little nuts. Like Kevin said, most people can’t stand more than 10 or 15 watts into 8 ohms in a normal listening environment. That’s loud, man.
I certainly appreciate your effort to debunk vintage stereo myths. It is a fun hobby and your information is really helpful.
I started watching your channel only because one video came up as a suggestion. Because I watched the video I remembered that out in my garage was a system that I bought in the 1980's and hadn't set up in over 15 years (inexpensive Technics). A little clean up and a new belt for the turntable and I now have a method to play my old cassettes, vinyl, and CDs. I'm 74 and still have vinyl that I bought new in the 60's, cassettes from the 70's, and CDs from the late 80's and as recently as 5 years ago. I actually have duplicates on all three platforms, and can't really tell much difference in sound quality. Although that may be because of my stint in the Navy when I had to listen to Morse code for up to 16 hours a day.... Love your channel and would ask to please keep up the good work. I really enjoy your discussions. Thank you!
An aspect of the wattage myth that you forgot to mention is the importance of current in the output stage. A high current, low wattage amp will sound thicker, fuller and more controlled at reasonable listening levels than a low current, high wattage amp. Cheers!
Correct. Wattage is average power (RMS) and current is peak power. My first receiver was an Advent 300 with a number of interesting features such as an FM only tuner and a pre-amp out/main amp in capability. It was only rated at 15 watts but was high current.
The nature of the output sound is more dependent on the speaker design and whether you can exactly match the amplifier power to that design. A lower watt - mid current design works extremely well for very high efficiency (96db+) in my experience.
The best advice is get the best speakers that meet your taste and than get the components that will run them.
@@richardrose2606Well in truth current isn't power at all but it is true that for inductive drive (most) speaker's the cone's motion is determined by current.
In the real world the amplifier and speaker are a team and the impedance curve and sensitivity of the speaker must be compatible with the output characteristics of the amp.
At 13:43 into your video, I see my company's flagship showroom demonstrator, the Audio Authority Model 310 Efficiency Compensating Comparator. It is very gratifying to see it in use some 40 years after we designed and built it in Lexington, KY. It was the very best of its day. Thanks for your thoughtful videos and educating folks about vintage audio gear. Jonathan Sisk, Audio Authority Corp.
Well thank you for building such a quality piece of equipment! We have had some pretty high offers from people wanting to purchase it.
I was told it came from a McIntosh dealer in Kansas City.
Thanks for watching!
Your attitude towards negative comments is not only wonderful in this case but the general philosophy I tried to teach my kids and the community members with whom I work (both kids and adults).
If Somebody is negative, just tried to give them some grace and appreciate that they probably need some positivity in their life. it not probably helps them get a better attitude but helps us not take it personally. I welcome negativity as a challenge to see if I can make their life happier 🙂
Your friendly, honest, and funny delivery is what makes this channel my favorite of everything on TH-cam right now. 🙂
Just started watching Skylabs and frankly your videos have sparked an interest for me with this hobby. I'm now searching the classifieds for vintage gear, hoping to build a system. Keep doing what you're doing. You all are great!
Keep up the great videos Kevin, blessings to you & yours from Hong Kong.
The loudness wars was the biggest act of violence against music and sound. They made every song to sound like an advertisement. Flat and Dry! And this is the reason why vinyl gets preferred over digital. Ironically the limitations of vinyl technology, saved the recordings from the aftermath of this insane over-compression.
For a proper analog vs. digital comparison, the turntable equation is tricky -- because there are many factors that determine how good a record will sound.
Here are three:
1)
Who set up the turntable, and did they know what they were doing?
If you just plop down the turntable, and start playing records, you will likely get noticeably inferior sound quality.
For a record to sound its best, all of the following must be dialed in with precision:
-- the effective length of the tone-arm
-- the cartridge's weight
-- the vertical tracking alignment / rake angle
-- the anti-skating
-- the overhang
-- the offset
-- the zenith angle
-- the cartridge's azimuth.
If any of the above are out of alignment, by the slightest amount, then your sound quality will suffer.
It will probably take a turntable guru approximately 90 minutes of tedious work to professionally dial in a turntable. But when done right, you will be rewarded with ear candy.
I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for your stylus to rub in exactly the right places within the record's groove.
And then there is a possible manufacturing issue with some cartridges (even some multi-thousand dollar cartridges).
Some manufacturers install the stylus into the cantilever at an improper angle, and will be beyond anything you can adjust to compensate for the improper stylus position.
This will be more prevalent with mass produced cartridges -- but it sometimes happens with high-end cartridges, too.
Last item for #1 is to isolate your turntable from vibrations / feedback.
If, when you turn up the volume, you get any hum, that will kill the sound quality. Even if you hear no hum, you might still have some feedback.
After I put my turntable on some bearings, my sound quality improved.
There are also shelves that are built to isolate your turntable (or any other gear) from vibrations. It gets expensive. But the quality shelves really work. I do not own one, but have heard in-person demonstrations.
2)
Phono amp.
A phono amp is just as important as a pre-amp, or power amp. The better ones get pricey.
If your manufacturer skimped on the phono amp (such as, if you have a receiver with a built-in phono amp, and the manufacturer put 5% of its cost into the phono stage), then your sound quality will reflect that level of design.
3)
Most vinyl pressings suck, sound quality wise.
You can have a dream turntable, professionally set-up, and it will sound lifeless with many, many, many records.
But when you land a gem of a record, your stereo will sound like it just tripled in price.
A pressing can make your stereo sound like it is playing re-produced music. Or...
Your pressing can make your stereo sound like it is not there -- that you are in the studio with the band.
Unfortunately, the pressing gems are the exception. Most pressings have sub-par sound quality.
And even if you find a gem, it might have outstanding sound quality on only one of its two sides. How one side sounds has almost no relationship to how good the other side will sound.
If you get everything right with the turntable, phono amp, and pressings (as well as cleaning the pressings), you will be rewarded with a wonderful listening experience.
The above is hard to achieve, making digital a better choice for most folks.
Digital has its own issues, including that most digital releases have sub-par sound quality (what the heck goes on in the studios?).
But bang for the buck, as well as convenience, digital is the best bet for most folks.
Good video!
You got it 100% right IMHO. In the military in the Viet Nam War days, we spent our pay on stereo gear. It was "who's is the best and loudest." And those really good components and vinyl came home with us, to the awe and envy of many. Reckon that got a lot of folks who heard it into it too. But in 1983 or 4, an audiophile engineer I worked with showed me a CD... It was Mozart or something, said I had to hear it. It blew me away! As time passed, we could hear so much more -- albums we knew by heart, on CD's. Our vinyl was just to hold, look at, & read -- maybe hang on the wall. The goal became getting the highest CD sampling players & CDs. Thanks.
You're the same kind of collector that I am. I was buying vinyl all through the period where people were selling their LPs to replace them with CD's. That was kind of a mini-golden age for record buyers. I also have both CD and LP versions of my most played or favorite albums. Some record companies produced really inferior pressings in the 70's thru the 90's, and CDs are much more convenient.
I’m about to turn 50 in a few weeks. You have a great channel. I’m always learning something new everyday. Thank you for the store!
Great content as always! Love watching the videos and all the information sharing. I want to make a trip to the store front. It’s about 8 1/2 hours from east lansing Michigan where I am located. Hoping to make a road trip this summer!
Another excellent video/commentary, Kevin. Keep up the great work.