Quote:
Originally Posted by LotusExcelle
I have a fairly large collection of old tube equipment - including some really old Garrard turntables that run 33 up to 78. Plus a wide variety of unopened styli. I'm still in the process of setting up the rig I'll be using but the rest of the stuff is up for grabs.
Anyway I don't think many people understand how different the sound of an LP through a tube amp is versus a compressed-source transistor-amped experience. It is like night and day - the transistor amps sound like they are under water compared with a tube amp. And vinyl just sounds so much more natural than anything else I've heard. (Well- other than a set of Meridian speakers... but that is a different class of audio)
Anyway good luck.
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I've got both tube and transistor amps and heard plenty more than I own. Believe me, in the "high-end" area you can get (modern or vintage) tube amps and transistor amps to sound pretty much identical. So as long as the source is OK, you don't NEED tubes to get a good sound, it can be achieved just as well with transistors. It that sense, there is no such thing as "tube sound". Besides, when not talking about distortion such as in guitar amps, the "tube sound" actually mainly is the sound of the output transformers used in tube amps. OTOH, if the source is bad, it will sound bad no matter what amplifier is used on it
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About vinyl vs the rest: in my opinion a proper vinyl setup sound different from other (also proper quality) systems, but not better or worse. Just, different. And not even that different in some cases.
@mak: I think you're doing just great, especially with finding styli that touch areas not yet worn out. If you've got a good 45 table, it may be a better option than a lesser quality 78 table.
If you want good quality 78 at a more or less reasonable price: there is a mod for the Technics SL-1200 mkII to make it run at 78.