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And the vinyl is limited by the fact that a record player is made with real physical bits that can only vibrate so fast and such.

Yes, and a $80 to $200 stylus can be had that is capable of exceeding 22kHz You can easily hit 25kHz in that price range. At around $250 you can get a stylus that will go up to 50kHz. Here's a Grado that has a frequency response of 10 Hz to 60 kHz.

I'm not saying that Vinyl is better in all aspects compared to a CD, because it's not. But there are cases where vinyl does sound better.

And the vinyl is limited by the fact that a record player is made with real physical bits that can only vibrate so fast and such.

Yes, and a $80 to $200 stylus can be had that is capable of exceeding 22kHz You can easily hit 25kHz in that price range. At around $250 you can get a stylus that will go up to 50kHz. Here's a Grado that has a frequency response of 10 Hz to 60 kHz.

I'm not saying that Vinyl is better in all aspects compared to a CD, because it's not. But there are cases where vinyl does sound better.

And the vinyl is limited by the fact that a record player is made with real physical bits that can only vibrate so fast and such.

Yes, and a $80 to $200 stylus can be had that is capable of exceeding 22kHz You can easily hit 25kHz in that price range. At around $250 you can get a stylus that will go up to 50kHz. Here's a Grado that has a frequency response of 10 Hz to 60 kHz.

I'm not saying that Vinyl is better in all aspects compared to a CD, because it's not. But there are cases where vinyl does sound better.

If you want a better cartridge, go out (don't walk, run!) and buy a Grado Black. Cheap, simple, and sounds really good--better than anything else for the price.

For cleaning, there are two options: Wet cleaning (expensive, slow, and should only ever need doing once on a record--but probably should be done once on a record. Honestly, most of mine have never gone through it), and a quick brush before playing. For the former, you'll want something like this. For the latter, get one of these carbon fibre things. I've used every record brush on the market, and this style is flat out the best there is.

As far as the swordgeek goes, my tastes run towards lighter weapons. I fence competitively, and am planning on getting a combat-ready small sword eventually. Curiously, my wife is a major inspiration (and occasionally a source of a motivational kick in the ass) in my fencing, so...your mileage may vary.

If you want a better cartridge, go out (don't walk, run!) and buy a Grado Black. Cheap, simple, and sounds really good--better than anything else for the price.

For cleaning, there are two options: Wet cleaning (expensive, slow, and should only ever need doing once on a record--but probably should be done once on a record. Honestly, most of mine have never gone through it), and a quick brush before playing. For the former, you'll want something like this. For the latter, get one of these carbon fibre things. I've used every record brush on the market, and this style is flat out the best there is.

As far as the swordgeek goes, my tastes run towards lighter weapons. I fence competitively, and am planning on getting a combat-ready small sword eventually. Curiously, my wife is a major inspiration (and occasionally a source of a motivational kick in the ass) in my fencing, so...your mileage may vary.

1) gotta replace the stylus from time to time. This is a $20 item

Needledoctor disagrees with you. Some of these styluses have ruby or diamond tips, and will run you a few thousand bucks a piece!

Ah, allow me to illuminate :-)

Its amazing how we've come to accept that vinyl is truly dead and that one can't find the hardware or software anywhere. Ever.

When in fact it's better than ever. New releases are pressed all the time, often with better sound quality than in the past. Heavy vinyl (180-200 grams), pure, quiet vinyl and all. You can get everything from Diana Krall to Britney Spears to modern punk to all analog rereleases of past greats. Also, don't forget that there's literally megatonnes of used vinyl. See the link below for the ultimate resource of which pressings are the best, how to take care of your vinyl, etc.

As for hardware, there's some amazing choices out there. Used classic turntables such as the Thorens TD124 are not at all expensive, and many new hifi firms such as Project and Rega and VPI are producing some extremely good units. Marantz, Yamaha, Denon and many other mid-fi producers are coming out with quality turntables again due to demand and many new surround sound receivers from those manufacturers are featuring phono preamps. Not to mention Technics still sells their SL-1200 for both the DJ and home markets.

Here's some resources:

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/vinyl/bbs.html - discussion of all things vinyl.
http://www.classicrecs.com/ - new vinyl releases, many rereleases on high quality vinyl
http://www.needledoctor.com/ - Vinyl hardware

And there's loads more. Check out the Vinyl Asylum first. If you have any questions, drop me an email and I'll be happy to answer.

Oh, just to ramble some more, but also consider how much fun I've had since collecting vinyl again. I've met a guy who was a DJ in London in the 60s who sold me his copy of Sgt. Peppers LHCB, which turns out to be a copy given him hot off the press with a sticker saying Promotional Copy, do not sell, in mint condition. His stories are incredible. I've found music and other recorded oddities which will never see the light of day in digital formats. I've also heard music sound so real that I get goosebumps; you won't get that with digital.

Sorry for the rambling, but I'm always astounded by the common refrain: They don't press vinyl and you can't get record players anymore. And yet all of that is right in front of our eyes...

Cheers

Haha.

Hmm... I got trolled (lame, btw, I could do so much better), so I'll take ten minutes off from my frustrating day at work to look at pictures of cool turntables, so I can make a decent response. Har-har, joke's on you mate, I had fun. http://www.needledoctor.com/s.nl/it.A/id.888/.f?sc =2&category=45 No geek in the world could look at that and not think it was cool. I dare you. I mean, it's got three motors and weights 32kg, for the love of god.

Google is your friend:

http://www.needledoctor.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.440 /.f

http://www.garage-a-records.com/adapters.html

History of 45 RPM adaptor inserts:

http://members.aol.com/clctrmania/cm-adapt.html

In all seriousness -- where does a hipster idiot -- errr, sorry -- "indie kid" get a device on which to play these vinyl records?

Ebay, garage sales, flea markets, etc...

I bought an excellent Technics SL-1200 turntable for $5 at a garage sale. Needed nothing but a good cleaning.

You can still buy them online at www.needledoctor.com .

Have a look at this retro gem of a record player

In all seriousness -- where does a hipster idiot -- errr, sorry -- "indie kid" get a device on which to play these vinyl records?

Ebay, garage sales, flea markets, etc...

I bought an excellent Technics SL-1200 turntable for $5 at a garage sale. Needed nothing but a good cleaning.

You can still buy them online at www.needledoctor.com .

Have a look at this retro gem of a record player

.... costing a grand???

How about spending 15 fucking grand for something to play VINYL, and an extra FEW GRAND PER NEEDLE?

Well, if you would like to call a ten thousand dollar diamond stylus consumable, then you need to be shopping here.

Uh.

Isnt the DJ Scene pretty much keeping records alive?

One Google Search Later...

but a recent Stereophile Magazine article has mentioned...

The example they gave is along the lines that even an untrained listener is capable of differentiating between someone playing a trumpet down the hall and a recording

After listening to much stereo equipment I can tell you there is something missing in today's recordings.

...there are 4 samples per cycle...

There is more to audio gear than simply outputing digital samples at two times the upper limit of "audible" sound.

I don't have any conclusive evidence that this is hogwash, but it does remind me a lot of other audiophile bullshit.

OK, I got curious and looked up the last, two items. Blu-Tack is a clay-like, reusable adhesive made by Bostik. Here's a page that describes it.

Araldite 502 is an epoxy resin embedding medium. Here's a page that describes it as well.