risingfunk

Dust s/t and Dust - Hard Attack are the only two on my list Maybe the Liquid Swords chess thing I dunno, might just wait for reports on the Hard Attack remaster. I've got an EX~ original pressing so I don't know if I need another copy, unless there's a major improvement.

In that case, just keep your eyes open, wait for some kind of unbelievable bargain and jump on it. Check out the classifieds sections on whatever hifi forums have active folks from your area - in my area, they seem all too willing to knowingly buy a same-level piece of gear just to see how it compares and then sell it off cheaper than they probably should. Hell, I have no idea what they go for (I'm guessing too much) but if floorspace is an issue maybe some electrostatic speakers (I'm joking... unless you want to go down that road).

Exactly, so this "upgrade" is sounding like it could be more of a sideways move than anything - especially considering the space. But hey, depends what you want out of them.

Yeah it started roughly along the lines of "post products, methods, tips, etc.". Didn't read entire thread, just glanced over a couple of pages and explained my method and my stance on wood glue. On average, 5200 sounds about right. Not individually though of course, used (small) collections. That includes 45's, and needless to say when buying collections you get a lot of trash. But so far, even after exluding the trash it works out a lot cheaper per worthwhile record. Also it's easier to quicky build up a heap of rare/valuable stuff this way - you just don't know exactly what it's going to be.

This. Though there is some truth to bigger being better, but we've had the science for very good bookshelf speakers since the 70's. Think about it... bookshelf monitor speakers exist.

Nothing too special, I should probably just sell everything and buy one genuinely nice system, right? Bit of a rotation, but here's a few of my amps/recievers Marantz SC500 preamp + Marantz SM500DC power amp Marantz PM310 Hitachi HA-410 JVC JR-S61M Turntables? Technics SL-23 Realistic Lab 440 Pioneer Rondo 2000 some surprisingly not-shithouse Sanyo model and I'm working on reviving a Garrard Lab 80 MKII (yeah, an old one) Speakers? Bower & Wilkins DM4's Sony Carbocon 1250's Technics SB 1950's Pretty sure that I've spent under $100 on the stuff I've just listed. I spent precisely $0.00 on those speakers. That excludes cartridges/stylii of course. I used to have about 4 times this much but man... it starts to take up space, I haven't bothered listing a few nice old tape decks & tuners, 8track units etc. Definitely regret selling off some nice Yamaha and Akai gear in the past. I don't aim for any kind of amazing system, no point when I'm trying desperately to source rare 40 year old 45's... best case scenario they wont sound amazing. I dunno, more about the music to me than accurate sound. If it was all about sound I'd be re-listening to Phil Collins records over and over. ...but I will be upgrading, my gear (although plentiful) is pretty much entry level or below

Depends how badly you "need" them. With that budget though, secondhand is the way to go. Or if you've got the patience... wait around for something free, like side-of-the-road pickups... I've picked up vintage monitor speakers in excellent working condition (though you should expect a few scratches on the cabinets) Wound up having to trade them for a record I desperately wanted.

Yes and no. Not all wood glue is the same and you've gotta know how to use it otherwise you can make a pretty ugly mess out of a record (i.e. using too little glue). I have tried it several times and gotten great results though. But if you have a half decent sized collection, wood glue becomes too expensive. Pluuuuus I'm buying at least 100 used records per week - almost all in need of cleaning. Wet cleaning on a vacuum record cleaner is the way to go in my opinion, though there are some nicer (albiet slower) methods that use pumps and stuff. VPI 16.5 is the standard. I built my own, looks ugly but works great. I bought the VPI 16 to 16.5 upgrade kit (the pickup head/spring/mount) and used my own wet/dry vac and ripped apart a rubbish turntable to salvage the platter/bearing/mount. Most basic cleaning fluids are just isopropyl alcohol + distilled water. It's easy to mix your own, just be sure you've got scientific grade isopropyl and you buy it in a decent size bottle/can and use only the purest water you can find - distilled bottled water works good but hey, some folks do fine with tap water. A safe mix is supposed to be 25% isopropyl to 75% water. I aim for 15% isopropyl and have a roughly marked line on a spray bottle - I know I'm in safe territory but can get away with mixing it roughly/quickly. Also, after cleaning using any alcohol solution I would say a distilled water rinse is mandatory. Oh and it should be common knowledge by now but you know those short stubby little ultra-bright white LED torches? yeah use those to inspect records. Every bit of dust deep in the grooves will be clear as day. I don't bother with surfacants - haven't had any issues so far and I've managed to revive records that are genuinely covered in mold to sounding like new.

Personally, I don't think LP mailers are necessary. I've had no complaints simply bagging them up in some kind of big (clean) shopping bag (new outers, inners removed) then going around once with cardboard leaving top and bottom exposed - then go around again covering top and bottom. Add tape. It takes longer, so if you're mailing hundreds per week then it's probably not for you - but I find I get a more specific/tight fit and with 2 layers, a very stiff package. What really annoys me is records being posted while in paper inner sleeves. They leave scratches and this is fact. I've got a good stack of records which were brand-new items but covered in surprisingly bad scratches/fuzzing consistent with the grain of the inner sleeve paper. Plastic inners, man.