Direct driver

Yep. It really depends on the amp. Some are surprisingly hi-fi. Heck, my first bass speaker was an Acme low B2. at the time they were only about $350. It is a 3 way bass speaker and a pair could be the speakers for a KILLER hi-fi system. They were that good. In fact, the biggest complaint from some people was that they were too "flat". And yes, they faithfully produced the low B from my fiver (32 hz). Flat is good in a world where tone comes, not from the speaker, but from the electronics and effects. My Boss GT 6B puts whatever tone I want into my speakers. Edit: HAHA! I just checked. They're $725 now.

I'm a member of a lot of forums on various subjects. Something I notice that is interesting is that if they allow politial posts or threads, it takes little time before if you select the "latest posts" tab, virtually ALL posts are political. Fortunately, this site doesn't have that problem. It has "PO", instead. At least it's related to the site purpose.

Because I have so many records already, I don't really "look hard" for new stuff, but I recently discovered Vinylmeplease, ironically, via a youtube video about them raising their membership price. I ended up buying five records that I really like a lot. And one of the reasons, I'm embarrassed to say, is the cool colored vinyl as well as the album art. But then I noticed an album pair by Sturgill Simpson called Cuttin' Grass. And their version is seven dollars more than another one (also colored vinyl, but not quite as "cool"). I remember getting a Tomita album called The Bermuda Triangle back in 1978 that used salmon pink vinyl. I loved that. But if it had come in black or pink, and pink was 25% more expensive, I'd have gotten black. The color is a bit like a rule I know of in real estate. That is, some things won't increase the value of your home, but they will make it easier to sell. That's how I see this stuff. i.e. it might cause me to buy it in the first place.

Funny thing: After my comment I went to yelp to find them and they said the same thing I said on prices, as well as them being small. And that latter can not be emphasized enough. The place is smaller than a large bedroom. But they have a LOT of stuff for their size. I think this is a case of "Low overhead, and we pass the savings on to you." This is a record store you go to in order to actually BUY STUFF and not just look around. They also may have enlarged since I was there.

Sorry. I never heard of them.

We have come to agreement on the concept you very succinctly described in that previous post to which I was referring. And I appreciate that. Regarding whether or not you or anybody else should be wearing a mask is highly controversial and the subject for another thread. This is my last word on it. I hope we all enjoy RSD this year! I really am looking forward to the crowd as long as I don't have to wait in a long line. I was at Waterloo records in Austin Texas a few weeks ago and the line was crazy. I ended up going online and just ordering from my phone in the parking lot, and the guy came out with my bag of goodies - and we were off to Waco.

I truly love when posters with opposite opinions can come to agreement. And we have! Thanks!

It's a critical part of who I am and no, I did not see it coming. Most of my friends and even "virtual" relationships on the internet either agree with me or have room for the opinions of those who disagree with them. But as a newbee, it did give me a feel for the culture of the site. That's a good thing.

That was a great, informative, and funny post. Thanks for that. BTW, I tried to put my musical tastes in my profile but the site is not allowing me to edit my profile, so I'll just wait until it does. My tastes are ridiculously eclectic. The only "music" I don't like is Hip hop and Rap. But that's just a taste thing.

The only "pre-order" i've ever been involved in or cared about was the DVD release of the Pulse concert by Pink Floyd. I lost my laser disc copy in a divorce back in the late 20th century and waited YEARS for the DVD release, and followed it carefully. Now it's just another disc on my shelf. i.e. I don't do pre-orders any more. I just look for what's actually out there. I was being pushed to "pre-order" an awesome three wheel commuter car about ten years ago. It was always "just around the corner". It never happened. But I didn't do the $100 pre-order, because I've gained the wisdom of a 65 year old.

I'm quite new here and I'm seeing something I've never seen in a hi-fi/music forum: PO threads. I always think "Purchase Order" but discovered quickly it meant "Pre-Order". I clicked on one of the links in one and got a malware warning immediately. But my question: Every site/forum as its own core purpose even though it may overlap with others. Is this site more about ordering new music than anything else? I notice the site is now owned by SRCVinyl. That, and all the PO threads are the hints that cause me to ask this question. Other than that, I don't actually understand the reason for extremely cryptic OP's in "PO" threads. Thanks in advance for any help.

Heh. I collect branded TT mats from any store I visit. I went in there last year and asked for one to go with my purchase. They don't have one. But they DID have a "Now Playing " block of wood to hold the record jacket of the record I'm "currently playing" with their logo on it. So that's what I now use when playing records. Nice guys in there too! BTW, for me a real "sleeper" is Purple Dog records. I couldn't figure out why it was where it was. It seems like an absurdly quiet location. Then I realized it was right next to a commuter train "station", so he picks up all the commuters as they come home. Anyway, the big advantage of that place is the prices. I got a VG+ copy of Mr. Heartbreak for five bucks. But be warned that the place is small

I'm going to add my favorite record store here because they no longer show up in google maps. It's Siren Records in McHenry Illinois. The back section of the store is like an early 70's hi-fi store. For me it was like stepping back in time. But the whole store is awesome. The record selection is great, and they have live acts (though I don't know if the lockdown is affecting that now). They also have a facebook page. I live in Kentucky, so whenever I go there I will pick up an album from their "local acts" section. I've come up with some real winners!

After what has happened in the record day thread, I felt the need to go back and read this list. I don't understand what is happening over there. I'm doing all I can to be respectful but these guys came out with a vengeance. My option, which I'm exercising, is to ignore. I'm fine with that. The reason I'm posting this is that being new, I feel I may have violated a policy on this list and don't want to get "suspended and/or banned without any warning." If I continue to act respectful, but they continue with the personal attacks, should I be concerned about being banned? The reason I ask, is that I'm an internet forum veteran, and I've seen people in my position banned because the mods blamed them for "causing" the others to "act out" and therefor they were at fault for all the personal attacks against them. They are simply accused of the blanket accusation of "trolling". I don't want that to happen. Again, I can take any and all personal attacks. They are like water off a ducks back (i.e. this is not a complaint about their personal attacks. They don't bother me.). But if I'm going to be held responsible for the attacks by others against me, I would like to be forewarned. As I said in my "Introduce yourself" post, these rules are one of the reasons I chose this site. I have found that too often on the internet, "troll" is the new "ni**er" That is, the worst attack there is against another member is to call them a "troll" simply because they disagree with you. And I've seen it used to ban people who, in their "trolling" post, was simply stating a valid opinion (which I may even have disagreed with). Anyway, I notice this site is relatively quiet compared to most I've been on, and I think being newbee friendly is a big step in growing. Not all are as resilient as I am, and when a simple and honest comment gets them a ton of profanity laced "you're not one of us" posts, they may self ban. I'm just trying to give what I hope may be some useful feedback

It's important to remember, regarding pretty much everything, that opinions vary. I don't think this thread is the place to argue it.

I'll have to pull it out when I get a second. I'm still in online meetings. I will say this: On is a DG recording of an all men's choir. The other is "ethnic instruments" and also a relatively large group. Both are from my "shopping at estate sales" days in Seattle around 2009. They are pristine, including the jackets. About five percent of the music I acquired at that time is "obscure ethnic stuff". But I did get this one, which is absolutely amazing. South African artist:

This thread is about RSD 2021. I didn't mean to create a chitstorm just by mentioning I don't wear a mask. It's important to remember, regarding pretty much everything, that opinions vary. I don't think this thread is the place to argue it. I don't think it's the place to argue the usefulness of profanity so I let all that go as well.

I don't think the rules here prohibit offensive language. Apparently.🤣

That's pretty cool. I'm finding that I'm enjoying collecting more "obscure" stuff these days. In rifling through my records when I unboxed everything after the move. I found some interesting stuff from Russian groups. Some from the USSR days.

Well, I've survived without it so far. But most stores will let me in without a mask. It's not really an issue. BTW, this year I did a lot of driving around the US. I like to collect "record store branded" turntable mats. I got one in Waco Texas, Dallas Texas, Seattle Washington, Chicago Illinois, Indianapolis Indiana and Nashville Tennessee. I did have to wear a mask going into one store, but was able to take it off once I got inside. I stopped at dozens of gas stations, typically Loves and Pilot. Never had to wear one. Nobody said anything. The US may take this differently than the UK. It's pretty harmless to those of us outside nursing homes.

I always miss record store day. I was really, REALLY gonna do it last year, but then the lockdowns happened. I refuse to go into any store with a mask on, but I'll give it a shot this year and, hopefully, sanity will have returned to the brick and mortar retail world - and I'll be able to participate in RSD.

I'm a bass player. I also have that same TT for use at gigs during breaks. Through one of my bass setups this would sound almost hi-fi. But it would not sound very good in the other one. First, YES, you need to turn on the built in pre-amp. At that point it is just like any other piece of electronics that can be plugged into the "aux" jack. My main hi-fi has two phono inputs. I use them for my other two turntables and connect the AT LP120 through the Aux input, using it's built in pre. And as bad as this may sound through your bass amp, it may sound better than some cheap speakers out there, depending on your amp. But if your budget is tight right now, and your bass amp has the stereo aux input (I used to use that for plugging my phone into the amp for playing songs I could then practice to. That's why the plug is there) this should actually be a "not bad" solution. Modern bass amps tend to sound more "hi-fi" than guitar amps for the simple reason that guitar amps NEED TO color the sound, and bass response is not part of their audio footprint. Bass amps, even fairly inexpensive ones, will give your much better bass and a lot more highs than people think, and they tend to be flatter throughout the frequency range. But I'd consider this just a temporary solution until you can afford something better.

Some might find this interesting. I purchased a used Audio Technica AT LP 120 USB a few years ago to play vinyl in the "breaks" at my band's live gigs. It plugs directly into the mixing board and was only $150 and I was willing to risk damaging it. Anyway, it will play at 78 RPM. That coupled with a very high torque motor allows me to do something with it that is difficult with other TT's. That is, for all records I set the speed to 78, run the Discwasher over the record, applying fairly strong pressure, and the motor keeps the record spinning at 78 rpm or close to it. Then I drop the speed back to 33. It brakes down to 33 in about a third of a second. And I play the record.

I moved from Seattle to a "hobby farm" in Kentucky 10 years ago. Almost all of my approximately 3,000 records have been in a non-climate controlled shed in storage that entire time. I just had my 30x60 shop/mancave built and am getting the mancave room going (30x16 feet). step one was getting one of my systems up and running, which included unboxing all my vinyl. The vinyl experienced high humidity up to 105 degrees all the way down to -5 degrees. Fortunately they were all packed pretty tightly, but I didn't know what I was going to get. Here's what I got: They are all undamaged, but there are, here and there, slight "mold" spots on some records. I was surprised to find that a wipe with a discwasher would usually remove any "visible" sign of this mold (it's a very thin "cloudy spot" on the record). I have a nikon 3D microscope for examining styluses and records, and using that I could see that some remained in the grooves. When I played them you could hear it. But I used the cleaning system I mentioned in my post above (link below) on a few records and the results are that they are quite literally as good as new. An examination with the microscope shows completely empty and shiny grooves. And that's exactly what they sound like.

This is kinda like a guy saying, "Hey, I'm new to cars and I just bought my first one. It's a Dodge Challenger Hemi." It may not be a Ferrari, but most people I know would love to have one. (ignoring gas mileage, of course. ).:) Nice start!