thefinalsound

Fremer has great ears and the system he was comparing them on was likely a very high resolution setup. On a low end system the difference between the Essential and the Carbon might not seem too vast to a casual listener, but as you upgrade your gear to get the most out of your vinyl the differences will become readily apparent. The choice is between buying a table for $300, then having to buy another better table when you upgrade your gear, or spending another $100 to start with and having a table that can make the most of the better equipment you will eventually be getting. Seems like a better idea to save a little extra $ and get the Carbon if it is at all possible.

Shipping from Amazon UK for me has been all over the map time wise, but it always arrives. I've had things show up way before the estimated date, and a little after. Agaetis Byrjun appears to no longer be available on Amazon UK, so that might make your decision of where to order it a bit easier.

I can appreciate that $400 is a tough number to deal with but seriously, this is not an inexpensive hobby. How much performance do you really expect from a turntable that costs as much as four records? If you spend six months saving, and not buy like 15 records in that time you will find yourself able to afford a table which will last you many years, sound vastly superior, and give you the peace of mind that you're not ruining your expensive collection of records.

OP is striving for creepy sig of the week. I think he wins. Remind me in the future to never buy records from you. Opinions like this make me want to always buy new.

Here's my list of sites that I go through for online shopping: amazon.com http://www.discogs.com ebay importcds.com oldies.com - very strange site with an old catalog by mail system, but they often have really good/rare new stuff for great prices. I really think that no one knows to look there Amazon foreign sites amazon.co.uk amazon.fr etc. http://www.amoeba.com/ - free shipping, spotty selection hastings http://www.soundstagedirect.com/ hot topic insound www.gemm.com http://www.cduniverse.com http://www.musicstack.com http://eil.com/ http://www.musicdirect.com craigslist forum classifieds

Something to keep in mind is that even if you're pushing lossless files to the dac, when it passes through the Airport Express they will be downsampled to 44.1/16. For most people that wouldn't be a deal breaker, but it might be for some. I already have an Airport Express and am planning on getting a DAC soon like you. I just figure when I'm up for the occasional critical listening session I'll just bypass the Airport and plug my laptop directly into the DAC via USB.

I'm assuming that the Interpol was not the 180 gram RTI pressing, but the cheaper one right?

Well that was just fascinating. I would love to hear more along the same lines. Anyone have any leads?

While setting up a turntable can see daunting, it is totally doable with a little research. I would recommend this dvd as a great starting point for understanding what it takes to get a table setup properly: http://www.needledoctor.com/Michael-Fremer-Turntable-Set-Up-DVD You would also need a alignment protractor to accurately mount a cartridge. These can be printed at home from pdf's, or perhaps more accurate would be purchasing one. The dvd and various video's on youtube cover how to use one to mount your cart: http://www.needledoctor.com/Ortofon-Cartridge-Alignment-Gauge On the other hand if you buy a Debut Carbon it will come mounted with a pretty good cartridge, one which you can swap out the stylus to upgrade it without even having to realign. One other advantage over the vintage tables you mentioned is that these newer tables are mechanically very simple with very few parts, all of which you could easily service yourself if you needed to replace anything. The older direct drive tables typically have auto cue and auto return, which while nice features do give more potential for things going wrong in a way that you cannot easily fix yourself.

Just in case you really weren't joking, here's another really useful anti-static item: http://www.needledoctor.com/Milty-Zerostat-Gun They can be had used on ebay for around $50-60. Also, JK about you not joking, the advice is of course free.

DB Systems DBP-10 Alignment Protractor Ortofon 2m Blue I really want a Dynavector 10x5 but currently have neither the budget nor the patience to save up for it. As it happens the resale on the 2m Blue is surprisingly good, so if I end up not liking it I'll just sell it and make an upgrade.

spoiledliver Do not buy from this clown. I paid for a record on December 20th, and did not receive it until early February. When I did it arrived in terrible condition due to being shipped in THE WORST RECORD MAILER I HAVE EVER SEEN. Two pieces of cardboard taped together around the record. No padding, nothing to stop the record from bouncing around against the tape that surrounded it on four sides. Now he doesn't respond to my messages, and his email which used to work now bounces my messages. What a class act. http://boards.vinylcollective.com/topic/81766-taking-offers-on-some-awesome-records/

-Music Hall MMF 7 -Blue Jeans interconnects and speakerwire -Shure stylus tracking force gauge

Haha. I couldn't be happier for you. What are the odds that we would after all these years be finally upgrading our stuff within the same week? How are the speakers sounding? Just bought a lightly used Music Hall MMF 7, which is really a major bump up in quality from my early 80's Panasonic consumer grade direct drive table. Pretty excited!

Another vote for Audio Technica ATH-M50. I'm sure the Grado's are great, but I decided that for my listening habits the AT's would be a better fit. Mainly the sound isolation. At work I can have them pretty loud without annoying my co-people. Also at home I can be in the same room as my wife and she can watch TV and I can listen to records without us hearing each other. If isolation isn't an issue there then may be really good reasons to go for those grado's, but if not I REALLY like my M50's. Look around and you will find that they are generally very well regarded for the price.

If he's a real VC'er he'll now collect all of the variants of the cart, perhaps lining up the red, blue, bronze, and white ones on a shelf unopened.

Pm me offers if you're interested: The Smiths - A Nice Bit of Meat (vinyl bootleg) Elbow - Build a Rocket Boys Elbow - Seldom Seen Kid Wire - Document and Eyewitness

Cheap, pretty easy, and quite rewarding project: http://www.nintendorepairshop.com/products/63-Nintendo-NES-72-Pin-Connector-Repair-Part/ Also cleaning your carts with rubbing alcohol does basically nothing. I spent a weekend opening and cleaning all my carts with this kit and it worked extremely well - it got all of the contacts nice and shiny and tarnish free. http://www.nintendorepairshop.com/products/81--1-Nintendo-Game-Cleaning-Kit/

A user (rafalor) on the hoffman forum posted a great album of detailed pics of the set: http://imgur.com/a/C0GVS#0

Just ordered, so excited. Amazon UK currently lists having 11 left in stock with more on the way. With only 2000 of these I'd be too nervous to wait much longer to get it.

I had problems with the Nocturne special edition as well. Can't help but feel like the label is holding these bands hostage. Good luck in your search.

In regards to andytroy I'm glad you submitted the claim, I would bet that was what prompted the refund I received this morning. I really wouldn't be that upset if it were merely slow shipping that took a while to get out the door, it's really just annoying that I'm not getting what I gave someone money for. It would have been a great deal for records that I have been wanting for a while. It's hard not to feel a little used too. He was super responsive--like instant message quick--all the way up until I sent him $ after which I didn't even get a thanks for the payment message. Here's what I posted on the thread: I appreciate getting the refund for the three records that you "sold" me, but I would like it more if I just got what we agreed to when I gave you my money. We didn't actually shake hands or sign an agreement, but we like to think that we're on the same team on the forum here and can trust each other. I guess that's not always the case though unfortunately. I'm really not sure what to make of this I mean this same thing happened to people last year right? Do you use people on here as a way to basically get a loan to pay rent or something, then return the money later? You basically had my $27 for almost a month (and how ever many other peoples money, it could have been hundreds of dollars), so ya that's basically an interest free loan. Your welcome. Strange, and really not cool.

I appreciate getting the refund for the three records that you "sold" me, but I would like it more if I just got what we agreed to when I gave you my money. We didn't actually shake hands or sign an agreement, but we like to think that we're on the same team on the forum here and can trust each other. I guess that's not always the case though unfortunately. I'm really not sure what to make of this I mean this same thing happened to people last year right? Do you use people on here as a way to basically get a loan to pay rent or something, then return the money later? You basically had my $27 for almost a month (and how ever many other peoples money, it could have been hundreds of dollars), so ya that's basically an interest free loan. Your welcome. Strange, and really not cool.

Sounds so classy, I wish other bands would put this much care into their releases. I'm excited to get this.

It is definitely a huge no-no. I just can't avoid it for the time being. In reality I do a lot of headphone listening anyways so it doesn't matter that much.