The Slippery Slope to Vinyl

[wallace]

I need unbiased advice here gents.My sister has just discovered a Revox B795 direct drive ,tangential tracking turntable in a cupboard.She bought it in 1980,and if i know her ,she has only used it twice ( she is an opera singer,and has never been interested in reproduced music),but liked to buy the latest gear.She bought a Quad 33/303 amp and never turned it on.SO,shall i tell her to take it to the tip,or give it to me to play with.Will this be the start of something i can't afford,or will it put me off for life??HELP. :?
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[slinger]

No first hand knowledge, but apparently "The ReVox B795 uses no specialised ICs. It is entirely driven by ordinary CMOS or TTL or industry standard linear ICs, that you can buy at any good supplier for a few Rands. That makes them a dream to restore."

Source - http://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_fo ... hp?t=31076

There's a link to the manual here ... ftp://ftp.studer.ch/Public/Products/Rev ... 795_Op.pdf but it's loading about as fast as a three legged sloth in snowshoes tap dancing in treacle for me.

Another good link - http://www.thevintageknob.org/revox-B795.html

[applemarc]

Not sure about the Quad amps but you must try the B795 I tried the download for the manual and it's ok here.

[jammy395]

Well if it plays half as good as it looks Wallace - You will be on the vinyl road to rack and ruin in no time.

Nice one - You gotta give it a go - And let us know yer findings......

Revox were renowned for making very fine kit indeed.

[Oldpinkman]

Interesting on all sorts of fronts. Opera singers and their ignorance of vinyl are a specialist subject for me (mine is now a "born again" vinyl lover - although more in respect of talking to her friends than actually listening to it)

At the risk of a tirade from Jammy, I recently had one of these here Technics things that the AOS site is dedicated as a shrine to, as a loaner (well ransom really) from Arthur whilst he sorted the arm on my TT. I grew up with vinyl. I had vinyl before CD was a twinkle in Sony's eye, and they bought out those dacs the size of suitcases to demonstrate the new technology. By the time CD arrived I had a Pink Triangle, Helius Orion, Technics U205 and a Pip. I had something to love. (and a bigish record collection)

I think if I were starting today with a good digital source and I heard the technics into a Quad33 (and I suspect much the same will apply to the Revox) I would be wondering what all the fuss was about. Apart from the romance of using black vinyl again, and the nostalgia of course. I have wealthy friends in Hong Kong who bought Fleetwood Mac's Rumours on vinyl when re-released on a whim, as their only LP, with no record player, and have bought an RP3 and love it for the memories of playing LP's at our mates house as kids (as we did). But as an "audiophile" would I prefer LP's on an ordinary deck into a Quad 33 to good digital? I hae me doots.

Certainly not the skip for either (don't suppose you meant that) when even on fleabay they will fetch the price of a pint. The Quads are decent (if very dated) kit - the power amp much the better of the two (the phono stage on the preamp is not sparkling). They probably need a service (never thought I'd catch myself saying that about solid state devices), and the leads are a pain in the arse, but they are as good as, or better than many modern amps - especially at their 2nd hand price point.

It's your sister - borrow em and see what you think. If it doesn't blow you away, don't make the wrong conclusion that this vinyl nonsense is just a lot of beardies deluding themselves. There's more to it than that :D

[zebbo]

Aye, I was beginning to think all this talk of the magic of vinyl was rubbish until I got me first Pink.

[gus3049]

It must be my ears as for me, almost any TT from a Pioneer 12D upwards as as good or better than and CD player I have heard. I find vinyl a pain compared with digital so there is no romance in it for me.

What have you got to lose apart from your wallet? You have to try it and it will look good on the sideboard anyway.

Apart from anything else, so many CDs sound horrendous. I have Rumours on vinyl, CD and Recordable CD - made from the vinyl - and the commercial CD sucks. My homemade one is far better. So it could be you will open a whole new world of disc...overy :D

[Daniel Quinn]

For me listening to cd's is like eating food with a cold .

Wallace , given its a revox , chances are as a motor unit it will be good , but I have my worries about the "funny" arm . Perhaps you can take it off and fit a normal one :D

[jammy395]

For me listening to cd's is like eating food with a cold .

Wallace , given its a revox , chances are as a motor unit it will be good , but I have my worries about the "funny" arm . Perhaps you can take it off and fit a normal one :D

Sacrilege - "Don't touch that arm sweetheart"

[Oldpinkman]

It must be my ears as for me, almost any TT from a Pioneer 12D upwards as as good or better than and CD player I have heard. I find vinyl a pain compared with digital so there is no romance in it for me.

What have you got to lose apart from your wallet? You have to try it and it will look good on the sideboard anyway.

Apart from anything else, so many CDs sound horrendous. I have Rumours on vinyl, CD and Recordable CD - made from the vinyl - and the commercial CD sucks. My homemade one is far better. So it could be you will open a whole new world of disc...overy :D

That's interesting. I've never considered poor CD being down to how the CD was made rather than a limitation of the media. I have old (original) and new (brand new) vinyl of the same album, and apart from the greatly reduced surface noise on the new version, don't really notice a difference (haven't actually listened FOR one - just hasn't struck me as "wrong")

The most obvious comparable I have is Katie Melua Secret Symphony where the CD came with the vinyl. In spite of ruining the LP leaving it on a coffee table in the sun, they are sufficiently similar to not detect a problem with the commercial cd. It's the record that most got Mrs S convinced about how good vinyl was. And how good DaCapo was. Listening to start with LP v CD6 - whilst CD was good - it just wasn't as real as LP by such a long way that it was an immediate reaction from SWMBO. When DaCapo arrived, and I eventually got it working, it was in the words of Wellington "a damn near run thing". Don't tell anyone, but in some ways I'm not sure I don't prefer the CD. It isn't quite as "real" but there is less surface noise, and a considerably fuller bass response (especially with FX3). Or maybe not - its really odd that bass on that TT in that combination. But I digress...

But I had always assumed the problem with CD's was the DAC and not the pressing itself. Certainly I have listened to some belters (not that I have many CD's I like, cos I always bought vinyl - certainly very little classical music on CD) but Mary Blacks album "No Frontiers" was my standard "dem" CD all them years ago, and I rushed out and bought a copy when DaCapo fired up earlier this year, and I LOVE it! :D