Vinyl records wanted in Pattaya

[VBF]

Being in my sixties and having been an audio enthusiast since my teens my take(s):

 

I own excellent though "vintage " audio kit - Quad electronics, Spendor speakers, early Linn table, SME, Stanton, blah blah - all state of the art in 1990!  
Oh and s couple of Denon and NEAL cassette decks which were always a compromise, no matter how good quality they were.

 

Back then when my ears were better, I did loads of comparisons between LPs and CDs, even buying LPs like "Love Over Gold" and "Dark Side of the Moon" on both media. I always tried to get "DDD" CDs  - (young people see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPARS_code  )

 

At the time I was in regular contact with a BBC Sound Engineer friend who had almost perfect pitch (the ratbag) and owned similar kit and who for the last 25 years has been re-mastering old and valued recordings to digital formats.

 

I, along with my friend, came to the conclusion then, that, although TECHNICALLY analogue should be better than digital, unless the analogue is perfect, digital usually betters it. Since then there have been myriad advances in digital sound production, few real advances in analogue and the world has moved on. Except.........  my ears have obviously degraded, although I have excellent hearing for one of my vintage and of course, the ears are still analogue!

 

Audio reproduction has ALWAYS been about "The closest approach to the original sound" as Quad used to advertise..

 

I'm currently sitting at my PC listening to FLAC recording of  Van Morrison's latest album on a Creative Sound  Blaster and speakers - it sounds great but still better on the Spendors in the next room. Thing is, either way vinyl doesn't enter the equation.  It's rather like asking if a 1990s LP compares to a 1920s 78 RPM record.

 

Oh and on my next trip, I'm bringing a few hundred "albums" on my laptop / tablet to play over my JBL headphones - try carrying that lot around as LPs! 

 

As I said, just my take - no axes to grind here - I'm very content to listen to the music, NOT the equipment

 

[KannikaP]

24 minutes ago, VBF said:

Being in my sixties and having been an audio enthusiast since my teens my take(s):

 

I own excellent though "vintage " audio kit - Quad electronics, Spendor speakers, early Linn table, SME, Stanton, blah blah - all state of the art in 1990!  
Oh and s couple of Denon and NEAL cassette decks which were always a compromise, no matter how good quality they were.

 

Back then when my ears were better, I did loads of comparisons between LPs and CDs, even buying LPs like "Love Over Gold" and "Dark Side of the Moon" on both media. I always tried to get "DDD" CDs  - (young people see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPARS_code  )

 

At the time I was in regular contact with a BBC Sound Engineer friend who had almost perfect pitch (the ratbag) and owned similar kit and who for the last 25 years has been re-mastering old and valued recordings to digital formats.

 

I, along with my friend, came to the conclusion then, that, although TECHNICALLY analogue should be better than digital, unless the analogue is perfect, digital usually betters it. Since then there have been myriad advances in digital sound production, few real advances in analogue and the world has moved on. Except.........  my ears have obviously degraded, although I have excellent hearing for one of my vintage and of course, the ears are still analogue!

 

Audio reproduction has ALWAYS been about "The closest approach to the original sound" as Quad used to advertise..

 

I'm currently sitting at my PC listening to FLAC recording of  Van Morrison's latest album on a Creative Sound  Blaster and speakers - it sounds great but still better on the Spendors in the next room. Thing is, either way vinyl doesn't enter the equation.  It's rather like asking if a 1990s LP compares to a 1920s 78 RPM record.

 

Oh and on my next trip, I'm bringing a few hundred "albums" on my laptop / tablet to play over my JBL headphones - try carrying that lot around as LPs! 

 

As I said, just my take - no axes to grind here - I'm very content to listen to the music, NOT the equipment

 

A great post VBF. If the vinyl records are digitised, with all the hisses and noises, using a 96kHz method, those should sound EXACTLY the same as the originals, with all those unwanted artefacts. But many flacs, and mp3s, are taken from remixed/remastered master tapes, so should be better.

[Digitalbanana]

9 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

But it seems now more new vinyl records are sold compared to CDs.

That's because no one buys CDs anymore either.

 

I had a large collection of vinyl back in my home country but its nothing compared to my current collection in the tens of thousands of tracks on hard disc servers that can be listed to, sorted and played at the touch of a button with any decent database music management software projecting all the album cover work and artist / track synopsis onto screen.

[kingstonkid]

There is also a shop at Bang Su Junction mall

[747man]

On 1/22/2024 at 3:44 PM, Dave250264 said:

Hi all,

Anyone know where I can find vinyl records in Pattaya?

Cheers

I Have About 250 Vinly LP's, But I live in Isaan.....Most are Country Music ( American & English ) Artists....Are YOU Interested ?? Let me Know, Also have some ELO & Other Bands.....

[VBF]

2 hours ago, KannikaP said:

A great post VBF. If the vinyl records are digitised, with all the hisses and noises, using a 96kHz method, those should sound EXACTLY the same as the originals, with all those unwanted artefacts. But many flacs, and mp3s, are taken from remixed/remastered master tapes, so should be better.

Thanks. I spent quite a long time remastering many of my own LPs - my friend to whom I referred above taught me.  As I always looked after my vinyl, I needed to do very little actual signal processing, leaving the few unwanted artefacts in situ.

I say remastering rather than digitising because I took the time to insert gaps between tracks, perform cross-fades etc. A "labour of love" I can assure you.

A few of my LPs though needed "declicking" or "dehissing" type processing.

 

Then..... I discovered Torrent sites....but that's a different story. 🙄

 

Btw, if you happen to be into Jazz / Blues, look out for reissues using CEDAR technology - It's been called "Photoshop for music" by a professional engineer - some of the 1920s/30s music don't  arf brush up nice.  😎

[OneMoreFarang]

3 hours ago, Digitalbanana said:

That's because no one buys CDs anymore either.

 

I had a large collection of vinyl back in my home country but its nothing compared to my current collection in the tens of thousands of tracks on hard disc servers that can be listed to, sorted and played at the touch of a button with any decent database music management software projecting all the album cover work and artist / track synopsis onto screen.

Correct

And people who buy vinyl could do the same - if they wanted to do that.

There is no need to buy any physical medium anymore. 

[he was a quiet man]

I am moving to Thailand in 3 months. Will I find a market for my 600+ albums spanning the 70's and 80's? Keep it simple please.

 

[Nick Carter icp]

14 minutes ago, he was a quiet man said:

I am moving to Thailand in 3 months. Will I find a market for my 600+ albums spanning the 70's and 80's? Keep it simple please.

 

 

  No

[bangkok19]

On 1/22/2024 at 11:05 PM, KannikaP said:

I can hear far more on my digital files than I ever remember hearing on vinyl records. 

For those who prefer the 'vinyl' sound with all the noises, there are files available online taken from the records retaining all of them, with their reduced dynamic range. 

For those who prefer to hear how the tracks sounded in the studio, there are flacs or wavs taken directly from the masters.

You're hearing far more on your digital files than you ever did on your vinyl's because you're probably listening to an overly compressed LOUD remastered version.

The compression has brought up the levels of those quiet tambourines and cymbals to the same level as the drums, guitars and vocals....   which is NOT how they sounded in the studio.

The quality of the "source" (being the original vinyl) is just as important as the quality of the cartridge and speakers.

The (so called) new vinyl records that are available these days are actually recorded from the digital master, which is the same source as most modern CD's. It kinda defeats the purpose. The early pressed CD's from the 80's until around '94 are from the Analog masters (you'll probably see the SPAR code written on them -  AAD meaning Analog original master to Analog copy production tape to digital Compact disc.  Newer CD's are DDD however the more expensive (DCC Gold CDs) are ADD.

God knows what versions of tracks are on the streaming services, even if you pay for 'lossless' quality you're more than likely getting an overly compressed (brickwalled, if you're in the business)  LOUD version.

As far as crackles and pops and vinyl surface noise on vinyl records go, a decent record cleaner will get rid of most of those. There are still heaps of excellent quality "original" vinyl around out there, but in answer to the OP's question, I never venture to Pattaya so I don't know.

[747man]

On 1/23/2024 at 7:20 PM, 747man said:

I Have About 250 Vinly LP's, But I live in Isaan.....Most are Country Music ( American & English ) Artists....Are YOU Interested ?? Let me Know, Also have some ELO & Other Bands.....

Why You Use LAUGH Emoji.....??Your a PLANK !!

[champers]

On 1/23/2024 at 11:00 PM, he was a quiet man said:

I am moving to Thailand in 3 months. Will I find a market for my 600+ albums spanning the 70's and 80's? Keep it simple please.

 

Why pay to transport to Thailand if you are only going to sell them? Sell in your home country before moving here is my advice.

[Baht Simpson]

I have some vinyl records and some CD's and plenty of digital files. Nowadays ultimate sound quality is not important to me with vinyl: if I want that I use lossless audio.

 

In the old days we were never really dedicated collectors, that was reserved for mostly classical or jazz enthusiasts or audiophiles. We tended to just accumulate records, buying if we could afford them. 

 

I started buying records again for a few different reasons:

 

a) Nostalgia - vinyl brings back good memories that digital files cant. 

 

b) Design - however good digital album art is it can't replace the experience of the original artwork and design in physical format. Even Taylor Swift realises this and can sell 37 different versions of an album with the same music, so it's a modern phenomenon too.

 

c) Price - I can pick up a CD on Shopee for 89 baht, less than the cost to download the equivalent digital files on, say, Bandcamp. Similarly there are some second-hand LP bargains occasionally.

 

d) It's an interest or hobby - keeps me amused for hours on end and after the initial outlay can be relatively cheap.

 

e) Resale value - although it's a minor reason I collect, some of my albums are worth a bit. I have no intention of selling unless I'm forced to move back to my home country but if I am there's some worth there. 

 

f) Tactile experience - digital is convenient but a cold format that can make you lazy and accumulate music you never really listen to. Physical media only really does that if collecting becomes an obssession, which for some it does of course.

 

g) Not all music has to be listened to in HQ format lest the audio gods weep. If you're listening to Dave Edmunds you probably won't hear any hiss and crackle anyway. 

 

I realize that some people would rather die than listen to vinyl but each to his own. I prefer to listen to music in whatever format I want as the whim takes me. My old box record player playing 45's was better sound quality than listening to Radio Luxembourg but it didn't stop me as a kid. It was just a different experience.

 

In the end it's about music and lyrics first but not to the exclusion of all else.

[BenStark]

Since I'm of that age my youth was in the vinyl era, and I started buying cd's much later.

 

As I posted earlier, I brought over ~100 LP's and a similar amount of singles, as well as a turntable.

 

Of course I also brought a load of CD's with me.

 

Today, most of the older CD's will have issues when playing, because the reflecting layer has dark spots or even transparent spots, while all the vinyl still plays as if I bought them yesterday

[bangkok19]

On 1/23/2024 at 10:46 PM, KannikaP said:

A great post VBF. If the vinyl records are digitised, with all the hisses and noises, using a 96kHz method, those should sound EXACTLY the same as the originals, with all those unwanted artefacts. But many flacs, and mp3s, are taken from remixed/remastered master tapes, so should be better.

WRONG!

Remixed tracks have probably come from the original multitrack master but they won't sound quite the same as the original. Because of the condition (due to age) of the original tape, the remix will have to have "noise reduction" to remove the tape hiss which in turn removes a lot of the detail (think cassettes, and when you switching the Dolby switch on and off). The Remix would then be overly compressed (as they do these days) making it sound loud with little Dynamic range.

 

As for Remasters -  Remasters means LOUDER. An engineer has just taken the digital production "master" and tweaked the EQ (altered equalizer frequencies) and compressed the audio making it LOUDER than the original.

Remasters means LOUDER!

 

And...  that's the problem with streaming these days. You don't know the source. It can be WAV. lossless or MP3 or Flac and might sound great to your ears and you're really happy with it. Great!

But if you compared it to the original (vinyl) version...  it'll be chalk and cheese.  

Of course I realize that back in the day the recording technology was simpler and there were obviously some low quality recordings however they were in the minority.

Some were even reissued a couple of years later with noticeably improved sound quality. 

 

 

[Rampant Rabbit]

On 1/22/2024 at 6:46 PM, Denim said:

 

Back in the UK vinyl records are collectables. People are not soley interested in the music on the vinyl but more because of their growing historical and nostalgic value. For example , a first pressing of Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon can and does sell for 1000 pounds !

 

Back in the UK in September I decided to clear out a lot of my stuff from my mothers house where it was stored.  Adverts in the local paper for all sorts of thingws and I sold about 70% of the things I put up. The item that sold the fastest and easiest was my 40 album collection from the 70's and 80's for which asked and received 160 pounds from the first interested party. The phone continued to ring for a week after I had sold them and didn't stop until I took the advert down

Thats interesting as my Dad who died 8 years  ago was an avid collector, he had a  friend who worked for Decca ( head of sales  southern region in the UK) from 1950-1980, he  only  liked  classical music, he has thousands of perfect condition vinyl records starting  in the 1950's, many state not for sale to the general public, he  got most of them for free. My Mother, whose  still alive, has them all at her house and at some point when she snuffs  it Ill have to get rid  of them. When i visit each year I play a  few on his  still perfect Garrad 301 turntable and Quad speakers.

I saw Garrard 301 for sale in Thailand over 100k some 200k+ https://www.noom-hifi.com/post/view/28631

[747man]

On 1/26/2024 at 5:41 PM, 747man said:

Why You Use LAUGH Emoji.....??Your a PLANK !!

Now Your a Sad Person.....