Stylus sounds live on
Anthony Fordham
NOVEMBER 25, 2003

FAR from being superseded by new technology, turntables have remained a significant alternative to digital sound and still form a part of most HiFi enthusiasts' equipment.

Bill Want, director of Soundring (www.soundring.com.au), an Australian supplier of replacement and specialist turntable needles, says at first the CD had a profound impact on turntable use.

"There was a time where there weren't any turntables around at all, but now they've grown back into a significant market," he says.

"Audio enthusiasts believe vinyl records provide a warmer sound than CD, and of course there's also a demand for converting extensive vinyl collections to MP3 using home computers."

In a world where technology products are superseded only a few years or even months after their release, sound reproduction stands apart as more timeless.

"There are even people out there who still use gramophones, although we find they tend to be hobbyists who have restored the machines themselves," Want says.

Unlike CD, which works to a rigidly defined standard and has mechanical parts common to all units, turntables vary greatly according to model, age and features, such as quadraphonic output.

"The key to the performance of a turntable is its stylus — the needle — and it's important to use the right needle for your particular model," Want says.

"Most home units use conical diamond-tipped styli, and this will work fine, but you might like to consider using a elliptical tip instead. This gives better tracking, better sound and is a bit gentler on your records," he says.

Quadraphonic turntables, which provided an early version of surround sound by outputting to four speakers, need a specialised Shibata tip which not only provides better sound reproduction but significantly reduces wear and tear on records.

Apart from finding a new renaissance among home users dissatisfied with CD, turntables have also been reborn as the primary instrument of the DJ. By manipulating the record while on the turntable, DJs are able to create new music by mixing and repeating tiny sections of each record, a process called scratching.

However, DJ turntables, apart from having special drive systems to allow the user to manipulate them by hand, also require special styli.

"If you tried to scratch using your home turntable, odds are the diamond on the tip of your stylus would probably break off," Want says.

"DJ styli are specially reinforced to allow for more robust handling and the frequent reversal of direction that is the hallmark of this musical form," he says.

While turntables remain the linchpin of the DJ community, Want says they do not dominate the home market.

"If you go to any HiFi specialist shop and even most regular stores that sell audio equipment, you will still see turntables available for the home. The demand is very much still there," he says.

The demand is kept strong partly by the music industry's continued refusal to release many older recordings on CD.

For fans of early 20th century recordings and songs from the dawn of pop, vinyl is their only source.

For those who missed when I previously posted the link:

Music Industry Unveils New Piracy-Proof Format: A Black, Plastic Disc With Grooves On It

Music bosses have unveiled a revolutionary new recording format that they hope
will help win the war on illegal file sharing which is thought to be costing the
industry millions of dollars in lost revenue.
Nicknamed the 'Record', the new format takes the form of a black, vinyl disc
measuring 12 inches in diameter, which must be played on a specially designed
'turntable'.
"We can state with absolute certainty that no computer in the world can access
the data on this disc," said spokesman Brett Campbell. "We are also confident
that no-one is going to be able to produce pirate copies in this format without
going to a heck of a lot of trouble. This is without doubt the best anti-piracy
invention the music industry has ever seen."
As part of the invention's rigorous testing process, the designers gave some
discs to a group of teenage computer experts who regularly use file swapping
software such as Limewire and gnutella and who admit to pirating music CDs.
Despite several days of trying, none of them were able to hack into the disc's
code or access any of the music files contained within it.
"It's like, really big and stuff," said Doug Flamboise, one of the testers. "I couldn't
get it into any of my drives. I mean, what format is it? Is it, like, from France or
something?"

Invention: Teenage computer hackers struggled to access the new disc.
In the new format, raw audio data in the form of music is encoded by physically
etching grooves onto the vinyl disc. The sound is thus translated into variations
on the disc's surface in a process that industry insiders are describing as
'completely revolutionary' and 'stunningly clever.'
To decode the data stored on the disc, the listener must use a special player which
contains a 'needle' that runs along the grooves on the record surface, reading the
indentations and transforming the movements back into audio that can be fed
through loudspeakers.
Even Shawn Fanning, the man who invented Napster, admits the new format will
make file swapping much more difficult. "I've never seen anything like this," he
told reporters. "How does it work?"

Pirates: Their days are numbered.
As rumours that a Taiwanese company has been secretly developing a
12 inch wide, turntable -driven, needle-based, firewire drive remain unconfirmed,
it would appear that the music industry may, at last, have found the pirate-proof
format it has long been searching for.


(c) urbanreflex.com 2002 http://www.urbanreflex.com/may24_02/record.html

funny

BWHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHA!

You can buy a record player that plays vinyl using a laser instead of a needle. So no wear and tear and no crackles.

Here is the link so you don't think I am joking

http://www.elpj.com/

DeadMan, WTF?! I still don't believe such a thing exists! How the hell does it work? That is either the coolest thing I've seen in a looooooong time, or the most elaborate practical joke website ever.

Album art is great when it is 12"x12". These dinky little CD booklets are disappointing.

Also, you can copy an LP without committing a DRM felony. Insert plug into preamp out. Insert other end of cord into LINE IN on sound card. Record wav or MP3.

I think LPs often sound better than CDs, if they were mastered and pressed properly. The only reason I don't play LPs as my main source of music is that the format is so fussy. You have to clean the record, clean the stylus, everything has to be aligned. You have to be very careful. Etc, etc.

There's an article in the latest Stereophile magazine -- an interview with Dan D'Agostino, the maker of the ultra expensive Krell amplifiers. He also thinks LP sound is superior. But of course you must have the right equipment (very expensive) to drag all that incredible detail out of the grooves.

By the way, what the article says about the stylus is not correct. You must have a solid turntable base, a resonance-free and massive platter, and a solid tonearm with good bearings in order to get quality sound out of records. It isn't only the stylus. I'd rather listen with a cheap stylus on a solid expensive turntable/arm than the other way around.

Deadman..Very cool ! But ..wow on the price ! lol I would have liked to purchased it for my husband.. he has about 9,000 albums..(hes a freak) no way I can afford it though oh well

WOW!!! It's about time the LP records gets some hi-tech investment. The last turntable I bought was programmable. That meant I could tell the turntable which tracks to play, and in which order. Then CD's came out, and I thought research in developing better record players was over. It's great and refreshing to see something like a laser player FINALLY be developed.

Now all they need to do is get the price down a few thousand dollars , and I'd be all set!

Totaly cooooooool I like it pricey but I like it hope a few manufactures get involved to make different kinds of makes and models could be the new Christmas gift of 2005.

I would give my left nut to be able to afford putting our music out on records instead of having to use CD's only. Currently, CD's are the only way the vast majority of musicians can afford to record and distribute with any realistic expectation of at least breaking even.
I MUCH prefer vinyl... SOMEDAY we will release our music on vinyl (with a cd thrown into the package for those who
don't own a turntable.)

vinyl records are COOL.

(If anyone wants to get me a Christmas Gift, that link DeadMan2003 gave above is the perfect place to shop... I been a really really good boy! --- $10k a pop is a bit too pricey for me.)

Shmoo, of Electric Gypsy
Support Local and Independent Music!

LP - two and a half times the size of a cd , half the music and NONE of the memory. Think about it folks.. we used to fight over THESE.. and then cassettes. I still own both a turntable AND a duel cassette machine, and I'm shopping for the right hardware to convert all to digital (for space shifting a la my fair use rights *smirk*). I do agree with what's said tho.. LP's have a "warm" sound that cannot be found on cds or cassettes. Some people swear they can tell, just by listening, if a cd or a record is being played. Cool, but a bit freaky.
ttmmm