I dig some jiggling of the RCA cables to see if there was a loose connections and it did not seem to change. It might be worth checking the connections from the turntable side, which might involve opening the unit.
Basically all the cables come out the back from the same spot.
I decorate my music room walls with framed album covers…
I said ‘when the walls are full, I am done’
Walls hold 201.
Then I bought two 3-hole record holder cubbies.
I said ‘this will be more than enough room and I will stop if I ever fill it’
Then I bought a bigger single unit from IKEA.
I said ‘this will be certainly be more than enough room and I will stop when full’
Then I moved all my boxed sets to another shelving unit…
Then I moved my K-Tel (yes, I collect them) albums to another shelving unit…
Then I moved A-C to another shelving unit…
I just moved 3 photo albums off the other shelving unit to make room (yep, its that tight)…
I am now over 800.
I don’t think I need much more.
I see. Well, it could get worse : you could get another room. Then I think you wouldn’t need more… (note to myself : stop covering my wall with records covers as of right now)
What makes matters worse is in college (late 80s) I had over 2,000 albums, and, like most of us dopes back then, sold them all and bought CDs.
Of course, like most dopes I sold all my CDs and went all digital.
And then, we are here.
I must say I’ve missed this hobby immensely, more than I remembered, and think my smaller collection is better than what I had then, even if some of it is bought again. I have a lot of things I didn’t and my tastes have expanded greatly.
An album is on constantly while working unless on a call, and like the forced “get out of the chair” every 20 min or so to flip the record. I have Sonos so can play the record all over the house. My music on the phone is for the car.
I just recently got into collecting vinyls again. It’s fun, exciting and so terrible expensive. I use streaming a lot still as it’s financially impossible to keep up with, so I cherry pick.
I was without a stereo for many years, just had soundbars, but my old vinyl collection just stood upstairs for many years. It’s not a large collection, I only have like 350 albums, but it was build very cheap in the late 90’s when everyone was getting rid of vinyl.
As a young metal head it was music Mecca for me. Now I’m using discogs and seeing some of those album I bought for 3-4€ back then are now going for 150€+ is quite amazing.
Vinyl listening for me is peak audio pleasure; I’m not an audiophile that can detect the small distinct nuances in music; I listen to many artists that sound like they were recorded on a Russian toaster, but it’s the whole experience; picking out and album, taking it out of the sleeve, putting it on the turntable, the little “pluck” sound as the needle hits before the music slowly starts.
100% agree on everything you said, except…as you listen, and perhaps get a better turntable or cartridge, you do start to hear differences. Better cartridge means you can start to tell the difference between pressings, etc. - and thus the rabbit hole gets deeper, wider, darker and nuttier.
I follow two KISS vinyl groups on FB and shake my head at the folks that collect every single release of every single album - and then discuss the merits of each. I stay out of that end of the pool and mostly just enjoy the experience like you.
That said, I have ‘upgraded’ a few albums to better pressings as they are so dear to me, but generally stay away.
Enjoy it and if you put your collection on discogs, share your collection here and make friends too:
I agree with you, I did purchase a new needle a few months ago, as my Thorens was fitted with a very hard sounding one, new one makes it a bit warmer.
excellent video essay from Polyphonic about why he loves vinyl:
I think I need to block @howard on here, he’s starting to cost me more $ than @PamPurrs.
Decided I really want to go old school setup for all thing vinyl and have always disliked my Pro-Ject table (even with upgraded stylus). I just don’t think they build them very well.
So in searching for a “vintage” table, I just kept coming back to what damn @howard said about the Technics SL-1200 (MKII in this case) and couldn’t understand why I’d get anything else. So found one locally from a shop that knows what they are doing and decided to upgrade, just awaiting a preamp to connect into Sonos (for now, lol). Had a Stanton EL cart and stylus on it, also very solid retro. Might look into how to replace stylus as I have no idea of wear (what a rabbit hole full of cans or worms carts/styli are, jeez).
Deck is in amazing shape.
The Wheels of Steel!
It’s simply the best. Others may have isolated advantages but there’s a reason they have stood the test of time.
It’s true:
INFLUENCER
That’s a classic! It is also the industry standard for DJs. Always wanted one, but they are quite expensive.
My local go to shop had one for $800, and two others not in as good shape for $500. They dropped the price of the $800 one to $600.
It has what looks to be a perfectly excellent Stanton 680EL cart with Stanton D6800EL stylus that looks mint as far as I can see.
The going rate around here used is about $600 without a cartridge.
My local record shop has someone who goes over the tables they sell and sets them up etc. Got it home and it is perfectly setup etc.
Awaiting a preamp delivery tomorrow so I can hook it up to my Sonos setup down here to give it a listen (listened in store via headphones to insure everytihng was cool).
I will most likely sell my ProJect or bring it up to Rochester to the apartment just for kicks.
Those prices sound about right, the things are basically gold.
That is a decent price! The mk2 goes for 800-1000 euros in my local market. Even in a shitty state…
Which type Pro-ject do you have? I’ve upgraded from the Essential 3 to Debut Carbon EVO. A quick win in quality is to replace the platter with acryl.
I also use a phono preamp from Pro-ject that goes into my Sonos port. The DAC from Sonos is decent enough, but when I was a “beginning” audiophile using a good amp powering two good speakers made all the difference. Thank god I stopped chasing the hifi rabbit hole when I started with bass 
I have a Debut Carbon with an Ortofon Blue on it (came with red, upgraded stylus was totally worth it). I bought it from Sonos with some small preamp integrated on the bottom.
I have two main quality of design issues with it.
I also have their vac cleaner and have some minor gripes about it but mostly their customer service in the US is horrible! Weeks for a reply.
Oh I might reconsider blue since I have red now.
Dropped into a vintage/antique store on the Marietta Square and it seemed they had expanded their vinyl selection since I was last there (perhaps 5 years ago).
Saw they had some cartridges on sale and I asked the dude there about my Philips turntable and if one of his items would be appropriate. He said he had one for $259 with free install and calibration or I could bring my own and they would charge $50 for install and calibration-which certainly sounds like the better deal! He said his guy is an expert about these things. He also said I could try myself and used a tire/rim analogy that made me feel like he was being a bit gatekeep-y but I’ll leave that there for the moment.
While I was there I picked this up - big Bond fan growing up, mainly thanks to my mother who LOVES Sean Connery as Bond. I think the cover art got me interested more than the track listing but I brought it home nonetheless.
Now back to fixing the Philips. Maybe I should get some audio samples of it’s current condition so I know which parts are needed? or just let a pro give me an estimate? I might search around a bit more.
@John_E , have you done a calibration on your units before? Is it something that can be done by oneself? If anyone else knows, I’m all ears! Thanks in advance. 
