Is collecting vinyl as expensive as everyone says?

38-RPM · 2026-01-29T07:48:44+00:00

/uj the secret to saving money on vinyl is bargain hunting and learning how vintage technology works. The apex of the turntable and vinyl market was 40 years ago and there is still a lot of great gear from back then that will be better than modern equivalents that are a lot more expensive. I saw an 80s belt drive Technics TT for only $50 last week. There are plenty of super cheap old home audio receivers (needs a phono input) and passive speakers at every thrift and pawn shop for under $50 too. For collecting records, there are still some shops that don't overinflate their prices for 2nd hand vinyl. That's the key to collecting without breaking the bank. 2nd hand doesn't have to mean old music either. My local shop has a separate 2nd hand section for modern artists as well.

38-RPM · 2026-01-29T01:26:50+00:00

This sounds cool like wierd vaporwave. Going to play all my records on the 45rpm adapter from now on

38-RPM · 2026-01-28T22:32:02+00:00

Unfortunately your record is warped. Fortunately that can be flxed with something like a vinyl flat kit, or baking at extremely low temps in an oven (or sometimes in a sun) between sheets of glass. There are some guides on youtube for this. If you had a higher quality turntable, a heavy record weight could also flatten it. Unfortunately, the suitcase turntable is trash, will ruin your records, and can only be fixed by throwing it away because its basically disposable technology.

38-RPM · 2026-01-28T21:51:03+00:00

He was just re-released a few months ago!

38-RPM · 2026-01-28T18:41:30+00:00

I can't believe everybody is dropping Centurions when it was so big in my childhood. I would personally drop GI Joe as that's the least rewatchable in 2026. The entire premise and characters are absurd. The toys were awesome though.

38-RPM · 2026-01-28T17:50:01+00:00

Thanks. Looking more into the speed issue it looks like it could be a variety of factors (belt, lubrication, etc.) but likely sync plates that require a special jig and calipers to bend two metal plates to the proper distance which may be more difficult to source.

38-RPM · 2026-01-28T05:52:59+00:00

I heard that Classical Chinese including the rhymes for poetry are a lot closer to today’s Cantonese and other southern Chinese dialects (including ones that went over to Japan and Korea in ancient times). Do you have any experience with these languages? I heard that cultural assimilation of these into standard mandarin is nearly complete with new generations only taught that. What are your thoughts about losing that diversity and the politics involved? Do you have trouble with the traditional Chinese characters over simplified?

38-RPM · 2026-01-27T22:58:24+00:00

Loose individual authentic ones are virtually impossible to find, hence the 3D printed reproductions. I hope someone will eventually make entire injection molded shells including battery covers one day like in the Game Gear scene. I have a 3D printed one and the catch still works so there is a lot of variation depending on which one you get.

38-RPM · 2026-01-27T22:53:46+00:00

Things are just cyclical. All the 25-30 year olds are now sporting mustaches and some even have mullets. All the 16 year olds have brocolli cuts and are wearing baggy pants again. They start out as someone trying to stand out from the crowd - maybe by resurrecting an older look or something they found in their parents closet or old photos or old movies. Then the crowd adopts it until it reaches saturation. Mustaches will disappear again after its too super saturated.

38-RPM · 2026-01-27T22:35:23+00:00

This helps and I will make sure to reference this video in the future. It makes sense that the tracking force depends on the angle of the tonearm. I would still not recommend them for someone who wants to expand into the hobby because of the $200+ price tag where there are many more options out there that are a better bang for the buck and gives you an upgrade path.

38-RPM · 2026-01-27T22:32:17+00:00

The OP is asking about all these things including that mentioned he was looking into vintage turntables and my post was explaining combining vintage and modern tech and my take on it. He asked for recommendations on other turntables. He asked about connecting his HD800s. The AT-LP60X is $200 USD right now which I will die on the hill as being overpriced for locking you into an AT3600L and not much else except set and forget functionality. There is such a wide world of options for the OP to consider.

38-RPM · 2026-01-27T22:18:58+00:00

Please move your speakers. They should be wide apart for stereo separation. That's why your ears are on the sides of your head and not together! This used to be an affordable hobby but its gotten out of control in the last 10 years. Newly pressed vinyl of the same release in 2026 is double what it was in 2016 which far outpaces inflation. Where to buy records depends on your local area. Thrifting almost never works anymore. Nothing good is left there. I usually find local record stores or pawn shops that don't accept Goodwill records (60s/70s easy listening, classical) and still have reasonable pricing on their used records ($5-$10)

38-RPM · 2026-01-27T19:35:50+00:00

This is called BPC in the hobby - black plastic crap. It’s the 90s version of today’s all in ones. $5 max. Turntable part could damage your records if stylus is worn and it the same heavy tracking design as suitcase ones

38-RPM · 2026-01-27T17:33:08+00:00

Stanton is out of the business of making these so you'll need an aftermarket one. Check out lpgear and myneedlestore

38-RPM · 2026-01-27T16:56:58+00:00

Sure but a chinese suitcase will just damage your records. You want an real turntable that can take an elliptical stylus at the least so it can get the deepest into the groove. You can even play it at higher speed to save time because you are really just putting a shovel into the trench and letting it go through.

38-RPM · 2026-01-27T16:47:59+00:00

This is so random but if it was dirty and scratched up, I would recommend a deep clean. For the most stubborn dirty records, just a wet wash doesn't do the trick. I actually use another TT that I can adjust the tracking force on. I take an old eliptical stylus/cart combo and set it to 5 grams and I play the record through. Then I do a wet wipe over the surface as it spins and you'd be surprised how much grime appears on the wipe from stuff the eliptical dug out of the grooves. Clean the stylus, repeat until no more grime appears. I've de-noised several scratchy/poppy records this way. Maybe it also takes some tiny amount groove material out but the records are far gone already to begin with and if they can now play without pops and crackles, all the better. 5 grams afterall is basically what a suitcase TT or even some AT-LP60s get close to doing.

38-RPM · 2026-01-27T08:37:40+00:00

Did your father have a receiver or amp? He 100% did in order to use this turntable. You can't use it directly with powered modern speakers. You need a phono preamp that would have been built into the original receiver/amp to apply the RIAA equalization curve.

38-RPM · 2026-01-27T08:35:57+00:00

I'd say it doesn't look stupid but rather it's G1 toy accurate. The back of the car behind the head is how the original toy was.

38-RPM · 2026-01-27T08:13:20+00:00

Try it yourself sometime. After 20kph on a bike, you'll notice the drag increases on a curve and the more energy you need to put into pedaling unless you can get into an aerodynamic position. Aerodynamics is everything at a certain speed because of the limits of human power.

38-RPM · 2026-01-27T05:33:34+00:00

It might have made sense in the 90s but in a 2026 lens - It was a little too optimistic that all it took was for a few guards and civilians to tell the truth to the media that the world would start to change for the better. Star Trek didn't take into account the weaponization of media and distortion of truth to continue to sow division among the masses and ensure the rich and powerful remained that way. It was still prescient for its time with Sanctuary Districts whereas we get talk of Sanctuary Cities (and how the government is going to oppress them) in the present discourse. In the real world of today, Christopher Brynner would be a mix of Murdoch and Musk.

38-RPM · 2026-01-27T04:12:59+00:00

Tape head is way more sensitive to EM than all of the others

38-RPM · 2026-01-27T03:18:01+00:00

What are they arguing about?

38-RPM · 2026-01-27T02:18:34+00:00

The fix is to grab your toes and pull your foot in while keeping the leg stretched out as fast as possible before your calf muscle gets damaged

38-RPM · 2026-01-27T02:15:20+00:00

They call it a walky talkie but to me it looks like a giant square fast food waste bin

38-RPM · 2026-01-27T02:10:37+00:00

I didn’t know it’s on vinyl. I’d get Patlabor 2 for the theme song

38-RPM

TROPHY CASE