How long have you been collecting records for?
Been collecting since 2012 after accidentally stumbling upon the Youtube vinyl community. Had no idea that vinyl was still a viable format until then but everything about it from the large album covers to the ritual involved in dropping the needle on the record appealed to me. Bought my first record (Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On) a few months later and haven’t stopped since.
How Large is your vinyl collection?
Currently have around 300+ records with the majority of it being Jazz and Prog Rock. Apart from that I also have some Krautrock, Zeuhl, New Wave, Psych/Pop Rock, Folk, Soul, Funk, Afrobeat, MPB, Tropicalia, Minimalism, Old School Hip-Hop and more.
Which is the most valuable record in your collection?
If we’re talking about monetary value it’ll probably be one of these original pressings from the 70s:
Carla Bley & Paul Haines - Escalator Over the Hill
Area - Crac!
Amon Düül II - Wolf City
Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians
Tell us about your turntable setup:
Have a Rega RP1 fitted with a Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge, a Marantz PM6005 amp and Acoustic Energy Aegis Evo 3 Floorstanding Speakers. Quite satisfied with my current setup except for the fact that I have to place my turntable on top of my amp due to a lack of space.
Any advice to people that are about to start their collection?
If you’re getting into vinyl for the sound quality then it would do you some good to research the various pressings of the albums that you’re after and their sources. With the renewed interest in vinyl, a few shady companies have tried to capitalise on the younger generation just getting into the format by releasing LPs sourced directly from CDs in order to make a quick buck. These records might be cheap and look enticing with the vinyl coming in various colour variants but the sound quality will be abysmal.
What I do is make a want list of all the records that I’d really like to own and then check out reviews on various sites (like discogs.com, forums.stevehoffman.tv etc) to find out the source and note down the best pressings available be it a first/early press or reissues sourced directly from the master tapes.
While having a great hi-fi system is just as important in achieving the best sound quality, you can always upgrade your audio components while a poor quality LP will sound bad regardless of how great your setup is.