When choosing a new turntable, there are many factors to consider. In most cases, your final decision will come down to a balance between price, features, quality, and personal preference. One aspect that is often misunderstood is the choice between automatic and manual turntable designs. After all, if you can remove effort and work by purchasing an automatic deck, why … Read More
How to Grade Used Vinyl Records
Whether you’re selling off some of your collection, or hunting for your next holy grail vinyl purchase, understanding how used records are graded is fundamental. It’s important as a seller, as you want to provide an honest and fair assessment of what you’re selling, but it’s also important for the customer as a key indicator of quality. This is particularly … Read More
Do You Need a Mono Cartridge to Play Mono Records?
Up until the late 1950s, commercial music was mixed in mono. Even then, it took some time for stereo to take off, and it wasn’t until the late 1960s that stereo went mainstream. In the early days of stereo, many engineers took the opportunity to experiment and play with the format. It’s not uncommon for the stereo version of a … Read More
Moving Magnet Vs Moving Coil Phono Cartridges – What’s The Difference?
When it comes to choosing the right components for your turntable, your phono cartridge is, well, pretty important. After all, this is the device that makes direct contact with your records. In most audio systems inputs are almost certainly more important than outputs; to put it frankly—shit in, shit out. There are two main types of phono cartridge available: moving … Read More
What Does Direct-to-Disc Vinyl Mean?
When collecting vinyl records, you might come across the following terms associated with a special release: live to vinyl, direct-to-disc, or direct-to-acetate. All of these terms refer to the same process, which as they suggest, is the practice of recording directly to a vinyl-disc cutting lathe without first recording to magnet tape or digital storage. Before the advent of magnetic … Read More
Do Record Weights and Clamps Make a Difference?
Like many Hi-Fi optimization topics, record weights and clamps intended for record stabilization divide opinion. In the pro-stabilization camp, many feel that a record weight or clamp can bring stability during playback, while also helping to tighten and focus the overall sound. Over in the anti-stabilization camp, there is a feeling that record stabilizers can put unnecessary strain on turntable … Read More
Do Picture Disc Vinyl Records Sound Worse?
A large part of vinyl’s lasting appeal is the artwork. The larger physical canvas has long given musicians the chance to express their art beyond the music in a way that adds to the overall experience of collecting and listening to music. The whole product becomes a canvas, and that includes printing directly onto the vinyl disc. Enter, the weird … Read More
How to Digitize Your Vinyl Records
In a world increasingly dominated by the convenience and portability of streaming services, some collectors may question the value of digitizing vinyl records. But the truth is there are still plenty of good reasons to capture the sound of vinyl and turn them into convenient digital files that you can take with you wherever you roam. For starters, many of … Read More
What is Half-Speed Mastering?
Sound Matters offer a simple explanation of half-speed mastering as a practice while gaining some more detailed insights from experienced Mastering Engineer, Barry Grint. (Barry’s work includes award-winning artists George Ezra and Tom Walker, plus many classic projects, including Madonna, Prince, Oasis, and many more). The Basics To understand what the term “half-speed mastering” means, we must first understand the … Read More
Direct-Drive vs Belt-Drive Turntables – What’s the Difference?
When buying your first turntable, or even upgrading your current setup, there are many technical terms and details that cause some confusion for would-be vinyl enthusiasts. At Sound Matters, we present answers to many of these frequently asked questions in a way that cuts through the jargon, getting to the key points you need to know. Today, we tackle the … Read More
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