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Vinyl nostalgia: tight budget and still amazing?

29/7/2021

Translation: Eva Francis

In my wild twenties, I treasured up a small but exclusive collection of records, which has been gathering dust for the last years. Why? I couldn't listen to them because I didn’t have the right audio equipment. Thanks to active speakers, I can finally enjoy listening to them again.

«I wear my scars like the rings on a pimp / I live life like the captain of a sinking ship» – those are the lyrics Slug from Atmosphere raps through my brand-new Edifier speakers. I close my eyes and am mentally transported back to my early twenties. Back then, I was trying my hand at DJing and spinning records. «Dreaming 'bout the mic and the money and the ladies / Oh mom, I promise I'm gonna be large». This makes me feel 18 years younger and I can see myself in my room, spending hours playing and scratching record after record on my Technics MK2 turntables.

Suddenly, I hear a sound. «Nee nah, nee nah, nee nah». I open my eyes. That's not part of the song. It’s my 4-year-old son who’s racing through the flat playing with his ambulance car. I can hear my other son crying in the bathroom and my wife calls: «Would you turn down the volume!». Right, the music is the same, but the feeling from back then quickly vanishes in this surrounding. Admittedly, when I said I spent hours playing record after record, I must add that I also rolled one spliff after the other.

New active speakers

In the early 2000s, I spent a lot of time DJing. Blessed with the musical talent of a lindworm, I’d say I was just about scraping along. Many years and several moves later, my then considerable collection has melted down to about 100 records. Justified, as I sold all my equipment except for the record player itself. The records have been gathering dust in a corner of the living room ever since. Their only purpose was to look good and impress visitors.

After our recent move at the end of June, I decided to bring my record player back to life. I'm getting old, nostalgic and want to feel like I'm in my early twenties again. In other words: I'm having somewhat of a premature midlife crisis.

In my early twenties, I would have just gone and bought amplifiers and speakers. In my late thirties, I have to consult my wife first. We have a rule: if something’s going to be in a shared space in our home, we talk about it before we buy it. Since my wife is less into technology than I am and more into interior design, speakers and amplifiers need to take up little space. That means everything that isn’t essential is too much.

Therefore, we agree on getting active speakers. She can live with that, because she also enjoys listening to my records. Yet, the speakers mustn’t be too expensive. That's why I choose the Edifier R1280BT. They’re also Bluetooth-enabled, so I can listen to records or Spotify.

Hi-fi + Home cinema speakers

EUR139,–

Edifier R1280db

1 pair, 42 W

To get my record player to play a sound, I need a preamplifier. My Technics record player isn’t equipped with one. Again, this new device needs to be small and affordable.

Phono preamps

EUR34,04

LD Systems Ppa 2

No jumping with joy, but a time travel effect

Sure, this setup doesn’t excite Hi-Fi fans in the slightest. Neither the preamp nor the speakers are high-end. That’s just not possible with the means at my disposal – or rather, with the negotiated solution.

Nevertheless, the sound quality pretty decent. Especially after I follow Youtuber Michael Beeny’s advice he gives in his review: turn the bass down and the treble up. In addition, I place the speakers on our piece of furniture with an Arabic name from the Swedish furniture store, which has metal grids instead of solid shelves. According to Beeny, this allows the sound to unfold over a broader spectrum. I agree, the speakers really do crate more voluminous sound this way.

The metal grid and airy space underneath it make the Edifier speakers sound better.

«Fresh out the gate again, time to raise the stakes again / Fatten my plate again, y'all cats know we always play to win» – the lyrics of Gang Starr's classic Full Clip are quite fitting. At last, I can listen to the records of my short-lived DJ career – baby scratches and all. And with toddlers in the household, it actually feels like the stakes have risen. I’m ~~slightly~~ concerned about my vinyl collection and record player.

Nevertheless, I’m already happy. All the memories that come back when I play my old records are just wonderful. I’m looking forward to many hours of nostalgia. And who knows, I might even manage to pass on some music culture to my sons.

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Kevin Hofer

Senior Editor

kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.ch

From big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.

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