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Sony PS-HX500 Turntable

Botch

MetaBotch Doggy Dogg Mellencamp
Superstar
This $600 piece was reviewed in the May '16 issue of S&V. It's another analog-to-USB turntable, but these features caught my eye:
a) built-in phono cartridge preamp (most AV receivers don't have these anymore, PLUS it'd be (hopefully) matched to the included cartridge;
b) MDF plinth construction (good mass, and nice compromise for what will be a low-unit seller), but most of all:
c) selectable A-to-D conversion rates, from CD-quality 44.1kHz/16-bit, to 192kHz/24-bit, and even DSD/SACD!!
The unit includes PC and Mac recording software, but it only provides the playable files, no "player" included. What I'd be really interested in is a way to record those files onto disk, to play in my Oppo; I know it's possible to go to CD and I think even Bluray, but I"m not aware of an SACD-capable disk recorder; anyone?
I don't have a connection between my computers and my music system, hence the desire for disk recording ability. This system does require manually entering metadata (disk title, artist, etc) but I expected that; would like to get my direct-to-disk and Mobile Fidelity vinyl collection on to a digital format that will last, at least, as long as I will.
I bought a VHS-to-DVD recorder about 4 years ago to do the same thing (I think I posted about it here) and got about 1/3 thru my collection, then slowed and have about 1/2 to 2/3rds of the collection on disc now, need to kick my own butt and git-r-dun; it'd be a much longer slog to digitize my vinyl collection, but something to think about. :shhh:
 
Isn't the whole point in playing vinyl to avoid the digital process?????????

And isn't the whole point of playing a vinyl album the tactile feeling of actually playing a physical object (not some digital file) and to enjoy the album graphics and liner notes???????

Maybe my mind is exceedingly simple, but if I wanted to just play a digital file, I'd either buy a CD, download the file, or stream it.
 
rammisframmis said:
Isn't the whole point in playing vinyl to avoid the digital process?????????

And isn't the whole point of playing a vinyl album the tactile feeling of actually playing a physical object (not some digital file) and to enjoy the album graphics and liner notes???????

Maybe my mind is exceedingly simple, but if I wanted to just play a digital file, I'd either buy a CD, download the file, or stream it.

In my case, no. Not at all.

I don't buy into the "vinyl religion". What I do have/paid-for are some amazing performances (in the case of direct-to-disk, performance, solos, mixing, and mastering, for an entire 25-minute album side, with no editing or mistakes; the musicianship and discipline required to do that are amazing, and I'd like to keep that whole-project performance permanently).
Yeah, reading the larger cardboard jacket is kinda cool; I'm getting old enough that I can't even read 12" jackets anymore, much less CD covers. Modern recordings often offer, over the 'net, liner notes/lyrics (that can even be enlarged for us old farts), with the extra options of personal interviews/studio video/outtakes/meet-the-cowbell-player's-dog videos, extra-cool!
But, I'd never buy a vinyl copy of new music. I just have a large collection of damn good music on vinyl, and would like a way to preserve/play it ad infinitum without slowly carving it into nothingness with a diamond-hard chisel. :mrgreen: That's why I was interested in this turntable.
Hope that makes sense.
 
rammisframmis said:
Isn't the whole point in playing vinyl to avoid the digital process?????????

And isn't the whole point of playing a vinyl album the tactile feeling of actually playing a physical object (not some digital file) and to enjoy the album graphics and liner notes???????

Maybe my mind is exceedingly simple, but if I wanted to just play a digital file, I'd either buy a CD, download the file, or stream it.

My motivation in buying something like this would be to rip the vinyl to digital and not have to mess with the records again.
 
Haywood said:
rammisframmis said:
Isn't the whole point in playing vinyl to avoid the digital process?????????

And isn't the whole point of playing a vinyl album the tactile feeling of actually playing a physical object (not some digital file) and to enjoy the album graphics and liner notes???????

Maybe my mind is exceedingly simple, but if I wanted to just play a digital file, I'd either buy a CD, download the file, or stream it.

My motivation in buying something like this would be to rip the vinyl to digital and not have to mess with the records again.

Why on earth wouldn't you just buy the CD then?
 
rammisframmis said:
Haywood said:
My motivation in buying something like this would be to rip the vinyl to digital and not have to mess with the records again.

Why on earth wouldn't you just buy the CD then?

There is a ton of stuff on existing vinyl collections everywhere that is not on CD. I have a record collection and more than half of it cannot be found on CD, new or used.
 
Lone Stranger said:
rammisframmis said:
Haywood said:
My motivation in buying something like this would be to rip the vinyl to digital and not have to mess with the records again.

Why on earth wouldn't you just buy the CD then?

There is a ton of stuff on existing vinyl collections everywhere that is not on CD. I have a record collection and more than half of it cannot be found on CD, new or used.
This, plus, I'm not wealthy. And, I have bought some CDs now to play instead of my Mobile Fidelitys, where available.
 
Lone Stranger said:
rammisframmis said:
Haywood said:
My motivation in buying something like this would be to rip the vinyl to digital and not have to mess with the records again.

Why on earth wouldn't you just buy the CD then?

This is why. My wife and I have a small pile of old records no longer available. My father in law has a huge stack of excellent vintage classical stuff you cannot get anymore. Not everything is on CD.
There is a ton of stuff on existing vinyl collections everywhere that is not on CD. I have a record collection and more than half of it cannot be found on CD, new or used.
 
In principle, this, like many others like it, could be a very useful product.

I've got all the little bits and pieces (and software) that allow me to take any old analog turntable output, digitize it, and feed CD quality to any computer via USB. I obtained that capability years ago specifically to transfer albums that were not available on CD.

Sound quality-wise it works perfectly. The software even allowed for the manual editing of ticks and pops. But putting an album together into a CD was a pain in the ass, because of all the manual steps (like adding metadata, track breaks, etc.). So I did maybe a couple of albums and then said screw it.

Besides having many more digital output formats available, the Sony makes no improvements to this process. From the review...

To digitize an entire album, you record each side in its entirety, pausing the recorder as you flip the record over. Once both sides are complete, you can use the editing controls to add track split points and remove any unwanted bits. At this point, you also add metadata such as artist, album, and track information; unlike when you’re ripping CDs on iTunes or other library management software, this is a strictly manual process. Once everything is done, you can save the complete album as separate files in a folder on your hard drive or export it to a playback device.

To my mind, no $600 device should be so user hostile!

If any old smartphone can have a free app on it that instantly recognizes and provides all the metadata for any song it hears (in a crowded bar, elevator, doctor's office, etc.) then here's what a $600 Sony turntable supposedly designed for digitizing entire albums should do:

1. User hits record on computer software;

2. User drops needle and plays first side;

3. User then flips to second side;

4. When that side is done user can either keep flipping discs (in the case of multi-disc sets) or simply hit done on the recording software.

5. User then hits "produce CD" and

6. Software retrieves all metadata for album / songs, edits out all lead-in and lead-outs, adds silence between tracks, (possibly removes ticks and pops beyond a user-defined threshold), opens CD burner tray and asks for a blank disc, burns disc, and prints (optionally) a CD cover, and rear liner showing tracks / length etc.

I might have missed a point or two but the concept is pretty simple and all of what's being done in software has existed for a long time. Sony just needs to integrate the whole thing into a very user-friendly package. Heck, it's at most a co-op work term's worth of work for a college (or even high school) student.

Otherwise I suspect that many folks will get quickly tired of the process, quit using it, tell others how frustrating it is, and the thing will not sell well. Armed with the software as described I bet that sales could be an order of magnitude higher once word spreads.

Jeff
 
Which still begs the question - why use this Sony turntable when you can just simply play the album in its original analog form?

The argument that records "degrade" with each play is simply urban myth perpetuated by people who don't know better, and/or have little history with the format. With reasonable care such as using a record brush before playing each side, and properly setting up the turntable, records will last a lifetime and still sound like new.

On the other hand, I know very well the answer to the above question:

PEOPLE ARE BASICALLY LAZY.
 
My answer is that records are a giant pain in the ass to deal with and I would rather have everything on my media server where I can access it from basically anywhere. I see no particular advantage to vinyl and have no particular interest in fussing with it. I just want to get the content trapped in it converted into a more useful format. I would not spend $600 on a turntable to do that, however.
 
rammisframmis said:
Which still begs the question - why use this Sony turntable when you can just simply play the album in its original analog form?
Transportability and convenience - for albums that cannot otherwise be obtained in digital format.

Every year I find a few more albums on CD so it's admittedly a pretty small number nowadays, however I inherited 100+ albums that were my Dad's when Mom passed away a few years ago and those are nearly impossible to find on CD.

As I said, I have the capability now to convert them, but it's too much of a pain to do so. (Life's too short - not enough time - the usual story.)

I do enjoy listening to them in my main HT (only place with a turntable nowadays).

Jeff
 
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