no good reason

[broken ed]

There is no good reason to have a 12 volt record player. Records (LPs) are heavy, they take up a lot of space and they can be damaged in the heat.  When you consider how many MP3s you can fit on a tiny micro SD card there seems no reason to own a vinyl record.

This is what I thought until my wife got me a record player as a gift. And while all the above is true, there's something (as a long time music listener) I was missing.

Slowing down and hearing a vinyl LP record the way it was intended by the artist and producer. Yes, you can skip ahead on a LP, but it's not as simple when listening to MP3s on you phone or player. I know this isn't for everyone, maybe no one, and if you have a large collection of MP3s (as I do) you can listen to them even with you have no connection to cell towers or the Internet. But LPs are the same in that regard, no connection required. I can honestly say I was surprised how much I enjoyed listening to a vinyl LP, flipping over to side "B", from start to finish, even the songs I would have skip over on my phone.



https://www.amazon.com/ION-Audio-Ar...&s=gateway&sprefix=ion+record+,aps,247&sr=8-4

This Ion Record Player is 12 volts, center post positive (+) with a standard barrel connector. It is completely self contained with speakers, volume control and 45 RPM adapter. It has a headphone jack, RCA audio jacks (output) and a USB audio (output) if you want to convert a LP to MP3. The AC adapter is 1 amp, but I've run the record player for hours on 500mA.


I haven't  purchased a new LP for my record player, when I see I'm near a book or music store I check for used records. I've had very good luck, there are people that have taken much better care of LPs then I did, when I was younger. And I've found some great records, including one that is no longer available no matter how much money you have because it would violate current Copy Right law. I enjoy the entire process from finding the records to listening. One final thing if you want to try this, LPs are best stored standing up, not laying flat. And if in the heat, better close to the floor where it's cooler.

Full disclosure: I have nothing to do with Ion or Amazon.

 

[B and C]

A better alternative is to record those vinyl records to a lossless digital format. You get the same warm sounds (including needle hiss and pop) without the hassle of carrying the records with you. If you really want it to sound the way intended, use a tube amp.

 

[broken ed]

A better alternative is to record those vinyl records to a lossless digital format.  You get the same warm sounds (including needle hiss and pop) without the hassle of carrying the records with you.  If you really want it to sound the way intended, use a tube amp.

I know what you mean B and C. Maybe this should have been posted in "Hobbies." I like the LPs, and tube amps but not willing to that far. And I wouldn't trade LPs for "Poweramp" Mp3 player app on my phone, even with a set of inexpensive Sony (over-the-ear) headphones the sound is stunning. With it's equalizer and stereo expansion, the sound is something that could easily cost several thousand dollars back in the 1970s.

I don't know if vinyl LPs are digitized in the production process before pressing, but I imagine there are. I don't even know if the albums I purchased used where pressed in some analog format, but interestingly none of the LPs I bought used have UPC bar codes on the jackets.

The very first scanning of the Universal Product Code (UPC) barcode was on a pack of Wrigley chewing gum in June 1974.