And all of them staggeringly ugly - with the possible exception of the Goldmund Reference.
And the gold plating puts them firmly into âDonald Trumpâs bathroomâ territory.
Sadly I donât have vinyl any more (took it all to the charity shop when I moved to the Caribbean in 2003) but if I did I think Iâd just get a really simple deck like a Pro-Ject or Rega Planar.
If money was no object I might get a Linn Sondek.
But Iâm happy with CDs - vinyl records are overpriced nowadays IMHO.
Good choices. though I think Iâd stick with the Planar 3 - even the standard version of the Sonndeck is firmly in diminishing returns territory.
But CDs are better in every measurable way.
And Iâd suggest that vinyl is better in a number of immeasurable waysâŚ
Yeah, or maybe nah.
I think itâs the ritual, really. Choosing an album, carefully removing it from the sleeve, placing it on the turntable, removing any fluff with your favourite cleaning tool, lowering the stylus into the run-in groove then settling back to relax and listen to the whole thing.
CDâs remove quite a bit of that - though they retain the element of choosing your music with care and listening, typically, to a whole album - but thereâs not so much mystique.
Youâll be telling me next that valve amps are better than transistors 
Donât disagree, but maybe thatâs an aspect that gives greater value to the listening experience.
However through the ritual thereâs also the possibility of mentally connecting with pre-CD moments decades ago. The anthropologist of comparative religion, Mircea Eliade controversially argued in The Myth of the Eternal Return that through religious ritual, the celebrant is connected in a timeless continuum with all those who have previously performed the same ritual.
A po-mo cultural theorist might term that âintertextualityâ - by quoting or copying a text (painting or whatever) its source is incorporated into the new work.
Now back to the footballâŚ
I agree with both.
As I sit here listening to the streamer 
I was surprised to learn my Luxman turntable was actually made by Linn Sonndek.
Thatâs why I said âif money was no objectâ. 
In the real world a Rega would do mighty fine.
As for the hoary old âvinyl vs digitalâ debate, letâs not go there. Each has its aficionados.
Years ago I was involved in doing analog live recordings for a classical choir (The Sixteen) on reel-to-reel - one time I recorded them performing âBelshazzars Feastâ at Llandaff Cathedral, through a stereo pair of AKG 414s - I wish I still had a copy of that recording. Really simple, and the acoustic was glorious. If you want real quality, listen to the master tapes.
Then by contrast more recently I recorded a section of the choir of Merton College in the collegeâs chapel at a wedding that I filmed - that was also a recording that turned out really well IMHO, despite being done with a fairly humble setup (Swedish Golden Age ribbon and cardioid mics in a mid-side configuration into a Roland digital recorder):
There are good and bad analog recordings and good and bad digital recordings; I donât think the medium is the deciding factor.
(Now âremasteredâ reissues of classic analog albums is a different marmite de poissons - plenty of scope to screw things up there! See also James Cameron and his buggering about with his movies for the BluRay 4K releasesâŚ)
That choir are very good.
I, as you know ny now, am not an audio geek, but the recording sounds pretty damned good through my - admittedly somewhat aged - apple mac. If you say it was using humble kit, then I reckon the vast majority of choral music fans would be easily pursuaded it was top notchâŚ
You can tell the difference between Vimeo and Youtube compression straight away.
I think I have it somewhere on YouTube instead if you prefer.
Yes they are - professional singers, and it makes a difference!
Thank you!
Nooooo, its far more compressed on YT much happier with Vimeo, very good recording.
Janet Cardiffâs Forty Part Motet is a very beautiful 40 channel choral sound piece that can only be experienced in the Tateâs installation. However this link gives an idea of it.
Very clever!
Iâm a bit of a purist though - I think itâs hard to beat simple two-channel stereo for live music (choral or orchestral) - either with a crossed pair of cardioid mics, or the mid-side arrangement that I used.
The crossed pair arrangement is really simple and gives good stereo imaging as well as mono compatibility; mid-side (with a figure-of-eight mic side-on to collect left and right information and a cardioid facing the front) lets you adjust the stereo width in post, which can be handy.
Once you start adding extra mics thereâs the danger of phase and timing issues I think, which can make the sound a bit muddy.
Of course it all depends what you are recording and where. Another reason I opted for stereo pairs in my dabbling in live recording is I am not clever enough to manage or mix a multi-mic setup!
Letâs put a third point of view; they are different.
Some recordings are better on record and some are better as a CD or HD streamed; record is a warmer more rounded sound.
With older recordings many of the differences come from remastering and the digitisation process.
Anyway, I still have my 1980âs Acoustic Research EB 101 which I rewired, changed the head shell and cartridge. I donât buy new records so it is only there to play my 100 or so LPs.
Interesting - reminds me of the linear tracking turntables that B&O used to sell.
I wonder how well that solid aluminium block resists outside interference. it doesnât look like it has any suspension.
Yes vinyl can sound warmer; though part of that could be due to the partnering equipment.
And absolutely when older recordings get remastered they can very often get âbuggered about withâ and sound worse.
Some engineers do it well though - Steven Wilson for example, with his surround sound mixes of Pink Floyd, Yes, Jethro Tull and others. Although I have mixed feelings (no pun intended) about the surround sound aspect.
I was an early adopter of quadraphonic (SQ) back in the day - it was fun but quite gimmicky (I had Dark Side of the Moon on SQ vinyl and the cash register sounds at the start of âMoneyâ went pinging around the room).
Although with Dolby Atmos mixes itâs now way more sophisticated, Iâm still not sure about surround sound music (apart from ambience sound on a live recording) - it can often be distracting I think.