back into vinyl...but....

[Sealed]

started getting back in vinyl but before i go out and buy a new turntable and phono stage, does it matter that my receiver is only rated from 20hz-20khz freq response ? I always understood one of the main reasons to stick with vinyl is to get the info that CD doesnt have...ie: freq's above or below the CD realm of 20hz-20khz....Am i wasting my money by getting a new turntable with the existing receiver i have ? which by the way is a Harman Kardon AVR 510 that can be seen at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...s&vi=tech-data

Do not worry about that aspect. The main difference in cd vs lp is not just frequency response. It is the fact that on an LP, the sound is one continuous analog waveform. A CD is sampled. Folks can quote Nyquist theory until they suck all the air out of a room and they pass out, but CD is a "lossy" portion of analog.

The Lp has a more "whole" sound. This is manifested tonally, timbrally, and in the way the soundstage and air is presented. I recently set up a Rega P-3/RB300 with a decent cart (this was all for $400 finished) and it delivers more than any affordable cd player does. For the most part, Cd's sound thinner, more mechanical and colder than LP's or real music for that matter. Lp's have no brickwall filter to block frequencies over 20khz like cd players do. Some cd players use tube to help warm up the sound, but in reality, there is a degree of euphonic color-not true "analog' warmth. It's not a bad thing, but it's not vinyl.

I was listening to some 200 gram "Audio Fidelity" pressings of Al Hirt. These were made between 1957-1960. The realism communicated by the LP exceeds the cd playback. In fact, there is an online abx/dbt that was conducted between the nearly $20k LINN cd-12 and the Lp-12. The vast majority of listeners (over 75%) preferred the vinyl. After listening to vinyl intensively, cd sounds lacking to me. And that is amazing to some folks, because I am talking about a recording that is almost 50 years old!

FWIW: the frequency response of the audio fidelity LP is 16hz- 22khz. The music hall deck is a great value, and look into rega also. Carts make huge differences, so you can always upgrade.

The receiver doesn't suddenly stop exactly at 20khz, but it does start to roll off.