Ask Dr. LJ.. Audio stuff

[goddessfarmer]

Does anyone have any experience or opinion about this gadget: http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/mp3/85fb/

chocorua has a lot of vinyl, and some reel-to-reel stuff that we'd like to preserve. (Including tapes of Apple Gunkies commercials from WTBS, back when that was the MIT radio station.) He still has working technology to play all of his media, but the media will degrade eventually.

Comments

[n2mlq.livejournal.com]

We had a long discussion about this issue about a year ago on TF, I'll see if I can find it and forward off line.

Very important is what platform you're on, be it Mac (OS9/OSX) M$ W$ or Linux/BSD

And, oh yea. Of all the media he has, the vinyl records will probably last the longest if they're in proper storage state. My father was head of QC at Columbia Records for a number of years and I think what he got for me as far as storage is reasonable gospel.

But finding a new needle is hard...

[sarahshevett.livejournal.com]

I completely agree.Don't throw away that vinyl; it will probably outlast whatever you are recording it onto, with proper care
From Wikipedia:

Because vinyl—a virtually unbreakable light plastic made up of polyvinyl chloride acetate copolymer, or PVC—is considered the most stable of analog recording media, it is seen as less a concern for deterioration than earlier sound recordings made from more fragile materials such as acetate, vulcanite, or shellac. This hardly means that vinyl recordings are infallible, however, and research—both expert and evidential—has shown that the way in which discs are handed and cared for can have a profound effect on their longevity.