Lovin' the LP: my first weekend with PerspeX

Longtime S&V readers know how much your humble Editor-In-Chief loves vinyl. But my old turntable was, well, old, and the more I listened to my LPs, the more I realized I had to bite the bullet and get a new 'table. I never enter new-gear purchase modes lightly, so, after months of research, a few sort-of clandestine listening sessions at CES, and some persuasive expert advice, I decided to go with the Pro-Ject 6 PerspeX turntable and a Sumiko Blackbird cartridge. 

And I am sooooo glad I did.

I had to wait one weekend longer that I wanted to before I could devote the proper time to set the 'table up properly. I got the 'table itself set and level on a wood table out of the line of fire of my speakers and subwoofer on Saturday and installed the cartridge and adjusted the tonearm on Sunday. I, of course, took meticulous care in optimizing tracking force, antiskating, overhang, zenith, azimuth, and the arm's VTA (vertical tracking angle). As soon as I was satisfied with my adjustments, I connected the PerspeX to my receiver's phono stage and got down to putting needle to platter. . . .

Secret Spice!

I want to say one word to you. Just one word. (Yes, sir.) Are you listening? (Yes, I am.) Branding. (Just how do you mean that, sir?)

Here's how I mean that: When it comes to bands maximizing their potential — when it comes to bands being "successful" — branding is all-important. Remember those days when people howled at Jimmy Page and Pete Townshend for selling music to commercials? Those days are long, long gone. History. Today, it's not just about selling old music to commercials; it's about linking your new music to an entire company. And that's called branding. Good? Bad? Necessary? I'll leave that discussion for another time. But here's an example:

Tonight (Dec. 4) at 10 p.m. (Eastern) on CBS, you can watch the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show — featuring the VS supermodels in the photo above, shown prepping to jet to the show on "Runway Angel," their own Virgin America plane. (Nice to know that the VS supermodels are virgins. But I digress.) In addition to music by Seal and will.i.am, the Spice Girls will appear in their debut reunion performance. But that's just the beginning of the branding between the Girls and Victoria . . .