Steve Williams is a nice man. I'm pretty forum agnostic, I'd much rather learn or share than fight or prove a point. I'm glad he has discovered or re-discovered vinyl. The fun for me isn't buying the latest sonic wonder that everyone uses to make their system sing- yeah, those are fun, I'll play an audiophile record occasionally and even buy some. Where vinyl is a blast (for me) is buying box loads of old stuff- not crap, mind you, but older records made in the day when the whole production and engineering process was far simpler. Much of the music I've been listening to is not jazz or classical but pop/rock/psych/folk/blues from the late '60s and early '70s. Among these records- often gotten for less than 8 or 10 dollars, are wonderful masterings, and once cleaned, sound fantastic.
Part of the process is the discovery (or re-discovery) of the music. And, like web surfing, you hear an album with a particular sideman, and discover, hey, that guy had some band 40 years ago, wonder what that sounds like? It takes time, I guess, and I recycle the vinyl I don't want- give it away, or wholesale it to a dealer after I've gone through the process. The net result is that I'm learning more about the music and the musicians, as well as they people behind the scenes- producers, engineers, sidemen, mastering differences.
In some cases, the new remasterings are wonderful. But, in many cases, the old, ubiquitous pressings sound better. So, part of the process of discovery is buying a bunch of copies of the same record-- not necessarily expensive-- and comparing them. Sometimes, I'll keep several copies because each has strengths.
As to age, frankly, I didn't have time to do this when I was working a career full-tilt. So, it is a nice way to enjoy the rest of your life.
And, given how long people can live these days, the only issue is good health- physical and mental. May we all be so blessed.
