Kroo

No, it isn't new.

Well Cal, at least you got that right the second time around, after
being
corrected by a few of us.

But it's not commonly done now.

*Nothing* to do with LPs is done commonly now. However, there are a
number
of turntables on the market that not only include their own preamp,
they
also include their own DAC so the turntable's output is digital.

Horse****, Arny. Many BILLIONS of phono records exist and are still
listened to. They are even still manufactured, though to a lesser
extent now than in the past.

Aside from the laser turntables, the only tables with onboard pre with
which I'm familiar are the old EMT's. They're certainly not offered
through high end channels, nor through broadcast suppliers.








There are a lot of things not commonly done now
that are nevertheless an improvement, even if they are not new.

Yeah Cal, there's this new thing called the CD - you ought to try it
sometime. It's not new, and in your world apparently it isn't done
very
often, but it is nevertheless an improvement.

I have a lot of CDs. They're convenient, et al. But they are hardly
the last word on digital music distribution. Youn know that you are
just promoting the Wal-Mart mass audio mentality.

And of course there are a lot of things that are new but not
necessarily
an
improvement.

Probably more than a few less than you think, Cal. BTW there are
these new
tube-like things that don't have filaments. Something about
silicon solid state...

Yes, there's also germanium, gallium arsenide, and other
semiconductors. They have been around fifty years and in the last ten
to fifteen have started to approach the audio quality of a really first
rate tube amplifier, I own several myself. But for now a really good
tube amp sounds better.