Having been away from vinyl for many years, I needed help in setting up my newly purchased turntable. Yes, there was at least 10 minutes of useful information. However, Mr. Fremer's battle stories quickly wear thin for me and seem more appropriate for a blog. I didn't shell out $$ for poorly produced entertainment--I want a brain dump from an expert that goes beyond what I can pick up in a couple hours of reading audio forums. The production quality reminds me of an bad '80s corporate training video. This is a shame, there are a bunch of newbies like me who want more information, but this disc took the easy way out.

21st Century Vinyl is a must have for anyone with a turntable.
It meticulously takes each step in the set up process and fully explains it on three popular, or at least, representative, current turntables.
It is an invaluable reference which both explains, details and reviews the use of a turntable.
I would heartily recommend it. However, both myself and a friend's wife (the friend also has the disc) commented on the way the presenter handled the LP's at the beginning of the disc. Definitely, do not take this as the way to handle your valuable and in many ways irreplaceable, LP's. throwing them aside, placing hands on the playing surface and pushing the record back into the cover before casting it aside! Oooh, made me annoyed.
In any case, despite this minor gripe, a very solid and well-presented disc with a small element of whimsy from on-screen notes (such as "You didn't see that!" when the presenter accidentally knocks the tonearm off it's rest while explaining something......) make this an essential companion for turntable owners.

I have been a music fan forever. But I was always upset by the results I got from record players/turntables. All the surface noise, the snap crackle pop during quiet passages drove me nuts. When Compact Discs arrived I sold all of my albumns and started over. But, to face reality, the sound just isn't as good. So after several years of trying to ignore it I came back to Vinyl. The first thing I learned was that I never really understood how to properly set up a cartridge in a turntable. After much study I concluded that I might not ever learn how and why doesn't someone make a DVD about it. about three days later I stumbled upon this DVD by accident. Knowing that M Fremer is the resident Guru of vinyl at Stereophile I snapped it up. Mr. Fremer has made a most informative video about how records are made, some history of vinyl, and how to set up your turntable. He walks you through setting up three different turntables. The tape does not seem to be overly rehearsed, or edited. As he encounters problems he deals with them and explains his thinking rather than stopping the tape and eliminating the problem. Very real world way of doing things. I found this product most enjoyable and enlightening. My Turntable sounds better than ever also.

I liked this dvd. Michael Fremer is very funny and obviously loves vinyl. He shows you three turntable setups as well as goes over the history of the format. He spends some time in a cutting studio, and shows you his continum caliburn ($100,000) right at the end. The only thing I wish this showed was the rest of his stereo, just out of curiosity, and I wish he put discs on and played them. I suppose he couldn't without paying royalties, but still, it would have been neat to hear. (even though a DVD)

If you have ever wondered how to set up your turntable so your vinyl sounds like it is supposed to sound, this video is an enourmous help. Written, acted and produced by Michael Fremer, one of the very few Vinyl Gurus I have ever seen who can communicate and is listenable - and watchable. This video is both very informative and entertaining. Apart from the setting up of three turntables in three different price classes, all of which he does very well. Michael gives a short introduction to diferent LP qualities, from "Virgin" vinyl - British, to "Streetwalker" vinyl - American. And, during the various set-ups, he admonishes us, the watchers, to "don't go crazy" during set-up. At the end of the video, he introduces us to his personal turntable, the Continuum Audio Labs "Colibri". Said piece of equipment costing around USD 100,000. Michael, when it came down to it, "went crazy".
Very, very highly recommended.