Budget turntable under $500

Mikado463

Mikado463

Audioholic Spartan
I have used vinyl for about 50 years now, altho my early vinyl collection my mom/dad gave away during a sneaky move scenario, I think the comfort zone is more solidly around the $500 level unless you're just kinda goofy about your analog gear....
Wow......you're not even close. $500 may do digital some justice but for analog you need to add at least another zero. My gut's telling me that you have never heard a really good analog set up.........
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
Wow......you're not even close. $500 may do digital some justice but for analog you need to add at least another zero. My gut's telling me that you have never heard a really good analog set up.........
BS!! You talk like audiophile eltist. The next thing you're going to try and sell is cables make a difference in sound. You've come to wrong forum to sell snske oil BS like your trying to peddle now. :rolleyes:
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
one can argue the tone arm difference till there blue in the face. Compliance mating of arm and cartridge comes into play as well. I'm not saying the carbon fibre arm employed by ProJect / Music Hall (I believe they do share components / manufacturing to some degree) is bad, heck for a $500 table it is really quite good I suspect.

As for the vibrational noise you speak of, or transmission thereof, there's a lot more at play here that tonearm tube construction ........
I agree with you in the compliance but the tone arm is solely responsible for isolating rumble from the the motor when the needle is tracking the groove. You want a material that dampens as quickly as possible. The more rigid yhe arm, th7 better damping ig provides.
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
I have used vinyl for about 50 years now, altho my early vinyl collection my mom/dad gave away during a sneaky move scenario, I think the comfort zone is more solidly around the $500 level unless you're just kinda goofy about your analog gear....
Generally speaking, the more expensive the turntable, the better the performance. However, one does not need to spend 5K on a turntable to get exemplary performance. IHO, 1K offers very high standards of performance. After that, its all about the point of diminishing returns and style.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Wow......you're not even close. $500 may do digital some justice but for analog you need to add at least another zero. My gut's telling me that you have never heard a really good analog set up.........
Lol, I disagree, especially for digital. I agree with 3db, maybe these days it would take a grand to get what I've got which is sufficienti for vinyl. I no longer buy vinyl in any case, my tt is only for playing my collection once in a while.
 
Mikado463

Mikado463

Audioholic Spartan
BS!! You talk like audiophile eltist. The next thing you're going to try and sell is cables make a difference in sound. You've come to wrong forum to sell snske oil BS like your trying to peddle now. :rolleyes:
LOL, if for one minute you think $500 will take you anywhere near analog perfection you haven't a clue.

So, tell us, what constitutes your $500 set up ?
As for the audiophile elitist comment, again, you're apparently a misguided individual
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
Unless your DJ, the torque of the Tehnics direct drive offers no advantage to that of a belt drive table. I would rather spend the money on a ProJect whose tone arm IS bettet quality than and offers better tracking yhen that of the Technics.
Yeah, but you need to start approaching that $1k mark on the Pro-Ject too.

I like my Debut Carbon, but it is absolutely an entry level TT.
 
Mikado463

Mikado463

Audioholic Spartan
Generally speaking, the more expensive the turntable, the better the performance. However, one does not need to spend 5K on a turntable to get exemplary performance. IHO, 1K offers very high standards of performance. After that, its all about the point of diminishing returns and style.
Your missing the point, 5k was meant as a point for the entire kit ......TT, arm, cart, phono-pre and a RCM
 
Last edited:
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
Your missing the point, 5k was meant as a point for the entire kit ......TT, arm, cart, phono-pre and a RCM
Its a good thing you spelled that out . Not everyone can read minds around here. :rolleyes:One can get a decent table for about 1K including tonearm and cartridge, a decent phono preamp for an additional $150 or use the onboard preamp of their AVR. Spin Clean us a mannual record cleaning machine that can be had for atound $150. This is still far under your budge of 5K. ;)
 
Mikado463

Mikado463

Audioholic Spartan
Its a good thing you spelled that out . Not everyone can read minds around here. :rolleyes:One can get a decent table for about 1K including tonearm and cartridge, a decent phono preamp for an additional $150 or use the onboard preamp of their AVR. Spin Clean us a mannual record cleaning machine that can be had for atound $150. This is still far under your budge of 5K. ;)
the operative word you use is 'decent'. Yes, what you present will play music 'decently' but for the serious analog junkie 'decent' is not enough.
 
S

sterling shoote

Audioholic Field Marshall
With all the press records and record players have gotten in the last year or two, I plugged in my 43 year old Sony PS-4750 with Shure V15V-MR cartridge to take a few of my old LP's for a spin, thinking I might want to re-visit the medium. I also purchased a few new LP's for added measure.

The results were mixed, that's to say, recordings said to sound better on LP than CD did not sound better to me in any manner "better" could be described; and, in fact, while some of my LP's sounded indistinguishable from the same material on CD, the annoying pops and clicks, as common as they are unique to LPs, would give away my source component every time. That reminded me of the reason I stopped listening to LP's when CD's came out back in 1982.

Now, back on the topic of how much does a decent turntable/cartridge cost, I say you've got all money can buy when you can not discern the LP from CD. In my case that result cost about $700.00. Today, I'd suspect the best result, the record player retrieving and delivering everything in the groove, could be delivered for under $1700.00. For example, a new Technics SL-1200GR, to be released in June, fitted with a Shure M97xE would appear from their specs to be able to get the job done. Of course, since records are a cult item today, the reality of it all is often dismissed by the cults non-critical thinkers. A lot of these younger folks out there today I believe are not likely to think critically since they have never been forced to do such a thing, making buying decisions instead off cues from audiophile gurus; and, believing all the guru gobbledygook, satisfaction with any equipment will be as elusive as it is temporary.
 
Last edited:
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
the operative word you use is 'decent'. Yes, what you present will play music 'decently' but for the serious analog junkie 'decent' is not enough.
I think your point is really daft for someone trying to enter the vinyl world with a $5000 price tag. That's 5K wasted if the love affair for vinyl can't be kindled.
 
Mikado463

Mikado463

Audioholic Spartan
I think your point is really daft for someone trying to enter the vinyl world with a $5000 price tag. That's 5K wasted if the love affair for vinyl can't be kindled.
It was never meant for someone entering the analog realm, rather a point where analog can begin to stand shoulder to shoulder with digital.
 
S

sterling shoote

Audioholic Field Marshall
It was never meant for someone entering the analog realm, rather a point where analog can begin to stand shoulder to shoulder with digital.
I don't believe there is a point where analog can begin to stand shoulder to shoulder with digital. The technology is just not there, even with magnificent equipment the media has too many shortcomings. Those shortcomings are what propelled the CD's acceptance and dominance until we had cheap enough storage on our computers to make the downloading of CD quality music an attractive means to enjoy music.
 
Last edited:
newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top