Anything I should know about turntables?

[smaidimaita]

Hello.
I'm decided to buy a turntable and vinyl records.
But there are so plenty of them and so different, I don't know where and how to start my search.

Is there anything i should avoid?
Or there's something (some kind of feature) that is a must?
Do more expensive turntables prolong the lide of the records?

As much as I've searched on the WWW, I've found mostly suggestions for DJ's turntables.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Hello.
I'm decided to buy a turntable and vinyl records.
But there are so plenty of them and so different, I don't know where and how to start my search.

Is there anything i should avoid?
Or there's something (some kind of feature) that is a must?
Do more expensive turntables prolong the lide of the records?

As much as I've searched on the WWW, I've found mostly suggestions for DJ's turntables.

Record wear depends on the diamond design in the cartridge and tracking force used.
Vinyl takes a lot of care to make it work right. Make sure you have the right inputs on the receiver or preamp for the right cartridge, MM or MC.

 

[smaidimaita]

Seems that my amplifier accepts only MM PHONO input.

Oh, and the price category for the turntable could be 200-400$.
How about a Denon DP300F?

 

[smaidimaita]

And what about the Cartridge Mounting standarts? In case I want to replace it with something better.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Why do you want to buy a turntable? Did you inherit a stash of LPs? I do hope nobody has talked you into believing any of that "LP sounds better than CD" nonsense!

 

[smaidimaita]

I do have some LP's, but guess not more than a hundred.
It's not that I believed that LP's sound way better than CD's, it's more beacuse of some kind of a nostalgic ritual. It's far better feeling to hold a vinyl LP in your hands than a CD. Something like that.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Seems that my amplifier accepts only MM PHONO input.

Oh, and the price category for the turntable could be 200-400$.
How about a Denon DP300F?

Not familiar with the newer turntables anymore, ancient history
but investigate some of the older companies, Thorens, and may want to visit a vinyl site.
As to cartridges mounting, it is fairly well standardized but there may be some exceptions.
You will need to look for MM types now that you know what the preamp will accept.

 

[OttoMatic]

That's right! There's more to vinyl than the sound. I inherited a turntable from my father recently, and while not normally a hoarder of "things", it's probably one thing that I will never part with.

And, while the sound of CDs is arguably more "accurate," I don't think it's reasonable to say or imply that vinyl sucks. Indeed, I find it to have a rather pleasing sound. I also very much enjoy my digital collection, both on CD and PC (lossless).

It is possible to enjoy both.

smaidimaita, to answer your original question, I think you should check out Music Hall and Rega. I believe these guys are both offering very fine products in your price range.

I'm sure it's also possible to find used turntables if you're careful. I inherited the Thorens TD-150 Mk II like this one. I replaced the original cartridge (or whatever was on it) with a Shure M97xE that I bought on Amazon. None of this stuff is top-of-the-line, but it works quite well together.

The connections for the replacement cartridge was simple in my case (and remember that my TT was probably manufactured in the mid-60s in Europe, Germany I believe). There are four leads that go to the back of the cartridge, and they are color-coded as to their signal path (L+, L Ground, R+, R Ground). Two screws hold the cartridge in place, and that's it. I did have to find shorter screws than the originals, but that was the only hitch.

Good luck, and enjoy!

 

[astrodon]

I purchased a Thorens TD 190 4 years ago and love it. It's fully automatic and comes with the tonearm, cartridge, and dust cover. One can find it on the web for around $470. There is a slightly cheaper model (TD 170) available too. See http://www.responseaudio.com/Thorens.htm for descriptions and (non-discounted) prices of a variety of Thorens TTs.

 

[davidtwotrees]

Rega is a big, affordable turntable maker these days. I know as I constantly watch audiogon for Rega CD players......and to get to the digital stuff I have to scroll through a TON of Rega record players. Stereophile just did a review of an entry level Rega and they were impressed with the bang for the buck. Not to mention there are tons of cartridges, tonearms, platter mats, etc etc for the Rega. I have seen some Rega CD players and they are excellent build quality.
Go to Audiogon.com and search the turntables. You will see plenty there, not just Rega........

 

[tbewick]

I've seen 'Pro-ject' turntables recommended in What Hi-fi? magazine, and other forum members have recommended them in previous threads.

 

[smaidimaita]

I just wanted to post that I have to choose from the turntables that are avaliable in the market right now here (in Latvia), and I just came from the local shop, which sells the pro-ject turntables.
But I guess, I can afford only the "debut" series turntables. Don't know it those recommended weren't only the more expensive ones.

 

[3db]

I almost picked up a Pro-ject Debut turntable myself

I just wanted to post that I have to choose from the turntables that are avaliable in the market right now here (in Latvia), and I just came from the local shop, which sells the pro-ject turntables.
But I guess, I can afford only the "debut" series turntables. Don't know it those recommended weren't only the more expensive ones.

but they had a deal on an Xpression2 that I just couldn't pass up for just $100 Cdn more.

The place I purchased it from also sells Rega. I was told by the dealer that for the entry level stuff such as the Debut and Xpression2, that Pro-ject is better than the Rega's.

The Xpression2 if you can still find is the best bang for the buck out of the Project line as it will compete evenly with the Rega P3 which is a very good turntable indeed. That said, the Debut is an excellent table for the money. I have chosen the Debut over the Rega P1 and was all set to buy it when I ran into the deal with the Xpression2.

The Rega P1 was reported to have speed stability problems by Stereophile Magazine for the unit they tested. I've read other reports where the MDF platter on the Rega P1s were out of round.

This is what I've found out during my turntable investigation and subsequent purchase.

 

[3db]

CD maybe more accurate but the big producers

That's right! There's more to vinyl than the sound. I inherited a turntable from my father recently, and while not normally a hoarder of "things", it's probably one thing that I will never part with.

And, while the sound of CDs is arguably more "accurate," I don't think it's reasonable to say or imply that vinyl sucks. Indeed, I find it to have a rather pleasing sound. I also very much enjoy my digital collection, both on CD and PC (lossless).

It is possible to enjoy both.

smaidimaita, to answer your original question, I think you should check out Music Hall and Rega. I believe these guys are both offering very fine products in your price range.

I'm sure it's also possible to find used turntables if you're careful. I inherited the Thorens TD-150 Mk II like this one. I replaced the original cartridge (or whatever was on it) with a Shure M97xE that I bought on Amazon. None of this stuff is top-of-the-line, but it works quite well together.

The connections for the replacement cartridge was simple in my case (and remember that my TT was probably manufactured in the mid-60s in Europe, Germany I believe). There are four leads that go to the back of the cartridge, and they are color-coded as to their signal path (L+, L Ground, R+, R Ground). Two screws hold the cartridge in place, and that's it. I did have to find shorter screws than the originals, but that was the only hitch.

Good luck, and enjoy!

seem to screw up alot of recordings by making them really loud and not coming close to using the dynamic range that the CD format is capable off. Given my choice, I'd rather listen to my Led Zepp collection in vinyl over CD anyday. It just sounds better

 

[fmw]

seem to screw up alot of recordings by making them really loud and not coming close to using the dynamic range that the CD format is capable off. Given my choice, I'd rather listen to my Led Zepp collection in vinyl over CD anyday. It just sounds better

If a CD doesn't have any more dynamic range than a record, then the dynamic range wasn't there in the first place. The tape recorders with which the recordings were made in the first place have some limits as well - noise floor at the quiet end and tape saturation at the loud end but they can always handle more dynamic range than the record can. The record stylus will jump the groove if you don't tame down the dynamic range. So there is always quite a lot of compresseion between the mixing and mastering of an analog record.

If you don't hear more dynamic range in a CD than a record then either it wasn't in the music in the first place or the CD was made from the compressed master or some other compressed source.

I have a pretty large vinyl collection. Most of it has been transferred to digital so I can play it straight from hard drive. The digital transfers sound exactly the same as the vinyl originals to my ears when played through the same audio system. I have a few recordings both on vinyl and CD that sound different from one another because the CD version was remastered from the original tape to take advantage of the digital capabilities of CD.

What you are experiencing is most likely what the recording engineers did, not some inherent fault of the CD.

 

[3db]

fmw.. agreed

If a CD doesn't have any more dynamic range than a record, then the dynamic range wasn't there in the first place. The tape recorders with which the recordings were made in the first place have some limits as well - noise floor at the quiet end and tape saturation at the loud end but they can always handle more dynamic range than the record can. The record stylus will jump the groove if you don't tame down the dynamic range. So there is always quite a lot of compresseion between the mixing and mastering of an analog record.

If you don't hear more dynamic range in a CD than a record then either it wasn't in the music in the first place or the CD was made from the compressed master or some other compressed source.

I have a pretty large vinyl collection. Most of it has been transferred to digital so I can play it straight from hard drive. The digital transfers sound exactly the same as the vinyl originals to my ears when played through the same audio system. I have a few recordings both on vinyl and CD that sound different from one another because the CD version was remastered from the original tape to take advantage of the digital capabilities of CD.

What you are experiencing is most likely what the recording engineers did, not some inherent fault of the CD.

I eluded to the fact that the dynamic range that teh CD is capable off is not beingtaken advantage off which implies that its not the format but the recording engineer.

 

[alexsound]

Hello.
I'm decided to buy a turntable and vinyl records.
But there are so plenty of them and so different, I don't know where and how to start my search.

Is there anything i should avoid?
Or there's something (some kind of feature) that is a must?
Do more expensive turntables prolong the lide of the records?

As much as I've searched on the WWW, I've found mostly suggestions for DJ's turntables.

What's your price range ? Are you willing to get one used ?

 

[3db]

2 reviews done on the Project Debut III

I just wanted to post that I have to choose from the turntables that are avaliable in the market right now here (in Latvia), and I just came from the local shop, which sells the pro-ject turntables.
But I guess, I can afford only the "debut" series turntables. Don't know it those recommended weren't only the more expensive ones.

http://uofmtiger.blogspot.com/2005_02_19_uofmtiger_archive.html#110884592657083167

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/av/2387/platter-matters-three-turntables-page2.html