Heaven Help Me - My Daughter Just Bought A Vinyl Album - No Turntable

GO-NAD!

GO-NAD!

Audioholic Spartan
Well, after all my previous statements about not needing a turntable, this just came into my possession. :rolleyes:
20200908_072907(1).jpg


This is my mother's vinyl collection that I thought had been disposed of. It had actually been sitting in my younger sister's basement and she has no intentions of ever getting a turntable, so it's now sitting in my basement. There are quite a few great classical recordings here. There's some dreck mixed in, as well, so I'll thin the collection down a bit.

My own records disappeared long ago - I just confirmed my suspicion that my older sister had purloined them after I joined the navy. My vinyl (a pretty small collection - Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Eagles, etc) ) is now in my niece's possession. I didn't want to stir up a row, by demanding them back, so I let her keep them.

I had turned down @afterlife2 's very generous offer of the Kenwood TT, which may seem ungracious, but I didn't want him to incur the additional expense of shipping it up here. I know that if I had accepted it, I would have upgraded to a higher-end TT before long.

Regardless, I guess I'm in the market for a turntable after all....sigh. I think I'll be looking at one of the Fluance models.
 
Alex2507

Alex2507

Audioholic Slumlord
Hmmmm....apparently, I'm not as generous as @afterlife2.
Right. I'd a scooped up that low hanging fruit. Between a free TT and a free box of records, you could have skated for zip and let vinyl run it's natural life cycle ending in death. But noooooooo ... and now your shopping for TT pre-amps. :D

So where's it gonna go? Is it there yet etc?

F^%&! Now I need a phono pre-amp. I am using 6' RCA cables and barrel connectors to bridge the gap from TT to rec'r. That barrel connectors should be a pre-amp according to TLS but my general satisfaction and laziness has kept me from pulling the trigger on whatever it is that TLS and/or Swerd would recommend.

Now that this thread belongs to me I may as well ask which cart was recommended for my AR Model Xb (?) IIRC. I was told that long ago too but the above about general satisfaction and laziness applies. Covid and The Needle Dr. closing has done weird stuff to availability and pricing.

Don't be cheap with the pic's.
 
GO-NAD!

GO-NAD!

Audioholic Spartan
Right. I'd a scooped up that low hanging fruit. Between a free TT and a free box of records, you could have skated for zip and let vinyl run it's natural life cycle ending in death. But noooooooo ... and now your shopping for TT pre-amps. :D

So where's it gonna go? Is it there yet etc?

F^%&! Now I need a phono pre-amp. I am using 6' RCA cables and barrel connectors to bridge the gap from TT to rec'r. That barrel connectors should be a pre-amp according to TLS but my general satisfaction and laziness has kept me from pulling the trigger on whatever it is that TLS and/or Swerd would recommend.

Now that this thread belongs to me I may as well ask which cart was recommended for my AR Model Xb (?) IIRC. I was told that long ago too but the above about general satisfaction and laziness applies. Covid and The Needle Dr. closing has done weird stuff to availability and pricing.

Don't be cheap with the pic's.
Nothing to show yet. When I turned up with that box of records and suggested that I now need a TT, SWMBO didn't even bat an eye. "Sure, go ahead", she said. I'm not sure how she's going to react when I tell her that I want to get a Fluance RT85 (US$500/CDN$675), plus phono pre-amp (the NAD C372 doesn't have one built-in). As far as I can tell, the RT85 offers the biggest bang-for-buck on the market.

You have no phono pre-amp? :confused: How does that work?

If you're asking me about recommended carts, I would suggest that you just stick a sewing needle in there and call it a day.
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
Right. I'd a scooped up that low hanging fruit. Between a free TT and a free box of records, you could have skated for zip and let vinyl run it's natural life cycle ending in death. But noooooooo ... and now your shopping for TT pre-amps. :D

So where's it gonna go? Is it there yet etc?

F^%&! Now I need a phono pre-amp. I am using 6' RCA cables and barrel connectors to bridge the gap from TT to rec'r. That barrel connectors should be a pre-amp according to TLS but my general satisfaction and laziness has kept me from pulling the trigger on whatever it is that TLS and/or Swerd would recommend.

Now that this thread belongs to me I may as well ask which cart was recommended for my AR Model Xb (?) IIRC. I was told that long ago too but the above about general satisfaction and laziness applies. Covid and The Needle Dr. closing has done weird stuff to availability and pricing.

Don't be cheap with the pic's.
Needle Dr is no more?!?!?
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
Nothing to show yet. When I turned up with that box of records and suggested that I now need a TT, SWMBO didn't even bat an eye. "Sure, go ahead", she said. I'm not sure how she's going to react when I tell her that I want to get a Fluance RT85 (US$500/CDN$675), plus phono pre-amp (the NAD C372 doesn't have one built-in). As far as I can tell, the RT85 offers the biggest bang-for-buck on the market.

You have no phono pre-amp? :confused: How does that work?

If you're asking me about recommended carts, I would suggest that you just stick a sewing needle in there and call it a day.
I have a technics SL1210, and a ProJect Debut Carbon.

But.....I think this looks like a good option too
 
Alex2507

Alex2507

Audioholic Slumlord
You have no phono pre-amp? :confused: How does that work?
Yammy RX-V2600 has a phono input but the use of the 6' RCA's does something to the induced capacitance that makes it less than a true audiophile experience.

If you're asking me about recommended carts,
Not you but TLS. He had a reasonable suggestion for like $100 or maybe $160 that fits that type of P or F thingamadoohicky.
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
Yammy RX-V2600 has a phono input but the use of the 6' RCA's does something to the induced capacitance that makes it less than a true audiophile experience.
For what it's worth, I also used a 6 foot long RCA extension cord for my phono leads for years, when I used an older Denon AVR with phono inputs. It worked. But I had low expectations for LP playback, so I didn't notice if that led to less than desired sound quality.

Later, when I bought my present AVR, it lacked a phono pre-amp. So, I bought an Audio-Technica AT-PEQ3, based on TLS Guy's recommendation. At Amazon, it's available for $98. I'd look elsewhere (fleabay?), to see if you can find it for a better price. I still have mine now.
Not you but TLS. He had a reasonable suggestion for like $100 or maybe $160 that fits that type of P or F thingamadoohicky.
Now that Shure no longer makes cartridges (the Shure M97 was previously everyone's 1st choice). look for an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge for $99. Either this one, or this with added mounting screws.

For what it's worth, sometime in the 1990s, my teen-aged son destroyed my original TT cartridge. I replaced it (Shure M92) with a Sumiko Oyster, now available for $79. (For $99 you can get a Sumiko Black Pearl.) On the rare occasion when I play LPs, the Sumiko cartridge plus the AT-PEQ3 pre-amp seem to work nicely.
 
Last edited:
mazersteven

mazersteven

Audioholic Warlord
As far as I can tell, the RT85 offers the biggest bang-for-buck on the market.
I don't know about that. The Project Debut Carbon I posted in post #2 is a pretty strong contender for "biggest bang for the buck"
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
I don't know about that. The Project Debut Carbon I posted in post #2 is a pretty strong contender for "biggest bang for the buck"
My biggest complaint on the Debut line is that piece of crap felt mat that comes stock! I doubt that it is anything audible, but it is cheap, tries to wrinkle up, wants to come off the platter with the record. Do yourself a favor and get a real felt or cork mat, or upgrade to the Acryl-It platter.

I have the pre-DC version of the Debut Carbon.

But, I still think the UTurn may be the bang for buck champ right now!
 
afterlife2

afterlife2

Audioholic Warlord
I’m thinking he wants an automatic TT. Not sure if uturn or debut which I wanted a couple of years ago cause it offered cool colors. Now I think vintage used is the way to go to save duckets. :p
Alex TLS has been recommending the red cartridge for a while.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Do you miss the rice krispies that much? How good a shape is mom's record collection? :) Just trying to be a voice of reason....
 
GO-NAD!

GO-NAD!

Audioholic Spartan
I don't know about that. The Project Debut Carbon I posted in post #2 is a pretty strong contender for "biggest bang for the buck"
Yeah, I've seen that one and kicked its tires at a local dealer. It's a strong contender, for sure. But the RT85 comes with a heavy acrylic platter and the Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge. Dunno...
 
GO-NAD!

GO-NAD!

Audioholic Spartan
Do you miss the rice krispies that much? How good a shape is mom's record collection? :) Just trying to be a voice of reason....
Ha! I hear you. :D

I still have to eyeball them all, but she went pretty easy on them, so they should be in pretty good shape.
 
newsletter

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