Turntables

[~JC~]

Can't find much on here about turntables (you know, for playing the old vinyl discs!) I'm not looking for a reference quality unit, and was hoping to not have to spend more than 200-250. Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[markw]

Can your amp handle a turntable?

Unlike the good ole days where even the cheapest receivers and amps had a phono input, most modern receivers seem to forgo this as a needless expense. If that's your case you must figure on getting a standalone phono preamp which range from anywhere from $30 on up the the thousands. Most are in the lower several hundred dollar range.

MusicHall makes nice inexpensive TT units.

 

[Hi Ho]

Don't many newer turntables have a preamp built in? A friend has a cheap one from Circuit City and it has a built in preamp.

Why have turntables traditionally come with no preamp?

 

[~JC~]

Phono input??

That's a pretty good question. I never thought to look. I just assumed there would be a phono input. Can't remember the model of the upstairs stereo, which is where the TT would go. It's an older pro logic only Onkyo. I'll have to check when I get home!

 

[~JC~]

Phono input

OK, it's a TX SV727, and it has a phono input ( and a phono button on the front panel, take THAT you techies) so we are back in business. Do I need to spend 500 for a dual??

 

[mtrycrafts]

Do I need to spend 500 for a dual??

Well, that depends how serious you will be with this setup.

 

[markw]

Two questions, two answers

Don't many newer turntables have a preamp built in? A friend has a cheap one from Circuit City and it has a built in preamp.

Why have turntables traditionally come with no preamp?

1) Only the very, very entry level ones that are made of plastic. RatShack sells (or sold) one like that for $100 or so.

2) You must be very young. It's been like that since the beginning of the hobby when vinyl and tubes were the norm. Nobody ever had problems with it. It was one of the givens. It's cheaper to design it into an existing chassis where they could piggyback off of a pre-existing power supply. Since virtually nobody buys vinyl anymore* they stopped putting them in.

*If you think vinyl is a viable markert segment, you're kidding yourself.

 

[Hi Ho]

Yes, I'm only 18. I know it has been that way since the beginning of time. To me, however, it would just make more sense to allow a turntable to connect directly to any input on a receiver just like anything else.

Of course vinyl is no longer a viable market. I never said it was. There are still the enthusiasts that hold vinyl over everything but there is not money to be made in turntables, except maybe the very high end ones that sell for thousands of dollars.

I have an old BIC turntable. I'd call it a mid-level one. It doesn't have a preamp but I will be buying one so I can connect it to my PC and digitize all of the family records.

 

[markw]

To me, however, it would just make more sense to allow a turntable to connect directly to any input on a receiver just like anything else.

And, when they were the main source component of Hi Fi they did. ...and the receiver accomodated it. Time changes. That ship has long since sailed...

How much are you budgeting for a phono stage? You get what you pay for up to a point.

If you really want to be ahead of the curve, pun intended, get yourself a Marantz 7C preamp which, along with RIAA eq, also has several eq curves for 78's as well.

...make me an offer above 2k and we'll talk. If it's high enough I'll throw in a matching Model 8 power amp to go with it.

 

[markw]

OK, it's a TX SV727, and it has a phono input ( and a phono button on the front panel, take THAT you techies) so we are back in business. Do I need to spend 500 for a dual??

check out http://www.audioadvisor.com for their turntables. It's a fairly decent selection but by no means complete.

 

[tbewick]

I'd suggest having a look on ebay for a good second hand turntable (Linn, Thorens, etc.).

It baffles me why you would need to spend an enormous amount on a phono pre-amp. You could pick up a good quality, old integrated amplifier on ebay which should have a phono input. There are several specs for the phono stage, overload level, input level etc, but I don't know much about these. The only spec I know about is the RIAA curve deviation, which should be as small as possible.

Personally I think having a turntable is a great idea. There are loads of old, excellently produced records out there, some of which aren't available on CD. My own view is that in the days of LP's more trouble and time was spend producing good recordings.

 

[~JC~]

Thanks Mark, the entry Thorens and the entry Goldring each look like they would be more than satisfactory. I just have some old LPs from the 60s and 70s, and I would like to be able to listen to them again. This is not an audiophile process.

 

[Tomorrow]

JC, here are some interesting TT's to browse through...even a reasonably priced Dual. Good hunting.

Be sure to wait a bit while the page loads. It takes 10 seconds or more, even with broadband.

http://www.oaktreeent.com/Stereo_Turntables_and_CD_Players.htm