Buying a record player / turntable

[Lothar_Brightblade]

In the past few years, I have taken an interest in hearing the music I like on vinyl. I don't know why, but I now have a decent record collection on top of my parents' old vinyls which collected dust for 20 years.

The downside is that the player I listen on obviously has something very wrong with it on the inside and even as an engineering student, I'm not interested in putting the time and effort into rewiring everything (the player itself is around 25 years old anyway). Fortunately for me, my mother has expressed interest in buying me a player for christmas. And I was initially thrilled, but she showed me what she wants to get me, and it is something like this:

http://compare.ebay.com/like/380158637868?ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes

I am asking for the help of the FOT. 1) Is that player worth getting (I'm guessing it's a big no). 2) What do you listen on? I have speakers that work fine, so I'm just looking for a turntable and stereo.

Thanks 1 million

P.S. Since I'm at school and my player is at home, I told her to possibly look into portable players. Anyone have these?

[yesno]

No, you don't want something like that.  Even if it sounded better than anything you could imagine.   I have seen similar record players for sale at Rite-Aid, by the way.  You want to avoid those USB ones, too, at least for day-to-day listening.

Even with powered speakers or an amp you still probably want a preamp, unless you have a receiver that has a specifically marked phonograph input.  Most amps expect a signal of a certain strength.  If they don't get it, you can turn them up and get a loud enough sound, but it usually will sound tinny.

So with that I currently have a $100 Sony turntable I got from Circuit City.  Not that hot, but it works, and is in the range of what your mother was probably expecting to spend.  You can get a belt-driven Technics for about $150 usually. 

There's a sweet spot with stereo equipment after which you start entering audiophile kookoo land and diminishing returns.  I say starting at around $500 you start getting really high quality, durable stuff.

[Bryan]

I got a used technics SL-q2 from ebay for around $150 (I think). It works great, and was a solid purchase. In my opinion, you can get great deals by buying used/vintage. I bought a circa 1980s Yamaha solid state amp at a thrift store ($30!!!) years ago, and it's like a fucking tank. I believe it will outlive me. It has a nice sound, and tons of inputs (including, as yesno recommends, a phono input, which really will make your life easier).

[Martin]

If you don't need a direct-driven turntable (for DJing) a pretty cheap belt-driven one (like yesno mentioned) will do.

A turntable with USB output can be a good thing, and doesn't have to be crap! Also they're pretty cheap. If you wanna digitiiizzze some of your vinyl it's a pretty good way to go.

USB Port... USB Port...

[yesno]

Yeah, there's nothing inherently crappy about a USB Port...USB Port...ein zwei drei...*cough* excuse me, it's just the ones I've seen at Target and CostCo have tended to shade towards crap.

[Bryan]

And of course, it depends on your intentions for the machine, and your stereo setup. It's dead easy for me to run a line out of my amp, so there's no need for a USB plug. I guess it depends how much you like fussing with A/V type stuff.

[Lothar_Brightblade]

just so I have this right.

I need something like

[turntable] --> [preamp] -> [stereo/amp] --> [speakers]

I have the last thing. I'm looking at this for the stereo http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665788574#additionalImage1%22

[Bryan]

Yeah, but as yesno mentioned, you only need the preamp if you're going in to a generic line-level input, i.e. one that says "CD" "AUX" or even "TAPE". If you have a "PHONO" input, the stereo will have a built-in pre-amp, and will amplify it to the same level as everything else you have plugged in there.

I couldn't see from the link you posted, but if you looked up some reviews, I'm sure they'd tell you in more detail if that Sony amplifier has a phono input.

[Lothar_Brightblade]

Yeah, but as yesno mentioned, you only need the preamp if you're going in to a generic line-level input, i.e. one that says "CD" "AUX" or even "TAPE". If you have a "PHONO" input, the stereo will have a built-in pre-amp, and will amplify it to the same level as everything else you have plugged in there.

I couldn't see from the link you posted, but if you looked up some reviews, I'm sure they'd tell you in more detail if that Sony amplifier has a phono input.

Isn't RCA the same thing as phono? Or would I need something that is specifically labeled phono. Having to buy a preamp isn't a deal breaker.

[JonFromMaplewood]

RCA is not the same as phono.

You only need to buy a pre-amp if (1) your receiver has no Phono input and (2) your turntable has no built-in preamp.  A lot of turntables have a built-in preamp, so check that first.  Preamps can cost a lot of money so avoid buying one unnecessarily.

The Crosley is a notoriously crappy turntable.  They look fine in pictures, but they are made of lightweight material that will break quickly.

If you're not an audiophile, you can get a decent turntable - with pre-amp (and counterweight, which is surprisingly not a given) for ~$150.   You do not need to get this:



Clearaudio Statement Turntable
Price: $150,000 at NeedleDoctor.com

[Jason]

The Pro Ject Debut 3 is a great entry level turntable.
 
http://www.sumikoaudio.net/project/products/debut.htm

You have to lift the platter off and move the belt from one wheel to another to change speed unless you buy the optional speedbox.

http://www.sumikoaudio.net/project/products/speedbox2.htm

A little pricey but you can pick one up second hand as budding audiophiles usually buy them then sell them on when they begin to upgrade to more ridiculously priced stuff. I picked one up that was only a few months old, with the speedbox and a tube pre-amp for $450.

You can pick up a decent amp for pennies on ebay - something like this

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-STR-AV210-AV-stereo-receiver-amplifier-amp-Great_W0QQitemZ300373538305QQcmdZViewItemQQptZReceivers_Tuners?hash=item45efa87601

Soundwise, you'll do a lot better investing in good speakers than a good amp. You can always pick up decent speakers at thrift stores or yard sales. The most common problem with old stereo speakers is the rubber seal around the woofer degrades and disintegrates so always pull off the grill and check. This is not necessarily a bad thing as you can pick up some really good speakers that'd normally sell in the 100s for next to nothing if you're prepared to refoam the woofers. A really simple process that will cost you 10-30 in materials.

http://www.speakerworks.com/speaker_repair_kits_s/65.htm

The most important thing is to do your research, forums like http://www.audiogon.com are good for this as well as buying used stuff. There are also plenty of tweaks and tricks you can use to make your system sound better.
Over the last 2 and a half years I've built a killer system for about $850, including the aforementioned turntable, cd player, a really good tuner, pre-amp, power amp, speakers, speaker stands and dedicated audio rack. It sounds better than my old roommates system and his amp alone cost twice what i paid for everything.

[JonFromMaplewood]

Over the last 2 and a half years I've built a killer system for about $850, including the aforementioned turntable, cd player, a really good tuner, pre-amp, power amp, speakers, speaker stands and dedicated audio rack.

So wait. Now I have a question (I am currently shopping for a turntable as well).  Is there a benefit to a standalone pre-amp as opposed to a turntable with a built-in pre-amp?

[Lothar_Brightblade]

Thanks for the help so far guys.

While I certainly encourage open discussion of stereo systems and whatnot, my budget is probably close to around 300 and definitely less than 400 (that said, I'm not opposed to spending 800 on separate stuff over a 3 or 4 year period). Seeing that I can get an AMP on ebay for so cheap is reassuring as I had been looking at 200 for new ones. I wouldn't consider myself an audiophile, however, I'd like the audio to sound good and full. Basically what I'm looking for is to not have the crackles and unmuffle the sound my current turntable/stereo all-in-one has. If I have to buy speakers, which I don't think I will seeing as how I own them already, I'll do that down the road.

I just need to get my record listening off the ground.

In case you're wondering, my current setup is a 30 year old sherwood record player/8-track player/stereo/radio all in one, which I'm sure was fantastic in its day. I output from 4-speaker RCA ports to speakers which are a few years younger than the stereo.

[Gilly]

What kind of turntable do you have now that crackles? Maybe you just need a styli. If it has a good needle on it, maybe the records are just scratched or the grooves are damaged which the most expensive record player out there wouldn't fix. It might be something on the inside, but there aren't many parts on a turntable that would cause crackling other than the styli and arm itself I don't think.

I have a Technics MKII 1200 with a Shure M97xE on it and I love it. That is the top of the line Shure and I think I got it for 30 bucks on Amazon but it's going for around 60 now.

[Lothar_Brightblade]

What kind of turntable do you have now that crackles? Maybe you just need a styli. If it has a good needle on it, maybe the records are just scratched or the grooves are damaged which the most expensive record player out there wouldn't fix. It might be something on the inside, but there aren't many parts on a turntable that would cause crackling other than the styli and arm itself I don't think.

I'm pretty sure it's the stereo, because the other sources (radio) sound the same. Also, adjusting the bass and such, even slightly, distorts the sound a whole lot. Which is why I suspect some of the leads are corroding and rattling about. This sat unused for probably around 20 years.