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View Full Version : Where to purchase a decent vinyl player?


ironlung
2007-07-31, 12:36
I have been looking for a decent vinyl player to play old records on. I would like something that I can connect to my denon receiver. I dont care about 'scratching' or anything like that. All I want is a decent stripped down vinyl player. I can not seem to find anything that I like. Do you have any suggestions?

Bryson
2007-07-31, 12:42
Approximate budget area?

Otherwise we'll all recommend Linn LP12s (http://www.linn.co.uk/music_systems_sondek_LP12) ;).

In all seriousness though, turntables are getting harder and harder to find for the "normal" consumer. All the ones at market now are either for the serious hi-fi enthusiasts or the DJs. The DJ stuff is probably more affordable. I have some Technics 1210s at work and they're rock solid.

alcimedes
2007-07-31, 13:30
Sadly the best suggestion I have is to hit up garage sales in your area.

You can pick up really high quality vinyl players for pennies on the dollar if you look around, the problem is you have to visit garage sales to do it.

Anything on e-bay or craigslist will likely be relatively expensive. Garage sales people are just looking to unload shit.

sunrain
2007-07-31, 15:06
J&R is marketing this as a "Pro DJ" turntable, but it's really just a decent and basic turntable.

Audio Technica ATPL120 (http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product_Id=3955954&JRSource=googlebase.datafeed.AT+ATPL120)

Since you've given no budget, that's the best I can guess for your needs. Most people that listen to records are a little "fussy" about the equipment they use. :)

Here's my setup, for comparison.

Music Hall mmf 5 (http://www.musichallaudio.com/mmf_products.asp?show=true&prolook=mmf_5)
Creek OBH-18 MM Phono Pre Amp (http://www.creekaudio.com/main_product.asp?prolook=obh18)
Goldring 1012GX cartridge
(http://www.goldring.co.uk/moving_coil_cartridges/1012gx_cartridge.htm)

That's about as fussy as I can get given my budget, but it brings out more than you might expect in well cared for vinyl.

Engine Joe
2007-07-31, 15:11
I'm a fan of the mmf 5 sunrain listed. Good, (relatively) reasonably priced turntable. It's what I have, and I doubt I'll ever need/want anything better.

kieran
2007-07-31, 15:19
I have a brand "new" record player waiting in my parents garage for when I have my own house. My parents were going to get rid of it a few years ago, but I went and grabbed it from the trash. They've only used it about 3 times since they bought it, which I don't even know how long ago that was. Over 21 years ago.

Dorian Gray
2007-07-31, 16:21
A Linn LP12 is a little bit special, but if you're not looking to spend that much money, you should check out the Pro-Ject 1 Xpression (http://www.project-audio.com/main.php?prod=xpression&cat=turntables&lang=en) by Pro-Ject Audio Systems. I guess it would be around US $400-500 (it's about £250 in the UK). It's hard to find this kind of quality for under £500 (new). It has a nice heavy acrylic platter, carbon fibre tonearm (conical to prevent the formation of standing waves inside the arm), jewelled thrust-pads for the tonearm bearing, outboard power supply, and outstanding build quality at this price point. Pro-Ject turntables are designed in Austria and hand-made in the Czech Republic. If you see one in the flesh you'd be surprised it could sell for £250. I have the original Xpression model with cast aluminium platter, and it's done sterling duty for several years now. It's good enough to warrant a high-quality cartridge, maybe even a moving-coil model if you've got the dosh.

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/1980/xpressionbl2.jpg

I'd be wary about buying a used turntable because you never know what kind of abuse it might have suffered. Certainly you'd need to at least budget for a new cartridge if you buy a used turntable.

Kickaha
2007-07-31, 16:23
So I guess the old RCA unit my in-laws gave me is kind of out of the question, eh?

Hey! It plays 78s and 16 2/3s! :D

Dorian Gray
2007-07-31, 16:35
So I guess the old RCA unit my in-laws gave me is kind of out of the question, eh?
That's what that whole delayed-gratification philosophy gets you. :p

Kickaha
2007-07-31, 16:57
That's what that whole delayed-gratification philosophy gets you. :p

Ha! Sez you. I've been looking for years for a good player for the original 78rpm Glenn Miller records my grandparents had. You wish you had this player... ;)

sunrain
2007-07-31, 18:10
Just an FYI, Music Hall turntables are built at the same Czech factory where the Pro-Ject line are made. Many of the models between the two companies are almost identical.

thegeriatric
2007-07-31, 18:14
Approximate budget area?

Otherwise we'll all recommend Linn LP12s (http://www.linn.co.uk/music_systems_sondek_LP12) ;).


I bought a Linn sondek LP12 back around 1974. It cost 75 pounds then. And that was expensive. But the best sound and engineering made it worth the money. :)

A Linn LP12 is a little bit special, but if you're not looking to spend that much money, you should check out the Pro-Ject 1 Xpression (http://www.project-audio.com/main.php?prod=xpression&cat=turntables&lang=en) by Pro-Ject Audio Systems. I guess it would be around US $400-500 (it's about £250 in the UK). It's hard to find this kind of quality for under £500 (new). It has a nice heavy acrylic platter, carbon fibre tonearm (conical to prevent the formation of standing waves inside the arm), jewelled thrust-pads for the tonearm bearing, outboard power supply, and outstanding build quality at this price point. Pro-Ject turntables are designed in Austria and hand-made in the Czech Republic. If you see one in the flesh you'd be surprised it could sell for £250. I have the original Xpression model with cast aluminium platter, and it's done sterling duty for several years now. It's good enough to warrant a high-quality cartridge, maybe even a moving-coil model if you've got the dosh.

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/1980/xpressionbl2.jpg

I'd be wary about buying a used turntable because you never know what kind of abuse it might have suffered. Certainly you'd need to at least budget for a new cartridge if you buy a used turntable.

That looks nice. Wonder what it sounds like ?

ironlung
2007-07-31, 22:16
My budget is around $200 but could be convinced otherwise if the quality of the player is worth it. Thanks for all your suggestions... Ill sift through these and will end up telling you what I buy.

bassplayinMacFiend
2007-08-01, 12:14
Ha! Sez you. I've been looking for years for a good player for the original 78rpm Glenn Miller records my grandparents had. You wish you had this player... ;)

My wife has one of these her father gave her:

http://members.aol.com/antiquephono/home1456.jpg

Except for some slight rust on the patent plate (I should type the "license agreement" printed right on the patent plate as thought food) it is in pristine shape and plays the few wax tubes/cartridges my in-laws still have in one piece.

Kickaha
2007-08-01, 12:34
Suhweet. Does it have the record function? Many of the portables did.

Dorian Gray
2007-08-01, 14:03
Just an FYI, Music Hall turntables are built at the same Czech factory where the Pro-Ject line are made.
Interesting! I wonder how many turntables they're turning out per year. The market has grown quite a bit in the last few years.

I bought a Linn sondek LP12 back around 1974. It cost 75 pounds then. And that was expensive. But the best sound and engineering made it worth the money.
Do you still have it? Linn have made continuous improvements to the LP12 over the years, but even in 1974 that would have been a very fine turntable. And as you say, it bloody well better have been at that price! :lol: By the way, you can upgrade old Linn tables to basically the current spec, though it would cost you a lot more than £75. And I don't know if it would be worth it.

Wonder what it sounds like?
How it sounds will of course depend on the cartridge fitted and the condition of your vinyl. Mine (the original Xpression) came with a low-end Ortofon moving-magnet cartridge that was a bit on the warm and sweet side for my tastes, though it did have very good channel separation and it was light in weight, which helps with warped vinyl as the acceleration forces are lower. The current Xpression comes with a different (presumably better?) cartridge.

When I say "warm" I don't mean it sounded like your granddad's hi-fi: my physics-student friend couldn't reliably tell it apart from CD in a blind A/B test. But to an attentive ear it was a bit muddy in the highs and generally lacked the sparkle that you get from a good rig with clean vinyl. You may like this sound better than I, and in any case, it wasn't the fault of the turntable or tonearm. After a while I swapped the stylus for an OM20 (keeping the same cartridge body) and the sound was cleaner, although it made no difference to groove noise. I think you have to go all the way to moving-coil cartridges with elliptical styli to get much-reduced groove noise.

Ironlung: you may be able to get a Pro-Ject Debut (http://www.project-audio.com/main.php?prod=debut&cat=turntables&lang=en) for $200 (they're £120 in the UK). This is the "cheapest" turntable that Pro-Ject make, but it's still a very nice machine that will give solid sound for decades if treated with care.

In the absence of other info on a particular machine, look for something with as many of the following characteristics as possible:

Solid construction. The heavier the better, especially the platter, as that will reduce unwanted accelerations in the platter due to vibration, variable friction, etc. If it looks like it's well-built, it will probably sound good.
Belt-driven platter. DJ turntables are "direct-drive" to allow scratching but you don't want that for audiophile sound quality.
High quality bearings for the platter and tonearm, preferably jewelled. Remove the belt and spin the platter: it should be utterly silent and spin for literally minutes before stopping.
Long, straight, light tonearm. Long, because that reduces the variation in angle between the tangent of the groove and the stylus, as the tonearm sweeps from the edge of the record inwards around its pivot. Straight, because that allows lighter weight for a given stylus-to-bearing distance. Light, because a heavy arm causes high acceleration forces on the stylus if the record is warped or the hole is not in the centre.
Manual operation. Automatic turntables have gadgetry that costs money to design and manufacture, so obviously avoiding that means the budget can go towards higher quality engineering in the parts that matter.

If you see something that catches your eye feel free to post the details here and I'll take a stab at guessing whether it would be any good! :D Of course the only certain way to know would be to listen to it, but if you have no reference point that won't help a lot, I suspect.

bassplayinMacFiend
2007-08-01, 14:30
Suhweet. Does it have the record function? Many of the portables did.

I wouldn't know as I don't have any kind of owner's manual plus I don't have a blank tube or whatever the things are called. If you can tell me what to look for I'll check it out.