Can anyone out there recommend a turntable? I inherited some old vinyl (Dead, Marley, Peter Tosh, Bowie, etc.) and have nothing to play them on. Also, I heard Neil Young talking to Jon Stewart about new vinyl and that the sound quality is better than mp3s. Recommendations?


www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-november-28-2012/neil-young

It depends how seriously you're going to take it. It also depends whether you have a full system or plan to play it through your computer. A decent rig will cost anywhere from $200 used to $600 new. Some will tell you a USB turntable is a good idea, but they sound like poo. I'd avoid them at all costs. The poor quality defeats the attempt to extract the virtues of vinyl. I don't know what the best analogy is, but it's like playing FLACs through built-in laptop speakers. Sort of a battle of the elements. If you plan to use a table with your computer, you'll likely need a booster amp (phono stage pre-amp). If you have a receiver or integrated amp with a phono stage in your home system, I believe you can use that both with your stereo and with your computer (if you choose to rip your records).

I'd look into a Rega P1. I have a ProJect table, but I haven't been happy with its longevity or with customer service. I had a crappy JVC $80 table, and the motor gave me a good 15 years of daily service. I looked forward to it dying so I could buy a much nicer table. My ProJect motor started to hum and do the funky chicken after only four years. A table that costs 5Xs as much should be a lot more durable than that.

Most new records sound like crap. It's an unfortunate thing, but the record pressing industry is as haphazard as most others that demand precision and a lot of quality control. There are only a handful of pressing plants that truly take pride in their product (RTI, for instance), and not many use them. And then you have a real shortage of lacquer cutters (people who master vinyl and cut the lacquers) who do it well. But if you inherited a nice, older record collection, a whole new grade of music is possible.

You get what you pay for. It's more often than not true, and it is definitely the case with vinyl. Personally, if you're starting from scratch (no stereo system), I'd recommend skipping the entire thing. If you're mostly already equipped, it could be worth the investment.

It's a bit old school but I still stand by Technics. You can get a decent one used for a some what reasonable price and they are durable and built with quality. Solid drives, good balance and it used to be there was a glut of used ones of them from the many failed DJs out there. As long as you are keeping up and putting decent stylus on them they are a great turntable. But I will be the first to admit I am not up on the latest vinyl tech.

manunyc wrote:
The downside to those old DJ tables are their direct drive design. It's great for DJs. It makes sense, and that's why they use(d) them. I know a couple people who found used Technics 1200s, and they swear by them. For the rest of us, the listeners, there's a reason why 99.9% of audiophile tables are belt driven. If I'm a DJ, I'm going direct drive. No question. If I'm at home on the couch and wanting the utmost from my records, I'm going for a belt drive table. The belt isolates the motor from the platter, and through physics, it's easier for a motor to accurately create a constant speed. Point being, it's a more accurate design for the task at hand.

And the stylus is a good point. Turntables are like tube amps. You don't buy these pieces of equipment with a single investment in mind. Constant maintenance. You'll be replacing the stylus ever 2-2.5 years with common use. There was a time when I was replacing the stylus, or even entire cartridge in the case of a moving coil, every eighteen months.

I was going to throw my support for Techincs. It was the last one I owned, before I switched to CD's.
Direct drive. About 25 years old. But I haven't used it in over ten years. Probably 15. It was real nice.

You cannot go wrong with Technics. I also like Pioneer.

Speakers, I have Harman/Kardon and Klipsch

in the case of you not having a receiver or integrated amp with a phono stage, here are a few options. I've heard good things about all of these.

http://www.phonopreamps.com/tc750lcpp.html
store.acousticsounds.com/index.cfm?get=d...l&title_id=52248
http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/t-preamp_e.html

True, but Technics does make direct drive. They are often even cheaper due to the fact that they are undesirable to DJs. Just FYI, Technics is produced by Panasonic.

ZenoMarx wrote:

Thank all you guys for your input. You've given me a lot to think about. Even some of the Dave's Picks are vinyl now. ZenoMarx I think your right in that I really have to make the decision if it's worth the investment.

Buy Used. Audiogon.com Have fun.