Advise buying a record player?

I picked up my first two vinyls ever from a small music store recently two of my favorite albums, both by neutral milk hotel. On Avery Island and In The Aeroplane Over The Sea,

The record player I had laying around for a while was basically unbranded,was pretty crap and the needle was shot anyway so I chucked it a while back. But having never even touched vinyl stuff I have no idea what I should be aiming for. I reckon that the cheap eBay sub £50 setups are absolute crap and I'm willing to bet that the knowledgeable folks wouldn't disagree.

Here's my criteria.

used or new, I'm not picky as long as its not knackered.
It has not need restoring. I don't want to buy a money pit.
Im unsure on whether built in speakers can be good enough, if they are I may shoot for the recommendation but if they're not, im going to follow your advise and not buy it.
advise me on everything I will need, amplifiers etc if you think all in one type record players arent good enough.
anything else you might think of

I am not an audiophile.
I enjoy high quality music [FLAC whenever possible, 320kbps MP3 otherwise hopefully]. But I also listen to a lot of bootlegs, particularly from the 90's and enjoy them.
I use a dedicated sound card [Creative Sound Blaster X Fi SB0730]
I use Sennheiser headphones. They're very budget, I think they're sub £25 but they're really good.

I may get people riled up with this thread, but I'm a newbie and recently my music and books hobby has taken precedent over gaming, which has slowly been happening this past few years and hit an apex recently. Alternatively I might be in the wrong here and I should just stick to my PC setup, and keep my vinyls as ornamentals. I'm completely open to any suggestions here.

 

Audio Tenica do a nice budget player with an aluminium turntable and pretty nice built in amp for about £60 pounds. I use one myself. It's no audiophile level player but it does offer good sound for the price and ideal for connecting direct to your PC for ripping. I'm on holiday at the moment so I can't check the model number but just make sure it has the aluminium turntable and not the plastic one. Also make sure it has the spongy feet to absorb vibrations.

 

Id check out second hand shops, nothing made today is going to compare to the units made during vinyls heyday, and even though im not into vinyl myself, Ive seen plenty of near brand new old stock units from the early 80s - late 90s that would fit the bill perfectly.

chances are there is at least one good name brand unit from that era kicking around nearly every second hand store there is. The most you'd have to do for these units is perhaps replace the needle depending on its use.

Second hand stores are also good places to test these units, and find older vinyls themselves.

 

I'd love a model number if you could pass it on to me when you get back home from your holiday

Absolutely everything in terms of vinyl is always picked through here. it's always beaten up stuff nobody wants, christian music and stuff. Never seen a branded [marantz?Pioneer?] record player in a second hand shop

 

If you want a veritable tank of a player, then it's hard to go past the technics sl1200. They aren't 'audiophile' but are pretty much the standard, and nigh-on indestructible. They are getting pricier now though, since production ceased a few years back. So the 2nd hand market is picking up in price - the remaining vinyl djs are trying to secure backup units etc.

I'm not actually getting a good feel for what your requirements are, to be honest - you want to connect through your pc? If so, you'll likely need a phono amp to take the record player output and boost it up to line level.

 

This

I am not much into vinyls but a buddy of mine hit the pawnshops and found a superb early 80's Telefunken record player for 70$. That thing is probably worth 300$ and it sounds superb.
Another friend found a small record player for 10$ at a thrift store. I think it is a Kenwood. But the damn little thing is very nice condition and sounds very well too.

 

I use a Pro-Ject Debut III, I paid a good price for it - they go for more now.

Now, my recommendation is this. Get a decent player ($1-200) and a decent 2 channel phono reciever ($1-200). Get some cheap bookshelf speakers.

I say this because with a 2 channel receiver, you can hook OTHER things up to it. MP3 player, video game system...etc.

You won't need a separate amplifier if you have a receiver. You can get a decent 80's stereo receiever that will also have RCA or Mini jacks for whatever else besides a turn table.

 

I'm not an audiophile either. I have 2 record players. I look for ones with built in pre-amps and usb out, mainly because I have computers and speakers laying around, and I don't want to get into buying other audio equipment. This is the most recent one I bought, and might be the one Yakumo is referring to: http://turntablelab.com/products/audio-technica-at-lp60-usb-automatic-turntable-w-built-in-pre-amp

It has USB & RCA out, but comes with converters for the RCA cables to plug in computer speakers/headphones. I can plug it in directly to my TV, computer speakers or computer.

My other one is similar, the Numark TTUSB. Back when I bought it, it was much cheaper though. Now, it is the same price as the Audio Technica LP60 USB. I think for the price, the AT is a better buy. You can save some money if you don't want the USB.

You can certainly find cheaper turntables and nice used ones, but if it doesn't have a built in pre-amp, then you'll also have to buy an amp or receiver.

If you're only buying new music, turntables aren't really needed anymore. I used to rip my record collection to MP3 for listening on the go, but since about 2010, every new record I've bought has come with a download code, except for the most DIY type of releases. If you are going to be buying older stuff though, go for it. There's still a lot of good music out there that's vinyl only.

 

There was a thread not so long ago - I gave my advice there:

http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?44298-Vinyl-Players

 

Save up the money and get a Technics SL1210. It's expensive, yes, but it will never decrease in value and it's an amazing player. Now that Pioneer ceased support prices will certainly go up in the near future. Grab one while you can... you can always sell it and get your money back anyways.

 

The 1210 is a horrible turntable. It's built for destroying your records as a DJ. And they discontinued it, didn't they? You don't need all those trick features to listen to music.

Some people made a TON of modifications to make it a better home player, but it still really isn't. Get a decent turntable. Steer clear of Technics - their hi-fi stuff wasn't all that, either. Unless you want to be a DJ.

By the way, a modern system with built-in speakers is going to be poor. Even things like the Dansette were budget record players really, going back to the 50s/60s. Our 1970s "hi-fi" was a big, chunky Waltham - a cheap home unit and even that had separate speakers.

 

get a decent aplifier and loudspeakers. those are the base you'll keep forever... Most '80s turntable are more than good enough for your case, getting a top notch one won't make any good if you do not have a nice ampli and speakers.

 

Actually, hi-fi nuts often swap amps and speakers... that's the beauty of separates. It's still a good point, though - and you often need a pre-amp, too.

An old Rega Planar should give you great results for a fairly low investment - around £150 - £200. Even an 80s stereo amp should be reasonable.

 

Thanks for bearing with me folks. I know zilch about Hifi!

The Rega Planar's 2 and 3 I see on Ebay seem afordable, most are in the £70-£80 region but a lot are pickup only! Predictable, much like laserdisk players usually are since they're very intricate and must be packaged extremely carefully.

I'm going to keep my eye out for a Planar 2/3 on eBay and will try snag one. What else am I going to need if I grab one of these? External speakers I'm aware of. Amp seems a certainty. Pre amp? I'm no audio pro whatsoever and learning as I go along.

Knew I'd need to invest a few hundred and I do have the collateral to back it up, all very exciting really!

 

Pickup only could mean you only get the stylus haha

Assuming it's an MM cartridge, you could get a MM phono stage... so yes, you need a preamp. Unless your amp says differently.

 

Boo this man!

A lot don't mention the cartridge used unfortunately. Would you suggest I steer clear of auctions that don't list them?

Rega Planar 2 looks like a popular high quality turntable and the prices honestly dont seem that bad. I imagine its because a lot dont attract as many bids because they're pick up only. If I can find one in either Bradford or Leeds I think I could taxi the former (or even get a lift) and probably use a train and taxi for the latter.

Also: speed control! The Planar 2 is both 33 and 45 according to vinylengine which is great but I don't see a switch on them for it, do they do it themselves? hifi is fascinating and my lunchtime chats with my manager have been and will probably be populated by hifi for a while.

 

You reposition the drive belt to change speed.

The Planar 3 had a nicer tonearm, and is worth paying a bit more for if you can find one. The Planar 2 is still a capable turntable, though.

You can always replace the cartridge (at a later stage), so it's not a huge deal. It's nice if they tell you how old/worn the cartridge is, sure.

You should be able to get a train to Manchester or Sheffield for £12 return. If you don't want to spring a taxi on top and find one somewhere nearish like that, ask the seller if they'd meet you at the train station before bidding.

It would be a bulky, heavy parcel (around 10kg) and fragile being glass, so you can understand why people don't want to ship them.

 

Thanks a bunch, with that in my mind by eye is thoroughly out for one on Ebay that's local.

Any recommendations for amps, pre amps and speakers? I assume that's the rest of what I need! I'm going to check out the audio forums anyway to see what other people are using with their Planar's.


anyway, ive nosied and read up and I need: Turntable [potentially also cartridge], preamp [Rega Planar does not have one]. Amplifier and speakers/headphones and any cables that may arise, usually RCA and a grounding wire.

 

I have a Goodwill-sourced Sony linear turntable like this: http://www.vinylengine.com/library/sony/ps-lx500.shtml . I like not having to drop the needle by hand. The preamp I use is a NAD PP2 fed by an Elpac psu.

 

You obviously have never owned one, and the reason they were discontinued by Panasonic was purely down to the decrease of the use of vinyl.

Their Hi-Fi systems were actually quite good and had nothing to do with being a DJ, you will see that these still go for a decent amount of money second hand.

The 1210's are getting pricey, but if you pick one up you will never need to buy another turntable again. I have 4 and have owned 2 of those for 8 years, with heavy use over time they still work as well as the day I got them. Check the internet for reviews, they come highly recommended from people using them in either DJ or casual home listening situations.

P.s. May have come off a little aggressive there, not my intention, just a fan of Technics turntables!