what to look for when buying a turntable

[kevinmi]

There's a few good deals on US Audiomart under $1000. I saw an Oracle Alexandria for 850, an AR for 350,ETC.

[ODS123]

IMHO, the biggest challenge of a turntable is to turn the record at the correct speed w/ inaudible fluctuation. ..Secondly, is to do this with minimal bearing or motor noise.  ..It is for these reasons that I much prefer direct-drive tables to belt-drive.  Direct-drive tables tend to measure better and sound better.

Again, if your budget can accommodate give a look to the Technics SL-1210GR - $1600 from Guitar Center.  

 

https://www.technics.com/us/products/grand-class/direct-drive-turntable-system-sl-1210gr.html

 

In addition to sounding fantastic, it has an incredible build quality. ..It feels like a precision made instrument rather than something made in wood shop like most of the similarly priced tables.   Both the aforementioned Pioneer and AudioTechnica are nice too for the money.   Personally, I'd take either of them over a 20 year-old used Technics SL-1200.  ..Yes, the SL-1200's were wonderfully made and built to last but 20 years is 20 years. Should something finally fail it will be much harder to get it fixed.

[mopardave]

10 minutes ago, ODS123 said:

IMHO, the biggest challenge of a turntable is to turn the record at the correct speed w/ inaudible fluctuation. ..Secondly, is to do this with minimal bearing or motor noise.  ..It is for these reasons that I much prefer direct-drive tables to belt-drive.  Belt-drive tables tend to measure better and sound better.

Again, if your budget can accommodate give a look to the Technics SL-1210GR - $1600 from Guitar Center.  

 

https://www.technics.com/us/products/grand-class/direct-drive-turntable-system-sl-1210gr.html

 

In addition to sounding fantastic, it has an incredible build quality. ..It feels like a precision made instrument rather than something made in wood shop like most of the similarly priced tables.   Both the aforementioned Pioneer and AudioTechnica are nice too for the money.   Personally, I'd take either of them over a 20 year-old used Technics SL-1200.  ..Yes, the SL-1200's were wonderfully made and built to last but 20 years is 20 years. Should something finally fail it will be much harder to get it fixed.

Technics 1210gr looks like a very nice TT.  The Pioneer 1000 has twice the torque start up. Does that mean anything?

[MeloManiac]

My experience: vinyl sounds better than streaming mp3 at 320kbps,  even on a entry level turntable (check my signature for my setup).

CDs and anything hi-rez will probably sound better than vinyl (taking dust and scratches into account), but nothing can beat the tactile experience of handling vinyl records, or the kick of finding  an iconic record for $0.50 at a thrift store...

 

There are obscenely crazy prices going around in Turntable Country, so use your common sense  and think twice before you take out your wallet.

 

Here is a good starting point for new turntable gear (reviews): https://www.analogplanet.com/category/turntable-reviews

 

 

 

[ODS123]

1 hour ago, mopardave said:

Technics 1210gr looks like a very nice TT.  The Pioneer 1000 has twice the torque start up. Does that mean anything?

 

No, not at all.  ..So long as the table gets to speed quicker than you can drop the needle, you're fine.  ..And the 1210gr most certainly does that.  ..It gets to speed w/in about 1 sec.  ..compare that to most belt-drive tables.

[glens]

1 hour ago, mopardave said:

Technics 1210gr looks like a very nice TT.  The Pioneer 1000 has twice the torque start up. Does that mean anything?

 

Greater torque while at speed would be more desirable if they give that rating.  Less startup torque could very well be better if it's because of "soft start" motor control.

[mopardave]

4 hours ago, kevinmi said:

There's a few good deals on US Audiomart under $1000. I saw an Oracle Alexandria for 850, an AR for 350,ETC.

I'll check that out as well.

[mopardave]

I read a review on the Pioneer PLX1000 vs the Technics LP1210GR by Steve Hoffman.  Results were both TT are very good, but the Technics has a more solid build and it simply just sounds better by a noticeable margin using same cartridge and phono stage.   I'm in not hurry to purchase one just yet so i'll keep an eye out for a deal new or used.   Whether I get the 1210GR or not I think Technics will be the brand.

  What brand of cartridge sound I be looking at for a Technics TT?   Can a good quality cartridge be purchased for under $500?  If not, than what price range should I be looking?

[juniper]

Find a nice Yamaha PX3 or 2, put a good cartridge on it, best cheap table i have found.... The SL 1200 is also a very good choice.....I prefer the Px line......

[muel]

A Technics 1200 in good shape is going to last a long time!  See KAB (https://www.kabusa.com/frameset.htm?/m1200.htm) for some worthwhile modifications (some more worthwhile than others).  

Tom here on the forum ( @tk49 ) made a beautiful cabinet for my 1200 a few years ago!  He made it slightly taller to accommodate the footers I installed.   I'll bet he still has the measurements... mine came out perfect.

 

I had the Shure M97xE which is a basic but good cartridge that was pretty cheap.  They stopped making them so they jacked up the price on the remaining stock.  Google will find you a bunch of opinions on cartridges for the 1200!  

[Shakeydeal]

 

Quote

 

What brand of cartridge sound I be looking at for a Technics TT?   Can a good quality cartridge be purchased for under $500?  If not, than what price range should I be looking?

 

 

 

That depends on what phono stage you will be using.

 

Shakey

[mopardave]

11 hours ago, Shakeydeal said:

 

 

That depends on what phono stage you will be using.

 

Shakey

So that depends on phono stage huh?  Maybe I should have asked what phono stage to use first.     So, what phono stage is preferred?

[glens]

I'm guessing (hoping?) he's taking this in a MM/MC direction...

[ODS123]

RIAA equalization (phono stage) can be accomplished very affordably - there is no need to get some exotic, full-sized component with a 1/2" thick faceplate and armor-plating.  You'll find several on Crutchfield.com that do their job quite transparently (ie., without introducing audible levels of distortion) for under $200.

 

[mopardave]

38 minutes ago, ODS123 said:

RIAA equalization (phono stage) can be accomplished very affordably - there is no need to get some exotic, full-sized component with a 1/2" thick faceplate and armor-plating.  You'll find several on Crutchfield.com that do their job quite transparently (ie., without introducing audible levels of distortion) for under $200.

 

Like the ART pro audio, Emotiva sp-1 or would something with tubes be best?

[mopardave]

On 4/25/2019 at 10:34 AM, Shiva said:

How about a ride down to Detroit.  I have read good things about the older Denon Tables. DP-47.

 

https://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/ele/d/garden-city-denon-dp-47f-japanese/6869734033.html

The Denon is a nice looking TT for sure. I will research this model further.

[mopardave]

So, what are the differences in a DJ TT and an audiophile TT and which one would I want for 2ch tube listening?

[ODS123]

52 minutes ago, mopardave said:

Like the ART pro audio, Emotiva sp-1 or would something with tubes be best?

 

I would not get one with tubes.  ..Something simple like this exceeds our hearing threshold for distortion. 

 

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_745PP2E/NAD-PP-2e.html?search=nad_pp_2e&skipvs=T

[glens]

Get a https://www.schiit.com/products/mani and you can play around with different types of cartridges by merely flipping switches on the bottom of the unit.

[mopardave]

OK, I understand.   Why couldn't I just plug into the phono jack on my tube amp?