Guest Anonymous Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 well after hanging out here and listing to a few records or lp's whichever you prefer i have been very interested in possibly picking up something used and seeing if i like the idea of a TT, my family has a pretty large collection and i have never gone through them, but i know that most of them are from the '60s and '70s and should all be in pretty good condition..... Anyways I am looking for advice on a used piece of equipment that may be a good place for me to start and learn about, i want something that would be good for the learning curve but not sound horrible... anyways and advice or thoughs would be good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 How much do you want to spend? A pretty good starter tunrtable is a Music Hall MMF2 or MMF5. Fairly tweak free and easy to set up. Be careful when buying used if the seller has to ship it. Turntables are difficult to ship properly so make sure the person knows how to pack them. I've got a really sweet ProJect 6.0 I'm looking at putting on Ebay soon. A little more to set up but not much. Email me if interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthfreek Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 The Rega P2 and P3 are extremely popular first-time tables as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 i would be interested, basically i am not to worried about complexity i ca figure it all out and work through it, but i want something that is complete, maybe in need of a cartidge but not much mroe, i wasn't playing on buying from something online, i was going to buy something used from one of the 100's of boutiques around the chicago land area, but if someone here has a good deal i may jump on that, but i am not ready to buy unless there is a deal i just can't pass up... thanks for the advice, i will look into those later today... thanks!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 Something else to bear in mind Gramas. If your present amplifier does not have a phono stage you will need to buy a phono preamp or get an amp that has one built in.Rat Shack sells a competent little phono preamp for about $50.00 which can be plugged into the Auxilliary input of most systems. I don't know what your budget is but if you are hoping to get something inexpensive but decent look for a Dual 1200 series or an old Perpetuum Ebner.There are lots of Garrard turntables floating about but with the exception of a couple of models Garrards should be avoided. If you have a bit more $$ available you won't go far wrong with any model by Thorens. Others to consider would be any of the Linn models ( tend to be pricey and a PITA to set up ). If you can get ahold of an old Ariston RD80sl or RD11 you will have the equivalent of an early Linn LP12 ( word to the wise they present the same setup issues as an LP12 ) but generally can be had for a considerably lower cost.Unfortunately the Aristons are damned hard to find. I run an Ariston RD80sl with a Grace 707 arm and a Shure V15 III.It is probably my last turntable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 Lynn's on the money with the Thorens. A TD160 or 165 can be had for about $100 on ebay which is about what I paid for my TD165. Add a $100 cartridge and you have a pretty decent rig for about $200. The other option is to get a new entry level model Pro-ject or Music Hall with cart for about $300. That way you could get it locally and have it set up by the dealer or you could do it yourself. The newer tables may be easier to dial in then an older Thorens although mine wasn't hard at all and it's good to learn in case you decide to upgrade your cart down the road. My old Thorens sounds great but I've never compared it to a similairly priced newer table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 ---------------- On 1/15/2005 7:03:00 PM Gramas701 wrote: i would be interested, basically i am not to worried about complexity i ca figure it all out and work through it, but i want something that is complete, maybe in need of a cartidge but not much mroe, i wasn't playing on buying from something online, i was going to buy something used from one of the 100's of boutiques around the chicago land area, but if someone here has a good deal i may jump on that, but i am not ready to buy unless there is a deal i just can't pass up... thanks for the advice, i will look into those later today... thanks!!! --------------- Chicago! I hate you big city folks. The closest audio shop that would even order me a turntable is 50 miles from me. For the first table, I like newer, simpler. Like the MusicHalls, ProJects, Regas. You get great enjoyment and learn the basics of cartridge alignment, tracking weight, anit-skate. Clean records will give you the greatest enjoyment. Get a good record cleaner. After 6 months you'll want to start upgrading or investingating vintage turntables and before you know it, you'll have like 10 of them like some other dude I know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 i have head a lot about the thoerns stuff adn the 200 to 300 is really the most that i am willing to spend because i hav never had one and i need something for the learning curve, and my pre-amp has a phono input to handle mc and mm inputs so i think i am set with that, i will probably be upgrading my pre-amp in june as well to an nad c160 maybe something else not sure yet... anyways thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 i will tell you what i love the city and i love the options, its so great i am not going to lie, when i think about where i live i never see any down falls, i love my home and never want to leave the area, but I have only lived in Michigan and Greece otherwise so i guess i really do not have a basis of comparision... anyways Thanks for all the advice i am going to look into the thorens and a few of those others Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3283&item=5744297137&rd=1 i am just wondering if they anti-skate weight that is missing on this tt would be difficult to fix and what not, and if this is a pretty good/common deal that i would expect to find on ebay, b/c i actually would prefer to buy a tt with out the cardtridge that way i can get it cheaper and buy a new one right away that will be a good fit etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartwen Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 I have compared a TD125 against a few modern t/t. I installed hadcock unipivot tonearms on all of the t/t. The other t/t were, Origin Live Aroura Gold, Tom Fletchers Spacedeck, and the Linn Sondeck! The td125 was as good if not better in all respects to all of the modern t/t. I have an ancient 125 awaiting a new psu/ speed change. When this is done it will be put back into service. Thorens t/t were heavily over engineered so they will stand the test of time......... Good luck in your quest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev313 Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 I agree that Regas are great for those new to TTs. It's basically plug and play and allows you to learn at your own pace. In other words, you won't be sitting around trying to fiddle with your new gear in order to get it to go! BTW here's a downfall to where you live...it's the burbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 ---------------- On 1/18/2005 6:56:03 PM kev313 wrote: I agree that Regas are great for those new to TTs. It's basically plug and play and allows you to learn at your own pace. In other words, you won't be sitting around trying to fiddle with your new gear in order to get it to go! BTW here's a downfall to where you live...it's the burbs. ---------------- its all what you make of it i guess! thanks for the advice i have been looking heavily and i am hoping that in the spring i will be able to find an old thorens at a garage sale or something.... hopefully because its hard to find them with out a cart and they all want more than they are worth for a used cartdridge and it doesn't make much sense to over pay form something when i am going to want to replace it anyways so i am hoping to come across a good deal some time, i am willing to wait this one out, because until i have one i do not know what i am missing! thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 If you can nail that puppy at $50.00 do it! That is a very good TT and he is telling the truth about the antiskate. FWIW I run my Ariston without Antiskating compensation and it sounds glorious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.