mandi Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Okay, now do not laugh. I went to an Estate Auction that was advertising Klipsch speakers. I got there and it was a set of KG 3.2s and a KV 2 center. After a fast call home to see what these were going for at auctions, I decided to set my limit to 75 bucks. Sell the center and give the 3.2s to my nephew for graduation. Well they sold them together and they sold for 175 I think. Well, I hung around late(or should I say early morning) and bought a box of LPs. About 60 LPs for 15 bucks. Hmm, I did not have anything to play them on. So, I went to some places I new had used TTs and was finding them for 30 to 40 bucks. But it was as-is. I hated spending 30 -40, getting home and them not working. So I went to Radio Shack and bought their cheapy. So, I am turning Vinyl and it sounds sweet!! Listening to a little Tommy Dorsey at the moment and " The mamas and the papas" are on deck. Never heard of Hod and Marc but they are pretty good. Now, I am enjoying the moment, inspired to have a BM from another post. Now the question is,,,,,,,,what is a better TT going to do for me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 a lot, buying a good tt will reduce the amount of noise that should not be there, furthermore a better needle and cartdridge will put a lot less strain on your records as well as increase the sound quality, a good arm will not sit as heavily on the record and not degrade them as fast, if you are going crazy with a new one talk to maxg, his quest has been note worthy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogman Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 ---------------- On 1/22/2005 8:30:30 PM mandi wrote: Okay, now do not laugh. I went to an Estate Auction that was advertising Klipsch speakers. I got there and it was a set of KG 3.2s and a KV 2 center. After a fast call home to see what these were going for at auctions, I decided to set my limit to 75 bucks. Sell the center and give the 3.2s to my nephew for graduation. Well they sold them together and they sold for 175 I think. Well, I hung around late(or should I say early morning) and bought a box of LPs. About 60 LPs for 15 bucks. Hmm, I did not have anything to play them on. So, I went to some places I new had used TTs and was finding them for 30 to 40 bucks. But it was as-is. I hated spending 30 -40, getting home and them not working. So I went to Radio Shack and bought their cheapy. So, I am turning Vinyl and it sounds sweet!! Listening to a little Tommy Dorsey at the moment and " The mamas and the papas" are on deck. Never heard of Hod and Marc but they are pretty good. Now, I am enjoying the moment, inspired to have a BM from another post. Now the question is,,,,,,,,what is a better TT going to do for me? ---------------- Congratulations! I don't know anything to say about what you bought from Radio Shack, but to be honest it's probably not a very high performance table. A well made table will allow you to hear a great deal more music that's in those grooves than a cheapy will. A well made table will also allow your records to last longer, as it will do less damage to the playing surface. If you truely get hooked you will soon learn that you can spend serious money on records and you will want to take as good care of them as possible. Even if you only buy used and thrift store records, they can still be valuable, sonicly and financially. There are many choices available in decent tables, new and used, for less than $500.00 that will give you a great deal of what records have to offer, and will cause no harm. Enjoy, Analogman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Mandi, congrats on your venture into the oldest, but best, frontier! I absolutely relate to you because not 3 months ago, I myself made the step into vinyl. I've been a home-theater/multi-channel music buff in the entire duration of my time in this hobby (about 5 years, not much compared to most of the guys here), but CD's, DVD's, and most recently, DVD-A and SACD's were the bread and butter of my life. I became very, VERY accustomed, and satisfied, with their sound and sonic involvement. Enter vinyl. Per the priceless recommendations of many guru's on this forum, I bought a Music Hall MMF-5 turntable (about $600) that comes presassembled and customized with it's own tonearm and cartridge. I had only to select a phono stage (a Musical Fidelity X-LPS v3) and hook it up to my solid-state amps. Yup, not tubes for me, yet... Anyway, to make a long story short, I'm now a convert, among many. Vinyl, the oldest format, much to my dismay, is still the superior format. Soundstage, musical involvement, instrumental separation, depth, warmth, and all those other great buzz-words, sprang to life in a way never before thought possible. In short, VINYL RULES! Enjoy your new discovery, and in time, I'd also suggest you upgrade to a better TT, a better phono stage, and perhaps, better cables. Also, even though I do not yet have one, a dedicated record cleaner (like those by VPI or Nitty Gritty) I hear is a MUST. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandi Posted January 22, 2005 Author Share Posted January 22, 2005 I am sure an upgrade will come soon. Now that I got the cheapy in the door, all I have to do is replace it!! I was wondering around BB after dinner and saw they had a Sony TT. Looks IDENTICAL to my radio shack but 30 dollars more. Where does one go these days to purchase a new/good TT? We only have one hifi store and they push only one product usually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 To name a few great sources: www.acousticsounds.com www.needledoctor.com www.audioadvisor.com www.elusivedisc.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 Hi, mandi. Vinyl still sounds good. A minor turntable upgrade will yield outstanding results. You could consider the Project range. Say the Project Debut which comes standard with an Ortofon OM5 pickup cartridge. This t/table comes already setup so you only need to plug in and play. I enjoy going through thrift and second hand shops looking for classic vinyl. I've found a few treasures over the years for only a couple of $$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 Will be interesting to see if anyone on the forum has heard this Radioshack item you refer to - who knows - you may have just found the bargain of turntables. Assuming the world has not missed this gem - then I would propose you look to the usual suspects for a decent TT at a reasonable price. The 3 makes most often quoted for excellent price /performance at the less expensive end of the market are Project, Music Hall and Rega. I think projects come in at the lowest price but that there is not an enormous leap from one to another. The Project debut is an excellent starter TT and can be had with cart and arm for relatively little money (around 300 bucks I think - but check as I do not live in the US and am not uptodate with their pricing). MusicHalls start around there to methinks. Regas start a little higher up the foodchain - but we are not talking silly money either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 On Ebay, I picked up a nearly new Regga Planner 3 with a Grace 747 tone arm and Grace F-9E cart in the original box for under $400 plus shipping. The packing job left something to be desired but no real damage was done (lucky!) A local pickup would be best. The deals are out there, just keep looking and be patient. Welcome to the world of L.P.s! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgeraci Posted January 26, 2005 Share Posted January 26, 2005 I'm finally joining the vinyl party again. As some of you already know, I found a ton of great stuff from an estate - all in one house (Marantz 7T, Marantz 8B, Dynaco Mk IIIs, Dynaco Stereo 70, NAD 3140 amp, NAD 4155 Tuner & some vintage Klipsch). Among these items was a '70s-era Marantz turntable with a Shure cartridge. Hooked it up to the Marantz 7T, Mark IIIs, and RF-7s and spun some records last night (wish I still had all those records I sold over the years). I forgot how different vinyl sounds from CDs. It sounded pretty good and also brought back some high school and college memories. OK, what's another piece of equipment on the racks?? The turntable is staying, and I may also upgrade it (and the 7T) eventually. But, for now, pretty good. I'm convinced. It will be nice to have a system that does everything well (redbook, SACD/DVD-Audio, and vinyl). Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted January 26, 2005 Share Posted January 26, 2005 You can find some nice tt on Ebay, but seriously, beware. Most people haven't a clue as to how to pack them. They are much harder to pack than amps, preamps, porn videos and the like. Look for one with original packaging and you might hope the seller uses it. Or look for a guy who appears experienced at selling turntables. I also wouldn't trust a used cartridge from ebay either. usually the stylus is worn or damaged and it's pretty hard to tell by looking at pictures. Personally, if you don't have a good local hi fi shop, I like your chances with one of the online guys mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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