Cheap turntable to get into vynil

[Erukian]

Hi, im pretty much too young to experience the vynil age. CDs were out by the time I was born, so..

Anyways, I bought a Fleetwood Mac record Rumors w/ no scratches or warping, seems in good condish for one buck at a local record store.. I wanted a sort of cheap introduction to vynil, i dont want to set a budget, because honestly I dont know how much to invest in a "starter" TT.

Im open to any suggestions.

Thanks,

-Joe

[colterphoto1]

The guys around here are into some pretty esoteric stuff. Belt drive, gazillion pound platters. For cheap bucks, you could get a Technics SL1200 pro DJ turntable or homeowner style SL1700 for probably $100, I'd get a new cartridge if I bought a used unit, another C note or so. That'd get you started okay.

I'm looking into moving up one notch but don't have big bucks. I think Rega is a name I see from time to time here.

Try SEARCH.

Michael

[nicholtl]

Hey Joe, I was pretty much in your boat about a year back too. Casettes were the only source of music when I was born. Anyway, my starter TT was a Music Hall MMF-5, which ran me about $550. I did a lot of research and talked to many of my connects, and the unanimous vote was for that table.

I'm very happy with it, and will only upgrade when I have upwards of $2000, because I feel that's how much is necessary before anything could sound significantly better than this Stereophile recommended, dual-plinth, glass plattered, Aboslute Sound Editor's Choice TT.

[crazytubepower]

Also for about $300 you can get the music hall mmf 2.1...good value. Go to needledoctor.com and see there prices on tables

[Duke Spinner]

don't forget the AR turntable..........

she's got Great spec's ...esp. for $ 100, or so ...[]..

[joessportster]

in my opinion what you are asking is what type table to get for very low $$$$$$$$ so you can just see what the deal is with vinyl. Although you wont really see what it is all about till you are able to listen to a decent setup with record cleaning abilitys (maybe get hooked up with a forum member that has already went headlong into vinyl) i would suggest looking on ebay or audiogon where you can regularly pick up tables under 100.00, there are several what i would call starter tables that deliver nice sound about any THORENS model is decent, and DUAL are also well regarded, but these are belt drive suspension tables and require a little time to get set up right, i would suggest you look for a direct drive table say a DENON, or a PIONEER they can be had around 50 to 75.00 and should give you an idea about vinyl . although again the sound can get tons better with better equipment and cleaning gear Joe

[scott0527]

The AR XA is cheap(<$100) and I can point you to an old Van Alstine article on how to make sure it's running in top shape. Thorens TD160 would be my less than $200 choice. This table set up properly is great. Tons of information on the web for proper set up.

For FREE, I have a nice Dual 1019 I can send you. Well, you pay me for shipping. Somehow I ended up with 3 of them. This one is in great shape and I've cleaned/lubed it up and it runs perfect. This table will easily give you taste of what vinyl has to offer. Let's say that if $2K turntable gives you 98% of what vinyl can offer, this would give you 80 to 85%. I'm not sure what cartridge is on it, but it's definitely a decent cart/stylus. I had it playing a couple of months ago while my Linn was at the shop.

[jpm]

I gave up on vinyl years ago, but I still have a nice Phillips turntable with a $50 Shure cartridge. The local boutique audio dealer tells me it's a damn good piece, considering.

[Shade]

Denon has a cheap belt drive, with a built in phono amp. Looks like the

current model is the DP-29F. Also comes with a cart. MSRP is

listed as $150, but I think they go for around $125. You could probably

pick one up cheap online.

I used to have one of these before I got into vinyl more seriously and

got a Rega P3. The Denon will give you an idea of why people get into vinyl, but

barely. My P3 is still a fairly low priced table ($600-$650), and it

was a massive improvement over the Denon.

You could pick up a used P2 or P3 with a cart for fairly cheap. There's

a couple of P3s on audiogon with Rega carts for <$500. If thats

still a lot more than you want to spend, go ahead and check out the

Denon. Just bear in mind that the sound can get a lot better.

Also maybe you could find a store or someone near you to let you listen

to a good vinyl setup. Might be a cheaper way to find out if it's

something you'll like.

[seti]

I bought a mmf 2.1 from a friend and it is a good table especially for the price. I would shop audiogon.com and see what is available in the price range you want. A friend got a flawless Thorens turntable for 125 and it is built like a tank. If your patient you can get a great deal. Good luck....

[edwinr]

The Rega P2 and P3 are excellent turntables. For a litle less money, and buying new, also consider the Project range. The Project Debut comes fully setup with an Ortofon OM-5 cartridge, and it sounds pretty good.

[crazytubepower]

Hi, im pretty much too young to experience the vynil age. CDs were out by the time I was born, so..

Thanks,

-Joe

Too young? I am 15 and an avid vinyl listener, you are never too young for good music

[hurdy_gurdyman]

I can personally recommend either the AR-XA or Thorens TD-160 and TD-145. I prefer the AR by a small margin, but both make nice affordable tables. If you like to tinker, old Dual's can be spiffed up to work real nice, also. I have a 1019, and used to have a 1219. Both can be good sounding units, but usually require a good clean/lube to make everything right.

Any of these can sound much better than the slew of inexpensive Japanese tables that flooded the market in the 70's and 80's, or the less expensive Garrard's and all BSR's (of which there are millions...)

I'm using the AR-XA presently, and if you set them up carefully, they are far better than entry level. A real surprise to me.

Dave

[kjohnsonhp]

Here are the tiers as I see it (not an excellent segmentation but a conversation starter). I would start with option 1 or 3.

1) Free - $25

If you get a good condition cartridge then you can play all those low price records (most/many of the big sellers from the 70's & 80's can be found for $1 or less). This is a great way to hear lot's of tunes. I bought a Denon dor $3 at a garage sale but that was back when people were unloading their lps for CD.

2) ~$100

Here you get the volume of TT's that were sold in quantity back in the 70's & 80's (Denon, Panasonic B&O, etc.) You have recommendations earlier in the thread. I purchased a B&O used for around $100 but they don't accept standard cartridges. Shop well on ebay and audiogon and you can resell for what you paid minus shipping. Invest big bucks in a cartrige and see big depreciation.

3) $300-$550

This is where you should start if you are testing vinyl for sound quality. For brand new TT's the MMF-5 is very popular and the most highly rated by the mags. I believe there may be some kits that offer better performance in this range. I bought a 3 mos onld MMF-5 for $350. Beware of used stylus. They are so easy to bend and loose performance. Many recommend pay the TT value used only and the stylus is a bonus if it works...you may want to assume it needs replacement unless you can test if first. If you can buy a good used table in this range with a good condition stylus you should be able to resale without much loss, but replacing the stylus on say a MMF-5 is around $185 so paying more than $300 for a used MMF-5 is risky vs simply getting a new one.

4) $1k

Rega, Scout Jr, MMF-7, etc.

5) $2.5k

VPI Scout, Linn, etc.

[Mick Bell]

I have a Thorens TD-166 MKII with a Grado cartridge. Used very little since I purchased it about the time I got a CD player. $175. Original box and manual.

[pauln]

I would advise a little different direction. One of the neat things about regular TT in the old days was that they accepted different cartridges. This meant (and still means) that you have to make a lot of technical adjustments to get the various tolerances, angles, pressures, and other factors aligned and correct. In the old days, this meant (and still does) that your friend's identical system sounded different than yours, and whomever was best at visualizing the technical solution and executing it might have the better sounding system. For a TT nubie this won't be likely to happen any time soon and you may be disappointed with the result - you may even mess up your records.

Bang & Olufsen (the inventors of the stereo cartrige) TTs are designed to take their own cartridge, so everything is matched and optimized. All you need to do is set the stylus pressure and you are done. I would reccommend you buy a simple B&O like the Beogram 1900 on ebay for around $30-$50 dollars. If you need to replace the cartridge, they are available for about the same amount of $ at various site on the internet. This will tide you over until you get a better table while ensuring that you don't harm your records.

You know you will need a phono-EQ (phono pre-amp) between your TT and the preamplifier, right? All the old gear had this built in. Most commercial new stuff does not. The same websites that cater to phono cartidge/TT seekers will have phono/EQs as well.

Good luck,

Paul

[johnyholiday]

i always liked my vinyl's with a dynamic range processor opens em up a bit , take that free dual tt offer above ,