So I've recently been looking into purchasing a vinyl turntable. I've purchased some decently hi fi speakers recently and think if I get a nice preamp and a turntable I will have a pretty nice setup. I'm not too familiar with the medium though and was wondering if anyone here had any input or whether its worth it. And any recommendations of a cheap turntable to get me started. I currently have roughly 10k lossless flac files so digitized music will still be my main thing but something about being able to spin some vinyls sounds really appealing to me.
I love my MK1200's but that might be overkill for your use. Technics do make some good belt drive turntables. I use this needle for old vinyl: Stanton 681 EEE MK III
i got one for christmas where you can put the record on your ipod. don't have the name of it off the top of my head. i don't have a great sound system though, so i can only tell a minimal difference. i have enjoyed going out and looking for used stuff and have found some personal gems.
Ouch I looked that model up. Its a bit out of my price range haha. I'm not looking to spend more than 200 for table + preamp so I'm guessing I will have to go used? I don't really need to transfer vinyls to mp3, as I already have a massive collection of digitized music. I'm mainly just wanting to go vinyl for more of a novelty.
i didn't really either. my wife got it for me cause it was originally $450 or so and she got it for $150 through amazon.
You can definitely find a decent 2 speed turntable under $200. Pioneer and sony still make them (I think). the real investment is in the needle. It's what interprets the vinyl.
I got a Sony turntable a couple years ago and have had a lot of fun with it. We've built up a pretty decent vinyl collection in a short amount of time and really enjoy going out and searching for new stuff. I have it hooked up to my existing surround sound system, so it sounds pretty damn good. We got ours at Frye's. I think it was around $150 back then. We didn't get the USB version since I didn't think we'd ever use it. I haven't missed that feature one bit.
where do you typically go? i've gone to cactus, black dog and soundwaves (madlib's shades of blue, ftw!).
I go to Cactus usually, but I've also found some good stuff at Sound Exchange on Richmond . My greatest find ever was getting Sneaker Pimps - Bloodsport on vinyl from a seller on Discogs.com. I had been searching for it for months, and finally found 1 guy in Finland that had a copy in mint condition. When that finally arrived it was a glorious day.
awesome...i knew about it, just haven't made it over there since i live out in the suburbs and i had some awesome personal finds at cactus/soundwaves before calling it a day.
See that is one of the big draws that makes me want to get into vinyl. Looking around and discovering new music. It seems much more rewarding than downloading an mp3. Does anyone have a recommendation on a cheap startup rig?
Co-signed. I wish I had as much time for my Tec 1200 MKIIs as I used too...love those things, pure butter. Too bad they stopped making them, it was a quality product. I have some ortofon needle for just listenin to the vinyl collection, and some shure M44-7s when im in the need for a good scratch session.
Ah this thread reminds me I need to go get a new needle for my old Fisher turntable. I love playing old records with all the cracks and pops.
You can find a Technics 1200 on craigslist for 250 every now and then. That turntable will last your lifetime. It's built like a tank.
Is that the price I am going to have to spend to get a quality product? I was hoping to spend 200 max with a preamp.
I'm not really sure what other turntables cost vs quality, but I was just providing that info just in case you were interested in that particular product.
