Starting with turntables

[Sal1950]

Why are you being a turd in the punch bowl of this sub forum? Stop being so insecure about your own preferences that you need to tell others how to spend their time and money.

Simply good advice

 

[alaios]

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The think that draws me to vinyl is the connection with the relatives that passed away. I want vinyl just for remembering them listening to their LPs, this is why I am fine with a 500 euros turntable

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

In that case let turntable manufacturers , LP publishers and used record stores know that they could have stopped bothering 40 years ago…

Wot! And deprive them of their snake oil income!!!

 

[DSJR]

I'd prefer a sweet ole classic Linn Sondek if I was going vinyl.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I KNOW these things intimately, set up and built from scratch (sorry) more than I care to remember and any Lp12 over twenty years (and some apparently under that age) is an absolutely fecking NIGHTMARE and with the ignorant blinkered dealer base only too happy to take shedloads of dosh from you in 'upgrades.' This deck becomes a millstone money pit!

Main bearings wearing out prematurely and at random and not always caught by the dealer, unmatched and sagging springs (less of an issue now but it still happens) which aren't properly distributed around the masses of platter and arm (thanks Thorens TD150 which is practically a design template in terms of layout dimensions). Mats shrink and go fluffy (affects the perceived sound), belts stretch and cost a fortune to replace these days and plinths used to vary a lot ('everything' bolts up to two blocks attached to the wooden frame) before the early 90's manufacturing updates to the plinth.

Sound quality varies hugely with age and tonearm fitted, but one of these things pre the Cirkus bearing/sub-chassis kit could NEVER be called an especially truthful record playing system - funky, 'musical,' foot tapping and 'involving' yes, but not truthful to what's really there in the grooves (I was shown how awful it was up at Linn themselves believe it or not in comparison to the 30 IPS half inch master tape FFS!) Setup is a religion but some older decks really are difficult to get and stay right due to the variables mentioned and others I haven't.

I'd have loved to play with an LP12 once more, but it's of masochistic interest really to see if I could still 'do it' with one of these. Having fought a top spec one a very few years ago (top Ekos, Kandid pickup, Radikal and so on) and finding I'd lost the technique on spring/grommet matching with these massy tonearms, that desire has now gone!

This heavyweight though (nearly a hundredweight all up), wall mounted - the wall fortunately made of engineering bricks (very difficult to drill into) and eventually sitting on a custom paving slab - with working Decca Gold Microscanner which I still have, was as close to my master tape copies as I ever got and in fact the master copies as played on a high speed Revox B77mk1 IEC sounded a touch 'grainier' than either the CD or this vinyl player (the Revox is long gone and looks aside, I don't miss it).

The Decca malfunctioned as they almost always do and I had acquired a mortgage and a motoring money pit Citroen by the mid 80's and it had to go. I got the cartridge repaired and keep it unused currently. here's my 'daily vinyl driver' today which doesn't get used so much, but I'm deeply fond of the brand and know the mechs almost inside out - yes folks, it's AUTOMATIC and has played excellent host to all manne rof cartridges, the scale being less expansive than the mentor above, but it's all there in the right proportions...

 

[Sal1950]

Ya can't make music by dragging a rock thru a ditch.

 

[anmpr1]

here's my 'daily vinyl driver' today which doesn't get used so much, but I'm deeply fond of the brand and know the mechs almost inside out - yes folks, it's AUTOMATIC and has played excellent host to all manne rof cartridges, the scale being less expansive than the mentor above, but it's all there in the right proportions...

701 was IMO the last of the really upscale Duals. And it is the only Dual I wanted, but never had the opportunity to own. You could tell the 'cost cutting' in later models. Owned a 1229 and a couple of 704, but I always thought the 701 was the one to own.

I know the Linn was always considered a top deck, but for whatever reason I just couldn't get involved in it.

 

[Salt]

Some overview of low to mid priced turntables:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/cat_GK_dj...hZ2UiOjJ9&reload=1&ls=100&gk=DJTUTT&cme=false

 

[Robin L]

701 was IMO the last of the really upscale Duals. And it is the only Dual I wanted, but never had the opportunity to own. You could tell the 'cost cutting' in later models. Owned a 1229 and a couple of 704, but I always thought the 701 was the one to own.

I know the Linn was always considered a top deck, but for whatever reason I just couldn't get involved in it.

Like the AR XA, the suspended subchassis of the Linn Sondek could/did go out of alignment. Difficult to properly adjust and when the subchassis went out of alignment the impact on the sound was pretty audible. I found the Technics turntables, without the sprung suspension, to be much more consistent. Only had my Linn Sondek for a short time, so I did not adjust mine. However, owned a number of AR XAs and a Strathclyde 305 M, all drifted out of alignment over time. Had a very early Technics (1970s?) direct drive, semi-automatic, s-shaped tonearm and a standard bayonet headshell that was very stable and worked just fine with a medium compliance cartridge. The new Technics 1200 'tables are well above the OP's budget, but used models are often right on the price they're looking for.

 

[Snoopy]

Wot! And deprive them of their snake oil income!!!

What snake oil?
Someone asks for his first turntable without claims for superior sound, fairy dust and all that stuff and it turns into yet another argument about why nobody should buy LPs.

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

What snake oil?
Someone asks for his first turntable without claims for superior sound, fairy dust and all that stuff and it turns into yet another argument about why nobody should buy LPs.

Reasonably, on these forums, an attempt to dissuade a music lover from bothering with vinyl on cost and quality grounds, seems fair enough to me, and many others.

 

[Snoopy]

Reasonably, on these forums, an attempt to dissuade a music lover from bothering with vinyl on cost and quality grounds, seems fair enough to me, and many others.

That would be assuming there is always a alternative and superior version to the LP available.

Plenty of stuff has only LP releases (if you are not only listening to mainstream music).

Different master engineers used. I currently have a nice example where they did a DSD recording of a Jazz Band and that was mastered by Steve Hoffmann and the LP was done by Bernie Grundman. Probably not important to 99% of people out there and the ones that only listen to whatever is on streaming services.

there is more to this hobby than getting the best SINAD for the least amount of money.

I prefer digital as well and the majority of my music library is digital but why wouldn’t I listen to other sources?

 

[anmpr1]

Like the AR XA, the suspended subchassis of the Linn Sondek could/did go out of alignment. Difficult to properly adjust and when the subchassis went out of alignment the impact on the sound was pretty audible. I found the Technics turntables, without the sprung suspension, to be much more consistent. Only had my Linn Sondek for a short time, so I did not adjust mine. However, owned a number of AR XAs and a Strathclyde 305 M, all drifted out of alignment over time. Had a very early Technics (1970s?) direct drive, semi-automatic, s-shaped tonearm and a standard bayonet headshell that was very stable and worked just fine with a medium compliance cartridge. The new Technics 1200 'tables are well above the OP's budget, but used models are often right on the price they're looking for.

More or less my experience with Thorens. You moved it, and you often had to adjust the suspension.

 

[Thomas_A]

I just use my Linn Axis. No suspension issues since I bought it 1990…

 

[computer-audiophile]

Reasonably, on these forums, an attempt to dissuade a music lover from bothering with vinyl on cost and quality grounds, seems fair enough to me, and many others.

Everyone has their own reasons for choosing vinyl, and that should be respected.
It would be great if we could embrace diverse opinions here and respect others' preferences without discouraging them.

 

[computer-audiophile]

The good thing is that there is a large selection of HiFi turntables available to buy new again today. In fact, the choice is so large that it is difficult for me to make a recommendation, even though I know many of those.

 

[Cote Dazur]

So it is the time to get my first turntable

Depending on what your expectations are, this may or may not be a good idea.
I have had a TT for many years and I am still enjoying listening to LPs today.
Back in the days, LP was the best way to listen to music for me.
Today, digital files are more practical and sound more accurate than LP, but most of the time Vinyl still is very satisfactory to me.
One aspect that I wish my turntable would have is a digital and a Bluetooth output, not just a plug that needs a phono input on my preamp.
There are ways around it, but to easily be able to listen over wifi or direct to Bluetooth speakers or headphones, would be a plus to me.

Whatever your choice of TT will be, I hope you will enjoy your Vinyl journey, done for the right reasons, it can be entertaining and rewarding, there is still a lot of music to be heard on those black plastic pancakes.

 

[zonk]

Depending on what your expectations are, this may or may not be a good idea.
I have had a TT for many years and I am still enjoying listening to LPs today.
Back in the days, LP was the best way to listen to music for me.
Today, digital files are more practical and sound more accurate than LP, but most of the time Vinyl still is very satisfactory to me.
One aspect that I wish my turntable would have is a digital and a Bluetooth output, not just a plug that needs a phono input on my preamp.
There are ways around it, but to easily be able to listen over wifi or direct to Bluetooth speakers or headphones, would be a plus to me.

Whatever your choice of TT will be, I hope you will enjoy your Vinyl journey, done for the right reasons, it can be entertaining and rewarding, there is still a lot of music to be heard on those black plastic pancakes.

The turntables "Cambridge Audio Alva ST" and "Alva TT" have bluetooth

 

[Sal1950]

Everyone has their own reasons for choosing vinyl, and that should be respected.
It would be great if we could embrace diverse opinions here and respect others' preferences without discouraging them.

Folks should be armed with correct info.
If they follow the info leading the charge of the revival, it just might be for all the wrong reasons.
Then they are free to make there own choices.

 

[Sal1950]

Back in the days, LP was the best way to listen to music for me.
Today, digital files are more practical and sound more accurate than LP, but most of the time Vinyl still is very satisfactory to me.

For you OK,, for me, totally an unsatisfactory choice

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

Everyone has their own reasons for choosing vinyl, and that should be respected.
It would be great if we could embrace diverse opinions here and respect others' preferences without discouraging them.

Can I ask, if someone posted that they were considering getting a second mortgage, in order to finance Gryphon amplification, would you respect their preference, and not discourage them?