A turntable set up primer for beginners

[My adventures in stereo]

I have been listening to vinyl over the past year
I was briefly exposed to my uncles turntable as a kid and it ended badly with me damaging the stylus
Loved the sound but not the routine and the learning curve, also left a feeling about the fragility of the system
Had no clue about setting up a turntable, handling & storing vinyl but kept coming across many well recorded vinyl, which were not available at a reasonable price, in CD or SACD formats

One of my friends, who was a vinyl veteran, suggested a Fluance RT 85 with its bundled Ortfon Blue MM cartridge, , as a good starting point
It also did not require much assembly, the cartridge pre attached to a head shell and is very easy to assemble
Attaching the belt was also very simple, the screw on counter weight also offered no challenge

Connected the RCA cables to my parasound Z phono XRM and also the ground cable

I was now ready to balance the tonearm, having looked up some helpful videos on youtube
I was surprised by how clumsy I was in manipulating the tonearm and it took me a few attempts to get it right
Thankfully my stylus survived the ordeal with no damage

I set the tracking force to the middle of the recommended range for the Ortofon blue at 2 grams, checked it with a inexpensive digital weighing scale and then set the antiskating force to 2 grams as recommended by most of the youtube gurus

Having read that paper sleeves are dust devils, I had picked up some inner and outer plastic sleeves, which seemed well recommended on amazon
Getting the vinyl out of the original sleeves without touching the grooves, is a cool skill
All new records would get cleaned with a carbon fiber brush using a micro fiber cloth, after running around 5 rotations on the turntable
Was surprised at the amount o dust which the carbon fiber brush would pick up, even on new LP
The LP would now be stored in the plastic inner & outer sleeves and the original paper sleeves would be stored separately

I was now ready to play my first vinyl on the new TT

 

[My adventures in stereo]

Vinyl needs to be cleaned before every playback with a carbon fiber brush
I clean my stylus, if it has dust on viewing through a magnifying glass, which was around once a week with my usage

Having used the RT 85 for a year, I felt the upgrade itch
The Ortofon Blue has very detailed highs to the point of harshness
This became more apparent, when I upgraded from a Revel M106 to a M126

I was exposed to a Technics 1200 GR with audiotechinca 95 ML cart & really liked how it sounded
Found the history and reliability of the Technics 1200, very attractive too
Sourcing the Japan made 1200 GR version turned out to be tricky but I was able pick up one on ebay, new at a reasonable price

The Technics 1200 GR is a much more robust package than the Fluance, it weighs around 10 KG and every thing feels solid and non resonant
Build quality is really good
Set up was not difficult, clear instructions in the manual and on Youtube
I bought a preassembled head shell with the AT 95 ML attached, only screw on assembly required

Leveled the turntable, with the 4 adjustable feet, easier than doing on the 3 legged Fluance
For a light cart like the AT 95, there is no need to attach the additional counter weight provided, to balance the tonearm
I set the tracking force at the recommended 2 gm, anti skating also set to the same

Came across the VTI/ Azimuth adjustments for the first time
Most youtube videos suggested a eye balling approach to get the tonearm horizontal, with the stylus resting on a record
I found this too subjective

On further hunting, others suggested aligning using a clear acryilic block with pre etched lines
I am planning to try this soon, got the 10 $ block, will update

The Technics is a more fun to work on, the torque & insta stop start speed of the direct drive is very enjoyable
Cleaning records using a brush is also easier and smoother

 

[My adventures in stereo]

No adjustment was needed for vta or azimuth, checked using the acrylic block

 

[Godataloss]

Clean your stylus after every play or at least each time you have a session with your turn table- a small piece of Magic Eraser works well. I always recommend doing it with your sound on so you can gage what you are doing with your ears. Also invest in a method to wet-clean your records. The carbon fiber brush is not enough. Don't let the digital nerds here dissuade you from enjoying collecting records and learn to enjoy, as I have, how they seethe at the mere mention of them.

 

[VQR]

There's a long but thorough seminar on YT on turtable setup. Michael Fremer is the guy demonstrating an ideal setup, and while he has some... contentious... claims about vinyl vs CD, all the setup info he mentions in the video is sound. It's worth having a turntable if you want access by physical media to vintage masterings of old albums, but it's not the highest fidelity format in objective terms. A lot of the technical limits of vinyl are not that severe to be noticeable for normal listening by speakers, so I do sometimes prefer old or new vinyl masterings over digital downloads or CD's

 

[My adventures in stereo]

There's a long but thorough seminar on YT on turtable setup. Michael Fremer is the guy demonstrating an ideal setup, and while he has some... contentious... claims about vinyl vs CD, all the setup info he mentions in the video is sound. It's worth having a turntable if you want access by physical media to vintage masterings of old albums, but it's not the highest fidelity format in objective terms. A lot of the technical limits of vinyl are not that severe to be noticeable for normal listening by speakers, so I do sometimes prefer old or new vinyl masterings over digital downloads or CD's

Thanks for sharing the YT link
I want access to good masterings across various formats & hence the foray in to vinyl, as well as CD & SACD
Can live with their flaws

 

[spiral scratch]

I clean my stylus with Magic Eraser too. Just don't drag it across the stylus, it might pull it off. I cut a small cube and set it on the deck, then use the cue lever to dunk the stylus a few times. It's meant to give the diamond a bit of clean and polish. The brush is fine too for removing grime and dust clumps.

 

[Snoopy]

I'm looking to get a turntable from my Christmas bonus this year.

I would be willing to spend 500-1200 euros. Where should I look? Technics ? I want something with a automatic tonearm lift.

Preferably new. I don't expect perfect transparency or miracles.
Just want to play vinyl that are not available on CD/Highres etc.

 

[DVDdoug]

I won't attempt a specific recommendation. I gave-up on "playing records" after I got my 1st CD player and I only-occasionally digitize an LP that's not available digitally.

I'm looking to get a turntable from my Christmas bonus this year.

In case you don't already know this, a "traditional" turntable" doesn't come with a cartridge and most modern receivers/AVRs don't have a phono preamp. You may need to buy those separately.

I would be willing to spend 500-1200 euros. Where should I look? Technics ? I want something with a automatic tonearm lift.

I think your price range is OK. I wouldn't go too-cheap but I wouldn't go crazy either because the main limitation is the records themselves and you're never going to get "digital sound quality".

I would recommend direct drive... No belts or drive wheels to wear out... I have a ~40 year old Technics direct drive and I've never had any trouble with it. (It's not the high-end "DJ" model. I think I paid maybe $200 USD for it.)

If I was buying a turntable, I'd seriously consider the Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB It's direct drive, it comes ready-to-play with a cartridge and built-in preamp, and it's got USB for digitizing records. But it seems to be lacking automatic tonearm lift at the end of the record.

 

[madrac]

If lacking an automatic tone arm lift, there are devices that work --- Q-Up, Audio Technica, Integrity Hi-Fi, Little Fwend, some cheap ones on E-bay.
For inexpensive cleaning machines, look at Spin Clean or Humminguru (Ultrasonic).

My biggest pet peeve with new vinyl is that many still use those horrible paper sleeves...for the price they charge, why not MoFi or something similar?

Unfortunately no longer for sale, but Dr. Feickert Adjust+ is great for setting Azimuth.