A turntable set up primer for beginners

[martin900]

It's how it is, they should deliver them to dealers without cartridges and let the buyer decide. Sad to see so many good DT's delivered with stuff like 2M Red as well.
Guess many mfg's have a contract with Ortofon for bulk sales.

 

[Audiofire]

I was exposed to a Technics 1200 GR with audiotechinca 95 ML cart & really liked how it sounded

The LP would now be stored in the plastic inner & outer sleeves and the original paper sleeves would be stored separately

I don't see anyone mentioning to clean vinyl with one of those spin cleaners and dry before placing in a new polyethylene sleeve. The price on the automatic record cleaning machines is ludicrous. Then again, some prefer them.

I clean my stylus, if it has dust on viewing through a magnifying glass, which was around once a week with my usage

You need about 250x magnification to see the stylus and vinyl grooves. I know from my eFlex MM-840 USB microscope that still showed some dirt in vinyl grooves after cleaning (horizontally) with a damp microfiber cloth.

 

[Godataloss]

I don't see anyone mentioning to clean vinyl with one of those spin cleaners and dry before placing in a new polyethylene sleeve. The price on the automatic record cleaning machines is ludicrous. Then again, some prefer them.

Spin Clean system works great- so does a wash cloth in the sink. Ultra Sonic systems are so cheap now, I wouldn't recommend spending the $70 on a Spin Clean when you can get an ultra sonic that will give you much better results for less than $300. I made one nearly a decade ago and it's still chugging along.

 

[madrac]

I used to have a Ultrasonic tank + Vinyl Stack. Upgraded to a Degritter (awesome machine) but it is pricey. Don't know how good it is or its ease of use, but Humminguru also offers an ultrasonic cleaner for a few hundred dollars.

For really dirty records, I use a vacuum RCM first (VPI 16.5).

 

[Snoopy]

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.

looking at the Pioneer PLX 500 and PLX1000. the PLX1000 seems to be a 1:1 copy of the technics 1210. but the PLX1000 is only 669 euro (new). but there is no cartridge included. so it’s a DJ turntable but it look like to be a really solid unit.

What I’m wondering is, is there a phono stage and what would be a appropriate cartridge?

 

[Moonhead]

A buddy of mine has Audio Technica LP5, seems like a sweet deck and comparable to the Pioneers I take!

 

[Snoopy]

A buddy of mine has Audio Technica LP5, seems like a sweet deck and comparable to the Pioneers I take!

Was replaced by the LP5x that is a bit different.. clone of the previous technics.. kinda. Didnt look that much into it. But it’s a Taiwanese OEM table same like the Panasonics and most other stuff.

Thorens has their turntables made by the same OEM.

That kinda makes technics more interesting. At least to me

 

[Snoopy]

Just ordered a Technics SL 1500C for 829 Euro (new). Hope the order doesn’t get cancelled but seems to be a Black Friday offer

So dumb question now:

Could I use the internal phono amp for a headphone amp and a external for a loudspeaker setup? And just use the switch on the back to choose the output? I looked for phono amps with 2 outputs but I don’t want to spend 600€ on that

 

[LTig]

Just ordered a Technics SL 1500C for 829 Euro (new). Hope the order doesn’t get cancelled but seems to be a Black Friday offer

So dumb question now:

Could I use the internal phono amp for a headphone amp and a external for a loudspeaker setup? And just use the switch on the back to choose the output? I looked for phono amps with 2 outputs but I don’t want to spend 600€ on that

According to the manual (page 12/13) this should work.

 

[thewas]

Maybe I interpret it wrong but the manual writes on page 12:

Do not simultaneously connect both the PHONO terminal output and external output terminals to a connected device (pre-main amplifier, component system, etc.). Connecting
simultaneously may cause noise and/or popping sound.

 

[Snoopy]

Maybe I interpret it wrong but the manual writes on page 12:

Do not simultaneously connect both the PHONO terminal output and external output terminals to a connected device (pre-main amplifier, component system, etc.). Connecting
simultaneously may cause noise and/or popping sound.

Just „connect“ (one device turned off) or play both at the same time?

 

[thewas]

I would say to have both connected as playing both at the same time isn't anyway possible because of the switch.

 

[Jimi Floyd]

Then, operating the back switch every time is not convenient. Better use a single phono preamplifier with Y cables at the output, feeding both the headphone amp and the speakers

 

[thewas]

But the SL-1500C has already a build in pre-amp, why not connect its output with a Y-cable with both?

 

[LTig]

Maybe I interpret it wrong but the manual writes on page 12:

Do not simultaneously connect both the PHONO terminal output and external output terminals to a connected device (pre-main amplifier, component system, etc.). Connecting
simultaneously may cause noise and/or popping sound.

Ooops, didn't see this.
The question is which output is effected by noise/popping, the used one, the unused one or both. Maybe worth a try, with volume set to low to prevent any damage.

 

[madrac]

A y-cable out of the phono preamp may not work (believe due to impedance mismatches). I tried that once on my phono setup and no dice

 

[Snoopy]

So the line out is always active even when the phono preamp is „on“.
Tried the table with the phono preamp and my headphones for a few minutes. Sounds good enough. Think I set everything up correctly with tonearm counterweight, height etc..

Still waiting for my hifi rack and some LPs.
So far got only 2 LPs that my wife gifted me.