First turntable - any suggestions?

[Balle Clorin]

PRaT, baby... PRaT.

English bullshitt terminology .give us some facts

 

[Mart68]

English bullshitt terminology .give us some facts

it's a fact that they run fast but not so fast that you'd consciously notice it was wrong - but you may perceive it as slightly more 'lively' when comparing with a deck that runs at the correct speed.

Whether this is by design is debatable but you rarely see any design by anyone that runs slow. No-one's going to prefer that.

Either way I suspect this is why they have been perennially popular even though they really are at the minimum level of build quality that a deck needs to be in order to sound respectable.

 

[mhardy6647]

umm, I was being facetious vis-a-vis PRaT.

 

[Mart68]

umm, I was being facetious vis-a-vis PRaT.

I know but that doesn't make you wrong...

 

[mhardy6647]

I know but that doesn't make you wrong...

... and that's the thing about sarcasm, isn't it?

 

[Timmeon]

Anyhoo, for old records that are far from perfect, could I find a more precise stylus shape/material/etc. that (if set up correctly) would somehow extract more music while minimizing the imperfections? I'm sure this is covered somewhere and I'm just being lazy.

I plan on listening to primarily older recordings and buying 95% used, is there a cart/stylus design that is particularly well suited for this?

I'm enjoying the Phono Cartridge Measurement thread very much, but I'm looking a little beyond frequency response and distortion. I don't mind a not-so-perfect frequency response as long as the bass is all there.

On PRaT, I really think consumers need to be more honest and just admit they are buying into brands because of the stories they are being told, or simply aesthetics. I'd bet almost everything and anything but the sound is what is driving consumer preference 99% of the time. On a positive note, this Planar 2 is 40+ years old, and what did it need to keep it going? A new rubber band. I love that. And it's pretty.

 

[Mart68]

Anyhoo, for old records that are far from perfect, could I find a more precise stylus shape/material/etc. that (if set up correctly) would somehow extract more music while minimizing the imperfections? I'm sure this is covered somewhere and I'm just being lazy.

I plan on listening to primarily older recordings and buying 95% used, is there a cart/stylus design that is particularly well suited for this?

I'm enjoying the Phono Cartridge Measurement thread very much, but I'm looking a little beyond frequency response and distortion. I don't mind a not-so-perfect frequency response as long as the bass is all there.

On PRaT, I really think consumers need to be more honest and just admit they are buying into brands because of the stories they are being told, or simply aesthetics. I'd bet almost everything and anything but the sound is what is driving consumer preference 99% of the time. On a positive note, this Planar 2 is 40+ years old, and what did it need to keep it going? A new rubber band. I love that. And it's pretty.

if you're going to be buying lots of used records some type of wet/vacuum cleaning machine is essential. I'd prioritise that over the cartridge.

For MM cartridges I always liked Nagaoka the best and had the whole range over the years. An MP150 will give you a great sound. Lots of detail but not as clinical/forensic as Ortofon or Audio Technica.

 

[spiral scratch]

Anyhoo, for old records that are far from perfect, could I find a more precise stylus shape/material/etc. that (if set up correctly) would somehow extract more music while minimizing the imperfections? I'm sure this is covered somewhere and I'm just being lazy.

I plan on listening to primarily older recordings and buying 95% used, is there a cart/stylus design that is particularly well suited for this?

Not sure of the merit of this, but I've read a number of people recommending conical sylii for those older worn LPs. I guess they just get the job done and don't draw too much attention to the imperfections. I use a Denon 103R which is conical. I don't find it lacking in detail. The Nagoaka's are fine sounding. Rega makes their own carts which line up with the three holes on the headshell, so it's a pretty swift install.

 

[Galliardist]

Not sure of the merit of this, but I've read a number of people recommending conical sylii for those older worn LPs. I guess they just get the job done and don't draw too much attention to the imperfections. I use a Denon 103R which is conical. I don't find it lacking in detail. The Nagoaka's are fine sounding. Rega makes their own carts which line up with the three holes on the headshell, so it's a pretty swift install.

When I was a member of the Manchester Record Library, a far number of their records had damage from mistracking on cheap players and sounded better when played with a fine line stylus. I used an MP-50 stylus for that, but had to take in a cheap conical stylus for the required annual check because the staff didn’t recognise the finer stylus shape and thought it was damaged!

If damage is caused through not cleaning, that sits lower in the groove and then a conical stylus will improve things, though proper cleaning will do more.

 

[mike70]

In the last years i only used microlinear or shibata styluses ... there's no comeback to elliptical (zero IGD, more detailed / vivid sound) ... and also the lifespan is much longer, what means cheaper cost / hour ratio.

I think Nagaoka is somewhat overpriced for their "warm sound" with elliptical styluses (mp150-200-300).
Obviously, taste cannot be discussed.

 

[spiral scratch]

When I was a member of the Manchester Record Library, a far number of their records had damage from mistracking on cheap players and sounded better when played with a fine line stylus. I used an MP-50 stylus for that, but had to take in a cheap conical stylus for the required annual check because the staff didn’t recognise the finer stylus shape and thought it was damaged!

If damage is caused through not cleaning, that sits lower in the groove and then a conical stylus will improve things, though proper cleaning will do more.

Thanks, I'd forgotten about that aspect. The finer stylii can find the undamaged info that sits deeper in the groove. makes sense. ...and then you're into cleaning. yuck, my least favourite thing to do with records.