Starting with turntables

[JP]

Genuine answer, it's both really. A perfect representation of the source can also be revealing of its flaws.

Have to respect the admission, however disappointing. Tape noise of pre-Dolby recordings is substantially above the noise floor of vinyl, and unless you've perfect pitch, the W&F of a reasonably centered record isn't dissimilar to the W&F of a good tape machine, in which case the tape could be problem for you too. These are truly of the era where vinyl could rival tape, and the quality of these reissues overall has been excellent, sans a few that did have an issue with audible wow due to some undisclosed but corrected cause.

 

[Robin L]

Have to respect the admission, however disappointing. Tape noise of pre-Dolby recordings is substantially above the noise floor of vinyl, and unless you've perfect pitch, the W&F of a reasonably centered record isn't dissimilar to the W&F of a good tape machine, in which case the tape could be problem for you too. These are truly of the era where vinyl could rival tape, and the quality of these reissues overall has been excellent, sans a few that did have an issue with audible wow due to some undisclosed but corrected cause.

Piano recordings expose the flaws of analog anything. Doesn't prevent me from listening to transfers of 78s, but I have to listen around obvious flaws. And later analog tape-based transfers to CD lack the solidity of all-digital recordings of piano. Sad but true.

 

[JP]

Piano recordings expose the flaws of analog anything. Doesn't prevent me from listening to transfers of 78s, but I have to listen around obvious flaws. And later analog tape-based transfers to CD lack the solidity of all-digital recordings of piano. Sad but true.

I don't disagree. In this case we're talking about old tape recordings.

BTW - Lacey?

 

[Robin L]

I don't disagree. In this case we're talking about old tape recordings.

I've been listening to Artur Schnabel (1930s) and Claudio Arrau (1960s) recordings of Beethoven all week. Just got the Warner Brothers remastering (2015) of Artur Schnabel's complete Beethoven Sonata cycle last week, just in time for Beethoven's birthday (yesterday).

BTW - Lacey?

Yes.

 

[JP]

Yes.

I'll wave when we drive by Wednesday on the way to my folks' place.

 

[Robin L]

I'll wave when we drive by Wednesday on the way to my folks' place.

We're in Vista Village.

 

[JP]

We're in Vista Village.

Born and raised in Redmond, though they live in Grayland now, and my sister is in Issaquah.

 

[alaios]

Do you have a record collection?

I have 3-4, but I will get around 20 more from relatives. As I have written also above, okay I implied, I Will collect their LPs once they can not say "no" anymore, as a way to remember them

 

[Multicore]

I have 3-4, but I will get around 20 more from relatives. As I have written also above, okay I implied, I Will collect their LPs once they can not say "no" anymore, as a way to remember them

Fantastic. Always stick to previously owned vinyl.

Denon DP-300F

It will work out of the box with your Leak amp connected either to the PHONO input or to an AUX input depending how you set the EQUALIZER switch under the TT platter. Use whichever sounds better to you.

It's AUTOMATIC! That's why it's is better than what most audiophiles will recommend. You don't have to fumble with dropping the needle and, most important of all, it lifts the needle and turns off when the record is over. You can remain stretched out on the couch reading without being interrupted by the annoying clunk clunk of the out groove. And if you leave the room while the music is still on and forget about it, ... you get the picture.

Plan on learning to properly clean newly acquired records. I'm sure YouTube has a gazillion confusing opinions about how to do it. Make it part of your process for introducing used records into your library.

 

[Multicore]

Piano recordings expose the flaws of analog anything.

True. Analog soundboards in particular. Thank goodness they are attached to digital keyboards.

 

[aquavit]

I bought a Denon DP-400 semi-auto TT and upgraded the cartridge, connected to a Rega iO and a pair of Q Acoustics 3010i. It's good enough for me and the source material, given the quality of the rest of my system and the small room it sits in and would likely be all the OP needs. I listen to streaming, CD and vinyl, they don't have to be mutually exclusive and, surely, no-one needs to justify their equipment preferences?

Yes, streaming provides us with an endless library and near perfect quality and is the format I use most often. But just sometimes, I like to sit down of an evening with a glass of wine, the turntable spinning a first rate pressing of say, Jan Ackerman 75, totally immersed in the music, enjoying the tactile nature of the vinyl experience, be "wowed" in the moment and with what the medium can reproduce. I know as a means of music reproduction it's flawed, illogical and inconvenient but I get why the OP wants a turntable.

Something along the lines of what I and others have referred to will do the job, good luck and enjoy the music!

 

[Angsty]

Plan on learning to properly clean newly acquired records. I'm sure YouTube has a gazillion confusing opinions about how to do it. Make it part of your process for introducing used records into your library.

Cleaning old records is essential! I don’t play any used record before cleaning it.

If you get the Denon, I’d recommend looking at replacement styli for the cartridge immediately. The low budget stylus that’s included will rob you of some of the better sounds vinyl is capable of producing. You don’t have to replace the whole cartridge; just the stylus.

 

[Chrispy]

Even cleaning old records is just possibly a slight improvement over the general poor performance....but who knows what you might prefer.

 

[Angsty]

Even cleaning old records is just possibly a slight improvement over the general poor performance....but who knows what you might prefer.

Cleaning old records, for me, is just as much for reducing damage to the stylus as it is for improving the sound. I have seen some really crudy old records that I would never let touch my stylus before cleaning. I have also seen records that look superficially clean until you wipe them down and find that the cleaning cloth turned brown.

 

[Robin L]

Cleaning old records, for me, is just as much for reducing damage to the stylus as it is for improving the sound. I have seen some really crudy old records that I would never let touch my stylus before cleaning. I have also seen records that look superficially clean until you wipe them down and find that the cleaning cloth turned brown.

If one is buying used records or is playing discs from an old collection, it behooves one to have an ultrasonic cleaner. I fortunately lived near a record store that had a record cleaning service. There are low-cost ultrasonic record cleaners, but I'd first check if there's a local shop that can ultrasonically clean records. I've used numerous vacuum-based cleaners, found the less expensive ones would have oils and such migrate from one record to the next. If one only is playing new vinyl, a record cleaner is not really important though a stylus cleaner is.

 

[JP]

We're in Vista Village.

[wave]

 

[Angsty]

If one is buying used records or is playing discs from an old collection, it behooves one to have an ultrasonic cleaner. I fortunately lived near a record store that had a record cleaning service. There are low-cost ultrasonic record cleaners, but I'd first check if there's a local shop that can ultrasonically clean records. I've used numerous vacuum-based cleaners, found the less expensive ones would have oils and such migrate from one record to the next. If one only is playing new vinyl, a record cleaner is not really important though a stylus cleaner is.

I agree, but for a newbie that’s an extra cost and complication. I have the Humminguru ultrasonic and I love it. So much easier than manual cleaning or using a vacuum device, although a vacuum RCM can be faster.

For a newbie, I’d recommend just a stylus brush versus a “cleaner”. Some cartridge manufacturers strongly discourage the use of solvents on their styli, but I have found a stylus brush wet with distilled water to be as effective as any other liquid cleaner.

 

[ta240]

You can buy some very nice headphones for the price of an absolutely crap turntable.

I can get a really nice toaster oven for the same price and if I'm not interested in headphones it makes about as much sense as a recommendation in a turntable thread.

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.

It is the evangelical nature of this that continues to get me; whenever anyone asks about turntables or tubes there is an attempt to save them. It isn't even usually a friendly bit of information, it is an 'are you nuts!?!?!' or 'enjoy that c%$#' kind of response.

Before getting to Vinyl find out if you are willing to pay 40-60 USD for 38 minutes of music, and maybe 1 or 2 songs you like.

And a way to get to enjoy songs you may not have liked on the first listening. It is ironic that a group that often says that the songs should be listened to the way the artist intended shy away from listening to them as the group that the artist intended. The same ones that say they'd rather learn to like an album the way an artist intended it to sound rather than have it softened or made more pleasant by the way an 'imperfect' amplifier recreates it are some of the same ones that say they'd rather avoid the other 10 songs on an album.

 

[Robin L]

I agree, but for a newbie that’s an extra cost and complication. I have the Humminguru ultrasonic and I love it. So much easier than manual cleaning or using a vacuum device, although a vacuum RCM can be faster.

This is a bad time for newbies to get into LPs. I would recommend that newcomers who want to play used LPs get a cartridge that tracks at 2.5 grams or more. I used a Shure M-44 7 cartridge when I transcribed LPs to digital formats for others. Nothing else worked as well at sticking in the groove while playing old, messed up records. I understand they are becoming unobtanium. The Audio Technica AT-XP3 cartridge should have similar characteristics.

 

[Angsty]

This is a bad time for newbies to get into LPs.

I don’t really agree, as new and used vinyl is more available now than it has been in decades. I can find decent new releases at Target and Barnes & Noble. It is an expensive time to get into vinyl, though. Those new albums will go for $25 or more each. Discogs made bargain used albums harder to find, but made more used albums available in general.

Finding great gear is a bit harder as a lot of junk is on the market for cheap. Some people advocate for used turntables, but I’d urge caution. It can be hard to tell a turntable that doesn’t turn at the right speed or has worn bearings if you don’t know what to look for. The $30 special at the thrift store may be there for a good reason. A turntable restoration project is not generally what newbies are looking for.

There are good new carts under $150 that track well and sound great, but they are much harder to find under $50. A used MM cart may not be a bad gamble if you can find a new replacement stylus easily. Another strong note of caution in buying used carts with the expectation of using the existing stylus.

Phono preamps are a whole other area of slippery slope.