New to turntables

pyrocyborg

Hello everyone!

So here's the problem... :cheesygrin: : my girlfriend came back from one of her friends house yesterday and asked me about getting a turntable. While I said my amp could probably run it, I thought a few minutes and told her I had no phono input on my NAD326BEE, so that we would probably need a turntable pre-amp to make it work.

So, from what I can see, I would need to get both a pre-amp and a turntable. I've seen some great looking ones, but I know we must be ready to invest a certain amount of money to make it worth it. I don't have by any mean any high-end stuff as you can see in my sigle, but what would be a correct starting turntable? Anything around 350$ or do I need something more high-end?

And what about the pre-amp? Is the NAD PP-2 Phono Pre-amp any good? Any better option for around 130 bucks? Is it worth it to get such entry level stuff when speaking "turntables"? Well, I may have my mother's old turntable laying around, but it won't work without any pre-amp, so I can't see if it's any good (I do not even know what brand or model it is)...

What may makes us step back is the price of the Vinyl themselves: While having a complete bookshelf must be incredible, it must cost a lot considering most Vinyl cost way more than their CD counterpart. Also, could anyone tell me about the durability of the vinyl itself? How many times are you able to listen to a certain vinyl before it's quality decreases?

Well, my girlfriend asked me about this because she liked the fact that she could manipulate the vinyl... She was not very interrested in my system before, so it might be the time to hook her on this hobby :razz:

Any information/comment/opinion would be really usefull.

chumlie

Audio Technica ATLP120 for $220 at Amazon. No need for a phone preaamp. just plug it in useing standard ic's. For the money its not bad.

hochpt21

Getting into vinyl can be as much or little as you make it. It can be a somewhat budget operation, or it can be a whole 'nother rabbit hole.

I started with a $60 tt, upgraded to a $120, and then a $500. They all sounded good to me as I "grew."

My suggestion (which is my opinion only) is to...........

1) Buy a used working player for under $100
2) Buy a $35 phono pre from Amazon
3) Go to a couple record shops and start a small collection
4) Play records

Here is the big step...See if it lasts.

You may find that you're hooked in which case...upgrade TT's and buy more vinyl.
You may also find that it's too much work and the novelty wears off. In which case you're only in a couple hundred bucks.

Again that is just my opinion and others may tell you to go big right off the bat.

pyrocyborg

hochpt21 wrote: »

You may find that you're hooked in which case...upgrade TT's and buy more vinyl.
You may also find that it's too much work and the novelty wears off. In which case you're only in a couple hundred bucks.

Again that is just my opinion and others may tell you to go big right off the bat.

That's a good way to think about it! If my mother's turntable still works fine, I might give it a shot before investing in more than a phono pre. However, if she's ready to spare a coin, it'll probably easier to get what we want

And thanks Chumlie, I'll try to get a look at this too.

BlueFox

pyrocyborg wrote: »

Well, my girlfriend asked me about this because she liked the fact that she could manipulate the vinyl...

She wants to spin the records backwards and play DJ. Stay away from vinyl. :eek:

gdb

Make sure ya got a good "needle" no matter what table you try, new or old. A bad one is a sure-fire way to destroy helpless records !

pyrocyborg

BlueFox wrote: »

She wants to spin the records backwards and play DJ. Stay away from vinyl. :eek:

Haha! I hope it's not the case...

gdb, what should I be looking at if I ever want to make sure that the needle is in good condition? :question:

pyrocyborg

Okay, so I have my mother's turntable and a few vinyl records from CCR, Alice Cooper, The Beatles and Pink Floyd. Too bad that Dark Side of the Moon record is sighly warped...

I used her old receiver as a pre-amp and it seems to work fine. However, as far as I can tell, the records weren't used for at least 20 to 25 years and the turntable itself is like new (my father told me he barely used it since we were born), so I guess the needle is in shape.

I tried the turntable with an useless record (a crappy one to say the least), and it seemed to work, so I tried with PF Dark Side of the Moon and I've seen that it's barelly useable now due tothe slight warping...

So far, I know this setup is far from optimal, and that my records are probably smudged, or simply dusty, but I'm not sure if it's for me. There is way more crackles that I'm used to, and while the sound is very warm, there isn't a lot of details. Is it because the turntable is in fact an entry-level one, or are vinyl records that way?

Thanks

bmbguy

pyrocyborg wrote: »

There is way more crackles that I'm used to...

Welcome to the world of vinyl. A lot of us old farts had nothing but those 'crackles' to listen to way back when...

Sounds like the LPs may be in questionable condition at best -- you might try some known-decent vinyl with maybe a new stylus? Though the stylus itself may not be worn, the stylus suspension (cantilever?), being that old, is probably not in great shape anymore. The rubber dries up and stiffens after a while.

Just a thought.

Polkersince85

Go here: http://www.vinylengine.com/ and create an account. Then get your read on. There is probably a manual for your table there also.

pyrocyborg

bmbguy wrote: »

Sounds like the LPs may be in questionable condition at best -- you might try some known-decent vinyl with maybe a new stylus? Though the stylus itself may not be worn, the stylus suspension (cantilever?), being that old, is probably not in great shape anymore. The rubber dries up and stiffens after a while.

Just a thought.

Thanks for the feedback. However, I think that I'm probably not used to crackles... There is no large pop or anything on the LP itself, but maybe some dust is creating more crackles than they should. I heard some "flac" copies of some LPs, and they kinda sounded like this (in term of crackles, couldn't say in term of SQ). Maybe it's because I didn't grow with that kind of "artifacts" on my music. Liking it so far! Almost played all 15 albums I have.

bmbguy

Yeah, real bad/dirty vinyl has an almost continuous 'hash' in the background -- terrible. On the other hand, much of my old vinyl ('old' being all of it!) has been pretty well cared for. The best sound nearly clean, with only the occasional 'pop' or 'click'.

Even though I am 'of' the vinyl age, I'm with you -- I still prefer the music without the 'artifacts', if possible. Which is why I've been digitizing some of my own vinyl to CD, and 'declicking' it with software along the way. (Some of that is for preservation purposes as well, and for convenience -- I hate having to get up and flip sides...!)

Have fun with it!

pyrocyborg

Thanks! Well, I won't be using it as a main medium, but yeah, for oldies (60s, 70s and maybe 80s stuff), I guess the spirit of the music is in there. I like the fact that it's a lot warmer, but I had my system had troubles reproducing orchestra with vinyl. During higher passages, it sounded congested, but I think I should clean my LPs to get the best from them.

BTW, my mother's TT is a Pioneer PL-570, so that's a pretty cheap machine... :P (No, this isn't the classy wooden PL-570 from the 70s, but a black plastic/metal version from the 80s... don't know why they have the same name)

Is the fact that I'm using a cheap Pioneer receiver as phono pre affecting overall performance vs an external pre like the PP-2?

hochpt21

You'll definitely have some popping and cracking here and there. A record cleaning machine will help, but make sure you're all in before you make that investment. It also depends what condition you buy your records in.

The payoff comes when you get a pristine record that you dig...boy it's like heaven.

The hobby is a lot of work, but IMO...worth it.