Find me a starter turntable!

TroyD

All things being equal, if you got a couple hundred as a budget, I wouldn’t really even mess with vinyl. Yes, vinyl CAN sound amazing....but it is costly and requires effort. For 200 bucks you can bag a competent digital source.

A 200 dollar turntable of unknown pedigree? I wouldn’t even bother. At best, it’s going to sound bad....at worst, it will damage your records.

If passive components in a vintage speaker give you pause.....active components in a vintage table should terrify you.

Now, I’m not saying that vintage tables are all crap.....there good ones, but there are WAY more that are garbage. Further, even a decent quality vintage table is going to require maintenance that requires some knowledge and/or expense that drags the cost benefit over a new table down to nil.

If you haven’t owned a turntable before....do yourself a huge favor, plunk down the cash for a new Rega p1 or similar affair. In a matter of minutes you can be up and running with a good deck that will sound pretty darn good.

Just my .02...

tratliff

I guess the point is it takes time and effort to get good things out of vinyl. But if you invest the time you will be rewarded.

F1nut

Vinyl is a massive hole.

dromunds

My Denon is in my avatar and I’ve used it for years without a single issue. It’s a great table. There are lots of very fine vintage tables. Plus they can be refurbed just like any other piece of kit.

audioluvr

F1nut wrote: »

Vinyl is a massive hole.

Oh I don't plan on actually using it. I just want to look at it. Kinda like my piano...

jdjohn

audioluvr wrote: »

Oh I don't plan on actually using it. I just want to look at it. Kinda like my piano...

Then you might want something sexier than that HK deck. It's kinda grey and blah...more about function over form. A nice wooden plinth or black piano-gloss finish, and a nice shiny chrome platter will provide more eye-candy.

mhardy6647

I'd love to have one of the h/k tts of that era. They were quite good.
The only "issue" that I know of has been mentioned already. The fashion in those days was low-mass arms, which require high-compliance cartridges. Current fashion trends have shifted to heavier arms and lower-compliance cartridges. There are few if any optimal cartridges made today for an arm such as that on the h/k. That said, the classic (plastic body) Grado MI cartridges of the 70s worked well in low mass arms; I suspect that today's still would. I don't know that, though.

Vintage cartridges with modern replacement styli is a massive rabbit hole.

While I'd agree that $200 is probably a ridiculous budget for any even halfway serious foray into playing rekkids in 2021 -- it's not necessary, even today, to spend crazy money to get very good playback of records. A good preamp/EQ, of course, is also needed.

TroyD

F1nut wrote: »

Vinyl is a massive hole.

Kinda like my first wife....

TroyD

IMO, 500ish is really the starting point of what I would consider playback beyond just novelty.

Again, yes, LOTS of great tables....I've always lusted after the old Denons an Thorens.....but, it's a pig in a poke and if you don't really know what you are in for, you will get far better results with less hassle with a new table.

Put this way, if you don't know how to mount and align a cartridge.....I wouldn't consider a vintage table.

Just my .02

jdjohn

When a subject has a pre-existing audiophile condition (of which there is no known cure), going down the vinyl rabbit can be costly, and frustrating. A fairly high degree of DIY (at least for setup) should be considered a definite pre-requisite.

The good news is: there are support groups...happy to help you spend your money.

TroyD

I’m adroit at spending other people’s money….

pitdogg2

And a glorious wordsmith I see...

TroyD

that's a nice way of saying that I'm full of schit LMAO

pitdogg2

TroyD wrote: »

that's a nice way of saying that I'm full of schit LMAO

you see right through me

audioluvr

Well picked up the HK T65c! The PO and I demo'd it on his Luxman tube integrated. Other than a few scuff marks on the cover it's flawless! Was surprised how heavy this thing was. Has a Grado gold cartridge. And the stylus was replaced a couple years ago.

msg

Nice, Rob!
I was just reading up on it a little. Auto lift at the end of the record?

Looks like they came with that weight/clamp. Did the PO give it to you with the table? Is it slip on, or screwdown? From photos I saw, it looks like a friction fit from the shape of the spindle.

Heavy MDF base, heavy aluminum platter, and carbon tonearm. Nice pickup!

Looking forward to hearing what you think, and laughing at you when you realize what a mistake you've made joining the ranks of vinyl enthusiasts. This'll potentially be the biggest rabbit hole tunnel you've slipped into yet. Every aspect of it, beginning with cleaning and care. Then sleeves and storage to keep everything nice. But it's fun, immersive, and all part of the ritual.

Do you already have records, or will you be building a collection?

Discogs is great. My local record store sucks (jerk owner not keen on helping when you buy something from him that's blemmed) so I pretty much buy everything on Discogs or major retailers now.

Have fun, dude!

jdjohn

Congrats! If you ever feel like you want more high-end detail, you can try something besides the Grado. They are known to be on the warmer side, but that can be perfect for some types of music, so just depends.

Milito

Congrats Rob!
The journey begins.......................

audioluvr

Thanks guys. Not ready to use it yet as I need to pick up a phono stage some cables and a record cleaner kit of some sort. No intentions of replacing how I listen to music right now but if the opportunity arises and I'm boored as sin I'll throw on a spinnah. If anyone has any good suggestions for my basic item needs let me know.

msg wrote: »

Looks like they came with that weight. Did the PO give it to you with the table? Is it slip on, or screwdown? From photos I saw, it looks like a friction fit from the shape of the spindle.

Do you already have records, or will you be building a collection?

Came with the weight. Lifts up the needle and shuts off at the end of the record. The suspension is calibrated to be used with the weight. I'll probably be picking up a few choice recordings here and there but my cousin inherited my uncles record collection of thousands of records from when he was a D.J. in the 60's and 70's so I'll probably just borrow a hand full at a time to review.

jdjohn wrote: »

Congrats! If you ever feel like you want more high-end detail, you can try something besides the Grado. They are known to be on the warmer side, but that can be perfect for some types of music, so just depends.

Thanks. When I get to the point of wanting to try something different I'll PM you.