Turntables and vinyl: Analog's finest

[jyoni]

I don't remember seeing a thread about this. I'm helping a friend make a purchase, showing him how to balance tonearms, set the stylus, etc, so it's been on my mind.

I'm not really a hardcore audiophile, so hopefully this thread will see a range of quality, brands, and discussion. I'm particularly interested in sleeper setups people have that they are really happy with. Also LP purchases, collections and so on.

Mine is a Technics SL-Q3 with Audio-Technica headshell and cartridge. The cartridge is AT12XE, nude elliptical. I scored a dead-mint SL-Q2 I may switch to. I don't really want to sacrifice full auto, but these are 30+ yo devices so the simpler the better.

[DüM]

The design nerd in my really wants an old Braun turntable, but that's not too feasible money-wise and it'd probably be better to get something atleast 110 if not also more technically modern.

Also really like how older B&O jawns look though ie:

[jyoni]

Damn that's clean!

Yeah if you want something practical, cheap, and high-quality, I'd fish around the early Technics quartz stuff. Either of the ones I have, or the q202/q303 are very under the radar. They're bulletproof if treated well. The solid aluminum decks are pretty stylish too, if you can find one that isn't scratched to hell.

[jyoni]

Steezewise, I'm really fighting down the urge to pick this up. The only real justification is that it will play all the weird speeds from the '50s and '60s.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/REK-O-KUT-RONDINE-3-Turntable-plays-transcription-discs-/170683068752?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27bd80f150

[triiiangle]

I have a Rega Planar 25 with a Denon DL103R Cartridge. I've had it for almost ten years now, and have been very happy with the turntable.

[jyoni]

Wow, that's gorgeous, triiiangle. I've never heard one of those cartridges in person. What types of stylus can you get for that?

[Midnight Marauders]

The design nerd in my really wants an old Braun turntable, but that's not too feasible money-wise

go with the design nerd. Rams killed that shit, I saw a few of them floating on ebay for like 500. quality

[pompadork]

Pretty old pic

Poverty table and cartridge though. Some old Hitachi.

[percy]

its weird i was only looking at my hifi stuff last night and today i happen to see this thread on here. i basically have two systems, one for mixing (technics) and another for pure hifi. here are a few pics of my hifi stuff (excuse the dust), most of which is at least 25 years old but still serves me just fine.

[jyoni]

Pretty old pic

Poverty table and cartridge though. Some old Hitachi.

What Hitachi model?

[pompadork]

^HT-21

xxxxx10charxxxxx

[jyoni]

You'd probably be very satisified with that if it has a good cartridge setup. What is on there now? You can get a complete Shure m97xe on amazon for ~50 usd. Those are great. Affordable, nude needle, really great sound.

[pompadork]

I'm kind of broke at the moment but interested in upgrading most of my equipment soon enough.

I know I'm not the only one I know guilty of this but it's funny to spends hundreds of dollars on records and not buy a halfway decent audio setup.

[jyoni]

Well, I can certainly relate to being broke. I wouldn't worry about your table. I looked it up just like you would and it doesn't catch much criticism. In any case, anyone who would call it outright crap probably has his head too far up his ass to really listen to. Pay attention to the hits that have solutions and advice and something good to say. Those people will voice practical criticisms as well.

Another option for you would be vintage cartridges. I like AT in particular because they renamed identical shit bitd, so you can really find some seriously good scores if you bone up on it a bit. eg, this setup is the dead same as mine. Looks like it's gone, but christ that's a good deal.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/260844494492?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

[jyoni]

Nice grab coming up on a bonded Shibata, NOS and perfect. I'm going to pass on this one and wait for a raw needle.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/140607547539?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

[bdotwells]

I've looking to pickup my first turntable. Don't need anything too fancy and being able to rip vinyl easily is important. Looking at the Stanton T.55. thoughts? advice?

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/03/stanton-t.55-turntable-smal.jpg

[jyoni]

I've looking to pickup my first turntable. Don't need anything too fancy and being able to rip vinyl easily is important. Looking at the Stanton T.55. thoughts? advice?

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/03/stanton-t.55-turntable-smal.jpg

I don't know anything about that one. I have been wanting one of these for a while myself. I just scooped up an Audio-Technica ATLP120 based on recommendations. It's a direct drive quartz with a pitch adjustment. It's made to resemble a 1200, which is equal parts cool and stupid.

http://www.soundadviceblog.com/reviews/audio-technica-at-lp120-usb-turntable-a-real-find-at-200/

This seller has some damaged boxes going affordably. I got one for 80usd in an auction. It has slight cosmetic damage, so I don't think he'd take that amount for this one. It's just box damage here. Look into it and float him an offer if you like it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Audio-Technica-ATLP120-Professional-Turntable-USB-/190579048847?pt=DJ_Gear_Lighting&hash=item2c5f65818f

[bdotwells]

good looking out man, I know a direct drive is preferable to the belt drive, but does it make much difference if your not scratching? looks like you got a steal on that LP120.

[jyoni]

It was a good price! I don't like to get too deeply into any one single thing so it's perfect for me.

The quartz lock is the most appealing part of direct drive. NO fucking around when it comes to steady speed. You'd have to have a pretty nice belt drive to run smoothly all the time. Problem with that model is that full-auto can cause some electrical interference. I'm not enough of a stickler to give a shit, but marketwise, a manual or semi-auto option would have been wise.

That same article mentions the other turntable I was looking at, the Pro-Ject III USB. It's a belt drive and looks to be manual. With manual tables, direct drive is nice because you can stop the platter with your hand while you set the needle. Belt drives won't stop and will fail if you fight them. They make for tenous record starts with manuals. You could ruin grooves or bust your stylus without a gentle, confident hand.

The Pro-Ject III looks really, really awesome though. If you're in the price bracket with that Stanton, the Pro-Ject really catches alot of accolades.

[blm14]

SL1200-MK2. Rock solid, impossible to break, will last you a lifetime.

[jyoni]

^ Could do that too bdot. You can't go wrong with the Technics DD's. 1200's can be had for 200-400 usd. I know you can adapt the RCAs to an input jack. From there you'd have to figure out your software, grounding, maybe a preamp.

[JackCrank]

Sondeks are the best goddamn tables in the world. Don't care what's "better" or more expensive or whatever, pound for pound those things have been untouchable for decades.

I've got a Project Expression III with carbon tonearm and Sumiko Bluepoint Evo II cartridge playing through a project Tube box II, Linn classik and Linn Katans. Great little 3 piece setup but leaves a lot to be desired.

[entropy kid]

A bit of this, a bit of that and no pics of current setup. But usually these are the ones that are set up somewhere in my home:

Lenco L75

Thorens TD 160 and TD 165

[JackCrank]

Dunno where you heard anything about direct drives being "better" in general. For scratching, dd is the only choice. A belt will snap. For Hifi listening though belt driven is way the industry standard. Look at any really nice turntable meant for playback only and you'll see a belt. Rega, Project, and Music Hall all make great entry options at around $500 that would work for you if you don't plan on scratching.

[jyoni]

Yeah belt-drives definitely become the preference for playback with higher quality machines. For sure.

[percy]

Sondeks are the best goddamn tables in the world. Don't care what's "better" or more expensive or whatever, pound for pound those things have been untouchable for decades.

I've got a Project Expression III with carbon tonearm and Sumiko Bluepoint Evo II cartridge playing through a project Tube box II, Linn classik and Linn Katans. Great little 3 piece setup but leaves a lot to be desired.

yeh im lucky to have had a father who is in to hifi, so i grew up with all linn stuff. i upgraded his system for him on his 60th and took all his old equipment for myself

my current set up is a linn sondek with ethos arm and karma cartridge. kairn pre amp, lk100 x3 amps, karik cd and keilidh speakers.

[JackCrank]

yeh im lucky to have had a father who is in to hifi, so i grew up with all linn stuff. i upgraded his system for him on his 60th and took all his old equipment for myself

my current set up is a linn sondek with ethos arm and karma cartridge. kairn pre amp, lk100 x3 amps, karik cd and keilidh speakers.

= Not fucking around.

Dang that's nice. I've had my classik for well over a decade and always tell myself I'll upgrade it to components, but when i had the option and went to my dad's old 4 piece linn set up I missed the simplicity and quality of the classik so i went back. Nordost blue heavens keeping it all hooked up and it sounds just great for somebody who moves pretty much once a year.

[blm14]

The thing that I like about direct drive is that there's like no actual motor. It's just current. I've seen direct drive 1200s from the 1980s that have never been serviced or cleaned and still work perfectly.

And for the record, if you're talking about things like audiophile and high quality sound output, then your cartridge, needle, receiver, speakers and CABLING matter WAY more than what type of turntable you have. Remember the only purpose of the turntable itself is to ROTATE THE RECORD at the proper speed. You could do this by HAND and with some ortofon cartridges and klipsch speakers your shit would still sound amazing.

[JackCrank]

The thing that I like about direct drive is that there's like no actual motor. It's just current. I've seen direct drive 1200s from the 1980s that have never been serviced or cleaned and still work perfectly.

And for the record, if you're talking about things like audiophile and high quality sound output, then your cartridge, needle, receiver, speakers and CABLING matter WAY more than what type of turntable you have. Remember the only purpose of the turntable itself is to ROTATE THE RECORD at the proper speed. You could do this by HAND and with some ortofon cartridges and klipsch speakers your shit would still sound amazing.

Gonna have to completely disagree with you on this one. A turntable is significantly more than just a reliable motor that keeps good time. What you just said is analogous to saying that the guitar has less to do with the tone than the cable.

A turntable deals with such minute vibrations that having a a weak platform really deteriorates the sound. So yes, your cartridge, tonearm, amp, cables, etc all do make a big difference in sound, but having a thick, sturdy plinth, a platter that dampens vibrations, good feet that don't transfer ambient vibrations from the surrounding environment, etc. all add to sound quality (and price). I'd say that one of the most common steps that a turntable designer takes to improve sound quality is to physically separate the motor from the platter thus removing that source of vibration which keeps the needle planted more firmly in the groove.

Direct drive, which most definitely has a motor (Def: An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.), totally goes against this and directly drives the platter with no physical separation which drives all that vibration right into the needle. Not saying a DD can't sound great, but know what you're talking about son.

[blm14]

There's two kinds of direct drive turntables - the kind I am talking about is the electromagnetic one (like in 1200s). The copper coil under the platter interacts with a magnetic ferrous ore under the spindle.

Of course there's a huge difference between a shitty turntable that has a wobbly shaky platter and a sturdy vibration dampening surface. But my point was only that once you reach a certain point in terms of quality it's not like a $1200 turntable is going to sound all that much better than a $400 one, because by that point you will most likely have other sound quality bottlenecks that will be more noticeable.

I am shocked at how frequently people use crappy speaker wire, for example.