Stereo question

Song4uman

Well-Known Member
so I started to listen to some vinyl last night and my turntable no longer works. Have had it a long time.

Thought old check with you all to see what your thoughts are.

Direct drive or belt?
Brand that you like?
Internal or external preamp?

Wanting to listen to Carpenters vinyl soon.

Jonathan
 
All depends on how much you wish to spend I have had about 30 turntables over the years here's my preferences top 6 anyways

1. Technics 1210 mk II , with original arm , damping trough for arm , off board power supply , mike new bearing and heavy platter Mat , Nagaoka MP11 cart ( or modern equivalent ) direct drive and simple to operate .

1. Rega Planar 3 - stock item from Rega , simple to set up and use out of the box - belt drive.

3. New Technics 1200GR turntable , well worth investigating.

If you ain't financially constraint at this time

Garrard 301 ( modern re issue not Garrard ) from the UK
Or
Michell Orbe with an SME tonearm
Or
Linn LP12 with ekos tonearm

If I had £1300 id go out and buy for ease of use and good sound the new Technics 1200GR or 1210 GR
 
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If you are only playing records casually then any of the Rega turntables starting below £250 - £600 should be more than adequate

My current deck is a modified Technics 1210 , very happy with that and as direct drive simple to use and built like a tank.
Previous decks of note I've owned.

Michell Orbe
Linn LP 12 ( owned 6 of them )
Rega P2 P3 etc ( good basic decks )
Garrard 301 / 401 old decks but with a bit of modification can be World Class
Technics SP10 mk 2 Broadcast quality, but needs a quality arm and heavy plinth to site it on or open plinth if you prefer.

But for me now it's got to be a Technics as they are so easy to use.
 
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I think getting something that you can enjoy operating, and is within your level of "audiophile-ness" is the most important thing to consider. There are fine models available in both direct and belt drive. I myself had several of both kinds in my life and career (as a roving DJ) -- the Technics directs were my favorites.
 
so I started to listen to some vinyl last night and my turntable no longer works. Have had it a long time.
When you say that it "no longer works", what do you mean exactly? Does it power on (any lights come on, sound from the motor)? Is it direct drive, or belt drive? If the latter, it might only need a new belt. Unless you really want to buy a new turntable (nothing wrong with that), at least try troubleshooting the old one first, to see if there's anything you can do yourself (cheaply) before scrapping it.
 
Whatever you do, don't spend too much of your nest egg on the equipment because you want to be able to afford The Carpenter's 50th Anniversary Box Set when it comes out...:laugh:!
 
You simply can't go wrong with a Technics as I mentioned above, belt drive can have problems with speed stability being an issue when the belts stretch etc, suspension decks like the Linns and Michells are excellent but you have to set them up correctly and they can demand housekeeping to keep them at their best ( I personally was always checking things with spirit levels and the like ), the Technics 1200 1210 etc require very little attention, pick your cartridge of choice, then away you go. Nothing really more to consider until you get itchy feet possibly?, and look at getting higher levels of resolution from them and there are simple tweaks through to moderately expensive tweaks which pull more information from the vinyl. But in all honest if your not a nailed on audiophile like I am, a basic 1210 with a Audio Technica AT95e sounds very pleasant indeed.
 
Thanks so much. Not an audiophile at all but don't want the cheapest either.

There is a top rated ( on several sites) Audio Technica. I know it isn't the top but I don't really have extra money for more. It is direct drive but some say that you can hear the motor through the sound.

Thanks for all of the info. The Techniques is rated high but not made anymore. Have you all purchased electronics on eBay??
 
What we've had for years...probably purchased in 1992...
Aiwa receiver
Sony speakers
JVC turntable
We had Techniques cassette at one time. And a CD player also. Both of those have been gone for years.
 
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Myself personally I wouldn't compare the Turntable you mention above to a Technics 1210 or 1200 it just looks like it!. They have copied it externally but trust me it won't be anywhere near as good as a Technics.
Technics are once again making turntables after a gap of a few years they make one called a 1200GR but will be expensive
.

If you are in the USA I would recommend buying this as an ideal starter deck will be better than the AT and available on your country

Rega P1

Link here

Rega - Planar 1 Turntable (P1) | Shop Music Direct
 
If looking to buy a brand new Deck at your price point options are limited to be honest , if you want something audiophile with good tonearm and cartridge at a reasonable cost I'd 100% recommend Buying Rega and they hold their prices if you decide to upgrade in the future.
 
Thanks all.

Are there good turntables that play 331/3,45 &78 and can transfer from vinyl to digital? That is what I'm looking for.
 
Thanks all.

Are there good turntables that play 331/3,45 &78 and can transfer from vinyl to digital? That is what I'm looking for.
In that case, the Audio Technica turntable you linked to is exactly what you're looking for. A word of warning though, you can't play 78 records with the included stylus, if you try, you'll wreck the stylus, and the record. You'll have to buy a special 78 rpm stylus and swap them depending on what type of record you want to play. Fortunately, there is a 78 rpm stylus that fits the AT95E cartridge that comes with the turntable, and it only costs $25:

LP Gear 78 RPM replacement for Audio-Technica ATN-95E ATN95E needle stylus
 
I remember reading about software that allows you to playback a 78RPM record at 33 1/3, and then the software converts the music to the correct speed. I wonder if that works well or if it's just a gimmick?
 
I remember reading about software that allows you to playback a 78RPM record at 33 1/3, and then the software converts the music to the correct speed. I wonder if that works well or if it's just a gimmick?

it looks like maybe Audacity will allow this....I have that program, just had never thought to try it. Thanks all.

I will let you know how my search continues and what I decide to get. Thanks so much for the input. Thanks
JOnathan
 
I got the turntable today. I'm sure it isn't the very best but I love it and have already played multiple albums and 45's

Audio techinca lp120
Using the Aiwa AV-D58 receiver
Sony SS-D201 speakers

So excited.
 
To answer your question, most of the "super expensive" turntables are probably fully manual. Less expensive, but still high-end turntables (like many Technics models) are automatic in that they place and return the tone arm automatically, but you can't put a stack of records on them.

Technics did make a high-end record changer model in the 1970s. I don't think it caught on though.
 
I got the turntable today. I'm sure it isn't the very best but I love it and have already played multiple albums and 45's

Audio techinca lp120
Using the Aiwa AV-D58 receiver
Sony SS-D201 speakers

So excited.
Thanks for doing your research through the forum, Jonathon, and for the information that you have provided. Enjoy your listening! Thanks also to everyone else for their posts. These will give me some good background if I upgrade my turntable and system in the future. (I am using a very old turntable connected to a second-hand system supported by a mis-match of speakers atm. Has reasonable sound, though. :) ). Very useful discussion thread.
 
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