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Turntable Suggestions

N

Neapolitan6th

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Nov 18, 2016
Messages
1,182
I wouldn't mind some advice on some good turntables (and cartridges too) to look at as I am new to vinyl.

My family and friends have a lot of old vinyl records that are just sitting around that they have offered to me.

My experience in this regard is pretty minimal.

Price range: under $300 ideally. Up to $500 if the features are worth it. I already have a good preamplifier so I don't need any built in and I also don't desire any USB either. Just a solid well respected turntable that effectively reproduces a vinyl record with as little noise as can be expected within my budget.

I will consider used and new, but new is preferred.

Thanks!
 
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That depends on the condition of the old records. A budget TT would be something like an Audio-Technica AT60 at $100. A good, all-around TT would be the Audio-Technica AT120 at $300. The included cartridge ( AT95E ) is OK. A step-up cartridge would be either the Shure M97xE or the Ortofon 2M Red, both around $100. A more modern-looking TT ( vs. a DJ style ) would be the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon at $400, which comes with an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge. I prefer direct drive TTs vs. belt-driven. The AT120 and Debut Carbon are direct drive while the AT60 is belt-driven. I'd plan on spending an additional $70 to $100 on a record cleaning kit and a stylus force gauge and alignment tool. Turntable Lab sells a cartridge care kit for $50 and GrooveWasher sells a record care kit for $50, both on Amazon. Plenty of options for digital force gauges, but I have not tried any of them. You'll need to buy a special cartridge if you plan on playing any 78 RPM records. The Audio-Technica VM670SP is the one I have for 78s.

I have both the AT120 and Debut Carbon and use the AT95E and 2M Red cartridges on 33s and 45s. Good enough for what I do as far as vinyl goes... just a little conversion to digital formats.
 
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jevans64 said:
That depends on the condition of the old records. A budget TT would be something like an Audio-Technica AT60 at $100. A good, all-around TT would be the Audio-Technica AT120 at $300. The included cartridge ( AT95E ) is OK. A step-up cartridge would be either the Shure M97xE or the Ortofon 2M Red, both around $100. A more modern-looking TT ( vs. a DJ style ) would be the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon at $400, which comes with an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge. I prefer direct drive TTs vs. belt-driven. The AT120 and Debut Carbon are direct drive while the AT60 is belt-driven. I'd plan on spending an additional $70 to $100 on a record cleaning kit and a stylus force gauge and alignment tool. Turntable Lab sells a cartridge care kit for $50 and GrooveWasher sells a record care kit for $50, both on Amazon. Plenty of options for digital force gauges, but I have not tried any of them. You'll need to buy a special cartridge if you plan on playing any 78 RPM records. The Audio-Technica VM670SP is the one I have for 78s.

I have both the AT120 and Debut Carbon and use the AT95E and 2M Red cartridges on 33s and 45s. Good enough for what I do as far as vinyl goes... just a little conversion to digital formats.
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Man, thank you for your detailed input. I actually bit the bullet and bought the Pro-ject Primary Phono turntable which comes with a Ortofon OM5e cartridge. Came out to $250 plus the Schiit Mani Preamp I picked up.

I'll share my experiences once it comes in. I too am hoping to convert as much as I can to digital. It would be nice to go a bit higher end, but I've already spent the majority of my audio budget on DACs, Amps, and all that good stuff.

I'll be converting everything to digital after I pick up a A->D converter. Hopefully everything goes smoothly. Could take awhile to convert thousands of records haha.

Thanks for the advice!
 
If you're getting records from friends and family I recommend cleaning them with wood glue first. I do it to all my thrift store records, works better than any other method I've found.
 
capt_cope said:
If you're getting records from friends and family I recommend cleaning them with wood glue first. I do it to all my thrift store records, works better than any other method I've found.
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I was actually just wondering about this. Will look into it. Thanks!
 
A bit of wood glue, then sanding and polishing and your vinyl is nice and flat again. Those annoying grooves are gone.
 
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