1st time Turntable purchase advice please!

[Andrew-C]

Right then, I've wanted to experience the mystical grail that is vinyl for some time now, but up until now my main source has always been CD.

I know we all give in to budget creep, but this really is a bit of a frivolous purchase so it CAN'T happen here. My main source will always be CD for ease of playing in the car, ripping to iTunes, etc, so buying vinyl copies of CDs I already own really is a bit of a luxury. The wife does not get it AT ALL!

Now my fear is that as I'm on a budget, I'll be getting an entry level turntable, and the sound quality won't match my CD player, and I'll end up being disappointed with vinyl and will have wasted my money.
To give some background, CDs are currently played through a Cyrus CD8X, Arcam A85 / Denon AVR-2807, and Tannoy DC6T speakers. So decent low-to-middling kit, but nothing outrageous.
I was looking at the Rega RP3/Elys2 combo or something at that price point. My questions are thus:

1. Would this do vinyl justice within the limits of my current system?

2. Would it compare favourably with the Cyrus as a source?

3. If the answer to 2. is a 'No', what sort of price point would I need to look at to better the Cyrus, (this is the point after all).

I don't want to blow £500 and find that at that price point my Cyrus sounds better. If I need to spend more, it'll have to wait until I can do records the justice they deserve!

PS - I know listening myself is key, but my gear is old and replacating it with modern equivalents will be difficult at best, and then comparing different turntables on a level playing field even harder.

PPS - Sorry for the waffle!

 

[plastic penguin]

Right then, I've wanted to experience the mystical grail that is vinyl for some time now, but up until now my main source has always been CD.

I know we all give in to budget creep, but this really is a bit of a frivolous purchase so it CAN'T happen here. My main source will always be CD for ease of playing in the car, ripping to iTunes, etc, so buying vinyl copies of CDs I already own really is a bit of a luxury. The wife does not get it AT ALL!

Now my fear is that as I'm on a budget, I'll be getting an entry level turntable, and the sound quality won't match my CD player, and I'll end up being disappointed with vinyl and will have wasted my money.

To give some background, CDs are currently played through a Cyrus CD8X, Arcam A85 / Denon AVR-2807, and Tannoy DC6T speakers. So decent low-to-middling kit, but nothing outrageous.

I was looking at the Rega RP3/Elys2 combo or something at that price point. My questions are thus:

1. Would this do vinyl justice within the limits of my current system?

2. Would it compare favourably with the Cyrus as a source?

3. If the answer to 2. is a 'No', what sort of price point would I need to look at to better the Cyrus, (this is the point after all).

I don't want to blow £500 and find that at that price point my Cyrus sounds better. If I need to spend more, it'll have to wait until I can do records the justice they deserve!

PS - I know listening myself is key, but my gear is old and replacating it with modern equivalents will be difficult at best, and then comparing different turntables on a level playing field even harder.

PPS - Sorry for the waffle!

Okay -- I'll try and throw some light on the subject. First, you can't compare like-for-like when it comes to CD and vinyl (or it would be unfair to compare). Both formats have their respective merits, and both have pitfalls.

Your Cyrus CDP is a very good machine within the price point, as is the Rega RP3.

To put this into some perspective, I have a £900 Naim CD5i and Electrocompaniet PC-1. Both are fine machines. Also, my Pro-ject Xpression (RRP £210), isn't as accurate as the my CDPs but I get as much pleasure from my cheapo deck as I do from the CDs.

Turntables, even budget ones, lack a little detail resolution and clarity compared to the CDP but IMO has more realism - it sounds more natural on vinyl.

The best advice I can give you is to dem a Rega alongside the Cyrus and decide for yourself.

 

[Al ears]

Good advice PP. In this case in particular an audition is essential.

I don't particularly believe vinyl can be done one a tight budget and often leads to disappointment. If starting completely from new without any vinyl in collection at all things are going to get expensive.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

I used to have the arcam a85 and it's still a fine amp, but does it have the built in phono stage? If not you'll have to factor this into the budget , also a better cartridge on the rp3 will bring it so much closer to your cd player in terms of refinement and detail resolution. My old expression got a massive boost in performance going from a ortofon om10 to 2m blue. Mr Al ears will guide you in this department I'm sure.

 

[Andrew-C]

Thanks for taking the time to reply guys. Today I spent quite some listening to various turntables at VERY varied price points, compared them to CD players and generally came to the realisation that this could be a very expensive, and very slippery slope! A turntable is never going to be my main source, that will always remain CDs. I have FAR too many CDs to change now, and I've never been a fan of buying downloads in lieu of having the actual physical disc. Streaming has kind of passed me by so far, but may come later with some kind of Sonos system. With that in mind, I simply can't justify matching the price of my CD player, as it really is a luxury purchase. I love the tactility of the records themselves, using the tone arm, the crackle of the needle, the whole deal. Not forgetting to mention the more natural and warmer sound of vinyl. So it needs to be good enough to do the medium justice, but at a budget. Was it possible? Well I listened to various Rega and Linn TT (not sure of the model, but £2.5k worth), and whilst I could definitely hear the value in the Linn, I felt that the Rega 3 didn't disappoint compared to the CD player. This was played through a high-end system (£10k+), so I'm confident my much more modest system won't highlight any deficiencies. There's always the option to upgrade the power supply, (I felt it was possibly snake oil, but was definitely noticeable), as well as obviously the cartridge if I want to improve things further. So a deal was done and he even threw in an LP as I'm a virgin at present! My mum laughed as she's just kitted her house top to bottom with Sonos and has embraced streaming to the full, and here I am returning to the medium she started with! So here we go, alas my Arcam doesn't have the phono stage option, so to start it'll be playing through the Denon, but eventually I would like to use the Arcam. With that in mind, can anyone recommend a sensibly priced separate phono stage, and also any good record shops in the Berkshire / Surrey area!

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Oops, I accidentally hit the report button,when trying for the reply on my tablet. Sorry. Anyway regarding stages, I reckon a good place to start might be rega's own fono mm. It should punch above your denon receiver without trouble. But yet again it all comes down to money and what you're willing to pay and also wheather you want to just use mm carts or mc or both. There's a heck of a lot to choose from at all sorts of prices as I have just found out myself, and going by reviews and checking out forums, most of the phono stages on the market seem to be good or very good. I'm sure your dealer will also help you out when the time comes.

 

[Jonathan Cox]

I found your experience interesting as I'm looking to get a record player soon also. I wouldn't want to go above £500 so just wondering how you compare your Cyrus to any previous kit you used? As you said the Rega compared well, would you say difference would be more pronounced over what I have ( Marantz CD6004 )? BTW I've a good collection of records already and used to love their sound even on my old 80s all in one Pioneer system. I understand as has been stated its not a level playing field but asking in viewbofnyour recent demo. Thank you.

 

[penfold_001]

I live over in Guildford. So I'm more the on the Hampshire/Surrey border.

We've got two 2nd hand record shops here in Guildford.

The "Collectors Record Centre" and "Ben's Collectors Records".

There is also an independent shop called "People" records if you are looking to buy new.

If you fancy a trip down to the coast to Southsea in Portsmouth........

"Pie & Vinyl", part Vinyl record store, part Pie & Mash shop is truly a unique experience.

 

[thescarletpronster]

Oh, is Collector's Records still going? I assumed it would have closed down after Ben opened his rival shop. Is it still on that curve next to the bus station? And is Nigel the angry manager still running it? I lived in G'ford about 25 years ago, when records were still records and this were all fields.

 

[penfold_001]

Yep, still going and still in the same place.

The guy who runs it does seem a little grumpy. It could well be "Angry" Nigel!

Even though it's closer to my office for, I still tend to go past it and up to Bens.

 

[thescarletpronster]

Glad you've still got a few shops to choose from. Ben's was by far the better shop, he took his enthusiasm with him when he left Collectors and set up his rival shop.

I'm still trying to find a decent second-hand shop not a billion miles from where I now live.