Budget automatic turntables

[pegleg1945]

Hi,

I want to buy an automatic turntable for a spare room that will be used as a games room/leisure room.

I don't want to go down the secondhand route and I don't need to digitalise my vinyl so USBs etc arn't required,just a plain old auto turntable.

I've looked at a few but the one that catches my eye is the Pioneer PL-30 automatic turntable.All the reviews that I've seen are favourable and it's seems solidly built.

I've always had secondhand Technics decks and I use a SL-1200mk2 for my listening pleasure but I want something that a youngster can be left in charge of so it has to be automatic,(and guaranteed).

Any thoughts or experiences of this Pioneer turntable would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[MajorFubar]

...to point you towards something like an SP25 until you inferred it had to be new. ("guaranteed")

 

[iMark]

Hi,

I've looked at a few but the one that catches my eye is the Pioneer PL-30 automatic turntable.All the reviews that I've seen are favourable and it's seems solidly built.

It looks like a very decent piece of kit and gets good reviews. Since there aren't many fully automatic turntables being produced anymore, your options are rather limited. I get a feeling that Pioneer may have spotted a gap in the market: a very decent turntable with a proper cartridge, bulit-in phono stage and with very easy operation. Not everyone who likes to play records prefers fully manual operation.

Very similar to what we could have bought 30 years ago from a brand like Dual (except back then every amp had a phono stage). I still have a Dual CS-1249 in storage (in need of service and a small repair) that belonged to my mum, bought in 1978. She loved it because it was fully automatic and it sounded very nice.

 

[jjbomber]

I've looked at a few but the one that catches my eye is the Pioneer PL-30 automatic turntable.All the reviews that I've seen are favourable and it's seems solidly built.

I had a Pioneer PL400 fully automatic turntable years ago. Absolutely bomb proof and great sounding. The pruists wull argus that they could hear the hum of the motor but I never could. So the Pioneer would be my weapon of choice.

 

[pegleg1945]

Thank for taking the trouble to reply,I feel confident that Pioneer would only introduce something that they thought was good enough to keep their name as a quality HiFi producer.

I think that this turntable will do nicely thank you.

 

[iMark]

Thank for taking the trouble to reply,I feel confident that Pioneer would only introduce something that they thought was good enough to keep their name as a quality HiFi producer.

I think that this turntable will do nicely thank you.

I have just found this review of the Pioneer PL-30.

http://www.analogplanet.com/content/pioneer-pl-30-k-automatic-single-play-turntable-0#JS4fSDIBZxQASJav.97

One major flaw in this player: the tracking force of the installed cartridge: 3.5 g. That's outrageously high and will wear out your records. You can change the stylus though for one with a normal tracking force.

 

[pegleg1945]

Hi,

Yes I noticed that too,some reviewers who seem to know what they're doing say that they will change the cartridge for a Audio Technica which tracks at 1.5 -2.00 gms,doesn't have bad reviews either.

Should I end up buying this turntable then I will most probably do the same thing,some of my vinyl is in excess of 45 years old and I would like to keep it for a little bit longer.

Thanks for pointing this out.

 

[iMark]

Should I end up buying this turntable then I will most probably do the same thing,some of my vinyl is in excess of 45 years old and I would like to keep it for a little bit longer.

Thanks for pointing this out.

You're welcome. I was just thinking that some of the vinyl I own (and play!) was bought my parents around 1960. They certainly didn't own a hifi graded record player back then. So I wonder how bad the wear actually is with a tracking weight of 3.5g. 🙂

 

[drummerman]

Should I end up buying this turntable then I will most probably do the same thing,some of my vinyl is in excess of 45 years old and I would like to keep it for a little bit longer.

Thanks for pointing this out.

You're welcome. I was just thinking that some of the vinyl I own (and play!) was bought my parents around 1960. They certainly didn't own a hifi graded record player back then. So I wonder how bad the wear actually is with a tracking weight of 3.5g. 🙂

Whilst not exactly feathery, wrongly adjusted tracking force (to light or heavy) will most probably damage your records more. Get a cheap digital gauge.