Cheap, student newbie turntable advice.

[admin_exported]

Hi all,

I would like to expand into the world of vinyl what with the huge amount of good records at car boots and so on but, I'm now a student and have very little to play with money wise.

So, I'm looking to huint down something cheap and second hand through local rags, forums or ebay but is there any particualr units anyone could reccomend?

Whan I say cheap though I mean a max of £50! I know that won't get me much but is there anything that is even remotely ok ish out there thats worth a shot?

Thankyou in advance!

 

[scene]

Hi mudchute, you might be able to pick up a project debt II like mine on eBay for around £50. You'll need an amp with a phono stage or a separate phono stage... Unless you can get the model with built in phono stage or the USB version, but I doubt you'll get those for £50

The debut 2 is a great little tt and can be upgraded by adding a new pickup, or even a tonearm, so should get you into vinyl nicely. If you do get s/hand, try to make sure it's got all the bits...

 

[gregory]

as Scene says, if you go 2nd hand, make sure it has all the bits, ebay is the obvious choice and any of the decks from Dual, Technics, Pioneer and Sansui will give excellent results if in fine fettle, it's best if you can collect, save on postage and save on hassle of broken bits in the post.

 

[Anonymous]

Bought a Dual cs 505-2 off Ebay for £35. Its in great unmarked condition and sounds great to my ears.

But I am not a hi-fi buff as such. Just enjoy listening to music, mainly original rock"roll and blues.

 

[jerry klinger]

Secondhand Rega planar 3 off ebay - you can't go wrong really. Add a new cartridge, maybe one of Rega's moving magnet ones to be on the safe side and with any luck the dealer you buy it from will set it up for you.

 

[seasiders rock]

jerry klinger:Secondhand Rega planar 3 off ebay - you can't go wrong really. Add a new cartridge, maybe one of Rega's moving magnet ones to be on the safe side and with any luck the dealer you buy it from will set it up for you.

With a budget of £50 you are not going to get a Rega. 2 or 3.

As suggested a Pro-Ject would be a good start, or go back in time.

Pioneer PL12D or a Sansui SR222 would be a good start, quality arms and would be a good start into vinyl.

Starting out i would avoid suspended chassis decks that need setting up.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the help guys, I've ended up with a near mint CS505-2.

So, it came with a cheap phono stage which I'd like to rectify.

My current setup is this.

Fatman iTube amp.

Q Acoustic 2020's on Atacama stands

A.. errr... Playstation 3 for playing cd's (sounds bloody good!)

But I'm toying with the idea of selling the amplifier and getting something like a NAD3020 with built in phono stage, does this sound like a good idea?

I'd like to bi-amp wire my speakers though and I'm not sure of a decent amp, with phono stage and a 4 speaker outputs for the bi-amping, any ideas?

Also, maybe I was expecting too much from the tt but to my ears, it sounds a bit harsh and lacking in bottom end? Any ideas or just how this model sounds?

 

[Anonymous]

You could try and get hold of a Goldring Lenco GL 75, you should get one within budget.

Much better than a belt driven TT.

 

[Troy62]

If your fancying a NAD try a 3130. Cracking amp with a bit more oomph than the 3020. Had one for years and thought it was belting. Not going for much on ebay either.

 

[Anonymous]

I second that for a cheap but great amp.

 

[bobchiba]

Creek 4040, series 2 if u could afford it but plenty of original versions available on ebay. Really cracking amp for vinyl, they have quite good phono boards in them, not flashy or great spec but very musicaly sweet.

 

[rascal6000]

Hey, so far you sound like you've managed to do really well for the money, and I don't doubt that you at least listen to your music which some 'audiophiles' can be guilty of not!

Car boot sales are amazing for vinyl, CDs and DVDs, just have a look at the playing surface before you buy, and actually the new DVDs are severely lacking in audio tracks whereas some of the older stuff had lossless DTS tracks.

Your tast for quality analogue should steer you towards spending your next available funds on a better cartridge, see what's available, if you don't like too bright then give the Ortofon OMs a miss....

 

[Anonymous]

Hey guys,

Yet again some excellent advice thank you!

I'm sat here beaming from ear to ear with comfortably numb on behind me sounding fantastic!

So far my set up has cost me:

£18 for the table.

£80 for the Q-Acoustic 2020's (b grade hence so cheap)

£15 for some Atacama stands which really help the speakers along.

£50 for the NAD 3130 amp

and I've got some QED silver anniversary bi-wire cables on the way from ebay - £17!

I've got the bug now though...

I'm working up ideas for a decent stand. Whether I should go diy or cheap ebay. I also want to look into a diy plywood plinth for the Dual. Its within my abilities as a bodger and I've the tools at the ready its just how I should go about it in order to achieve and improvement?

I was thinking of a 120 ish mm tall plinth into which the metal base of the dual recesses into.

Also, I was thinking of working a compartment into the plinth to accomodate the rather heavy plate of bronze I have sat around.

Any suggestions on this?

Re the new cartridge, the http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300492822410&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT is getting constant mentions on here and other places on the net so I was thinking of giving it a bash but, do I need a new cartridge or can I buy just the stylus?

Again, thank you for your help!