First Turntable

[ajdath]

Hi Everyone,

I have recently joined the rest of you and got myself into hi-fi. I've got a Rotel RA-11 amp, Rotel RCD-12 CD Player and a pair of B&W 685 S2.

I am looking now to add a turntable to them to start dabbling with vinyl. I have been told to consider either the Pro-ject Debut Carbon or Rega RP1. Would you all agree with those 2 options or would you recommend any other decks that I should consider?

I currently live in Dublin, which somewhat limits my options when it comes to the second hand market. With regards to my budget, I'd be looking to spend upto £400.

Thank you all in advance.

 

[aob9]

First off, there is a dedicated TT forum here where you might get more feedback.

I'm in Cork and didn't let that put me off the second hand market. I did my online research and purchased on ebay, Parcel Motel will help reduce any P+P costs. I can't comment on your suggestions as I purchased a vintage Pioneer PL-300 because I wanted to do some restoration myself.......... I enjoy that type of thing plus I like vintage gear. Audiokarma is a great place to view and place queries on vintage TT's. I may be criticised but I reckon pound for pound your money will go further on a well maintained vintage TT than it would on a brand new one. Of course there is no guarantee you won't need to invest time and money replacing the cartridge etc.

Just one other point, if you don't already own a vinyl collection are you sure you want to invest money in a medium that requires a significantly greater spend than the digital equivalent?

 

[aob9]

First off, there is a dedicated TT forum here where you might get more feedback.

I'm in Cork and didn't let that put me off the second hand market. I did my online research and purchased on ebay, Parcel Motel will help reduce any P+P costs. I can't comment on your suggestions as I purchased a vintage Pioneer PL-300 because I wanted to do some restoration myself.......... I enjoy that type of thing plus I like vintage gear. Audiokarma is a great place to view and place queries on vintage TT's. I may be criticised but I reckon pound for pound your money will go further on a well maintained vintage TT than it would on a brand new one. Of course there is no guarantee you won't need to invest time and money replacing the cartridge etc.

Just one other point, if you don't already own a vinyl collection are you sure you want to invest money in a medium that requires a significantly greater spend ( SQ) than the digital equivalent?

 

[boshk]

Just one other point, if you don't already own a vinyl collection are you sure you want to invest money in a medium that requires a significantly greater spend than the digital equivalent?

This is probably the main thing. All the guys on this forum warn of this, its probably at least twice or 3 times as expensive as CDs or digital but you could rip your vinyls too so you have a digital backup version.

 

[Al ears]

Welcome to the forum.

As noted there is a dedicated turntable and vinyl subsection but as you have posed here we will continue I guess.

Dabbling in vinyl as you put it is an expensive way of life. The turntables you have been recommended are the usual suspects for your budget without going second hand.

Is Dublin the back of beyond?? Not too sure why it limits you in the second-hand market, are there no dealers there? If you know anything about turntables there is always eBay but I would not recommend this unless you do know what you are looking at and can actually collect said item in person. Beyond what you mention there is not much in that price range and out of the two I would take the Pro-ject but the simpler Rega may be ideal if you are starting out fresh. Both of these will allow some degree of upgrading in the future if you require it.

Just had to double-check that your amp had an inbuilt phono stage and it does so that's OK (quite a few amps have done away with it these days).

Have fun.

 

[MajorFubar]

but you could rip your vinyls too so you have a digital backup version.

Presumably you mean record them to your computer. You can't literally rip an analogue source. Unless you've got something particularly rare that just isn't available on CD, or unless the CD version is known to be a poor transfer, there's no advantage of doing this. You may as well just buy the CD and rip that, which at least has the potential to be an exact lossless copy.

Go into vinyl replay with your eyes open. If you currently have neither hardware nor the records, it's not cheap to start. Record players can be fiddly to set up to get sounding just right, the road is strewn with disappointment ('mint' used LPs that are worn-out trash; disappointing new pressings of variable quality), but some people find that when it does all come together (sometimes more by luck than planning) it's worth the heartache.

 

[ajdath]

Thank you all for the advice.

I will have a look at the dedicated sections of the forum. It's not the first time that I have been told to be wary with vinyl. I suppose I just like the idea of playing records.

I'll have read a bit more about it before I make up my mind.

Thanks

 

[wclough]

Hi. I probably can't add much but I've read your request so I thought I'd reply. I have had vinyl before it was called vinyl. They were generically called records and the albums were LPs. I've just bought my 3rd turnatable. I was going for a Rega rp 1 or a used RP3. My local HIfi shop recommended Project and said if I could afford the extra to get the Debut Carbon with carbon fibre arm. What a diiference and I thought my old Dual was not too bad until I heard the Carbon. With records there is a wide variety of quality in the recordings and obviously if it's poor it will not be any good coming out at the other end no matter what you play it on. I have an interst in 60's R&B, Country especially female vocal. Some of my Nana Maskouri LPs are really clear. There is always the perennial problem of dust and vinyl attracts it so you will never get the silence you have with CDs no matter how people rave about vinyl. I've even given them a gentle wash in luke warm running water with a little soap before now

 

[iMark]

I inherited my parents' record collection and my mum's Dual CS 1249, in itself quite a nice player. Unfortunately the pitch control was broken, rendering the the machine unusable. It has been replaced by a Pro-Ject 1Xpression III, which sounds absolute great with all music we play on it (classical, jazz, rock). It's also a great source for digitizing LP's for friends.

I think the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Esprit is very similar to the 1Xpression III (acryllic platter, 8.6cc tonearm, Ortofon 2M Red cartridge). I would definitely recommend it.

The Dual (with a Grado cartridge) sounded nice and warm but the Pro-Ject is much quieter and gives more detailed sound. I suppose our Atacama hifi rack also helps when playing records. Best thing about the records is the fact that the bass doesn't seem compressed like on many CDs. And of course the artwork.