HELP! What record player to buy?

[Maryjane]

Hi, I want to get a record player for my boyfriend for his birthday. I would like it to be a surprise and so don't want to ask him but upon researching I realise I am way out of my depth with my audio knowlegde. He's a sound engineer and so I want to get one that has a very good soon quality. There are a couple of turntables I have seen mentioned in some good reviews, such as the pro-ject debut carbon turntable, the rega rp1 and the music hall mmf 2.2. Does anybody have any thoughts on these? or can you recommend any other models around this price or under preferably.Can you recommend speakers that would compliment such a model?I'm sure he will add to the set up over time but what else, if anything do i need to purchase so that the set up is listenable when i give it to him?Any advice would be greatly appreciated, Mary

 

[expat_mike]

Hello Mary,

I am not a turntable expert, but I know that there are many members of this forum who use the turntables that you mention.

Some additional information that will help people provide answers would be:

1 - does he already have an amplifier and speakers, or is he starting from scratch?

2 - what is the timescale available, is his birthday next week, or next month?

It is interesting contextual information, that your boyfriend is a sound engineer. People in such roles, often prefer hifi that is quite revealing about the musical content, unlike some other people who prefer a "warm" sound.

I will bid farewell here, and let the experts help you.

 

[Maryjane]

Thanks Mike.

We're starting from scratch totally, any amp/ preamps/ speakers he has he uses for recording so whatever is specifically needed for the record player I'll have to get. His birthday isn't for another 2 months, I thought it was a purchase that should be started on early considering price and research required! I mentioned he was a sound engineer just to show what type quality I was looking for. If it was for myself I would probably be happier with a cheaper model but he loves listeing to different mixes and different mastered versions of albums so something that could show off good details would be great.

M

 

[stevebrock]

Maryjane

What is the budget?

 

[CnoEvil]

I will also let others talk about specific TTs, as my knowledge is now 20 years out of date, but will make a couple of comments carrying on from what Mike said:

- Some sound engineers like an an analytical sound, but after a day at the office, some want something a little easier on the ear for recreational listening.

- In order to get meaningful advice on speakers (or amp), you will need to conduct a sneaky, undercover, fact-finding campaign to discover exactly what type of sound he likes (when not at work) ie. Smooth, detailed and emotional; or very clean, forward and more analytical. Finding out what kit he has heard and liked, may give some clue to this.

- A TT will require a phono stage (Moving Coil or Moving Magnet), either separate or built into the amp. The quality of these can greatly vary.

 

[John Duncan]

Whilst I admire the gesture, sometimes these things are so subjective (in looks and sound) that it may be better to do what my wife did, which was to get me a specifically printed card which said "IOU 1 (one) Record Player" (together with a vinyl copy of, say, a record important to you). Then you can go out together and choose it.

Further, if he's an engineer then he may wish to hook it up to existing equipment (rather than it being standalone), which may dictate heavily what you would need to buy.

 

[Captain Duff]

I think this may be a bigger present than you have planned for if as well as a turntable you also need an amp and speakers. To even begin to give advice on that you would need to state your overall budget and room size.

In basic terms, both the cheaper Pro-Jects and Rega's are much of a muchness, as both offer good quality sound at a reasonable price. But you will then need either an amp with a phono stage built in (far less common these days with cheaper ones) or a seperate phono stage (a mini-amp that boosts the low signal from TT's) to go with an amp that doesn't have one. Then there are the speakers - bookshelf or floorstanders? If the former would you need to also budget for stands? Also don't forget some speaker cables will need to be added into the price (fairly basic ones will be fine).

Ideally if you have one or more hifi shops near you then go there for some ideas and advice. Otherwise for a basic budget (but decent quality) vinyl system with new componants (and for a not too big living room) I would probably go something like this (using Richer Sounds prices given their national shop coverage):

TT = Project Debut Carbon (inc cartridge) £300;

Amp = Denon PMA520AE (includes a built-in phono stage) £140

Speakers = Mission M33i £130

Add on some speaker cable (perfectly good stuff is around £2 per meter) and you can then have a good stand alone vinyl system for under £600, although obviously if you only need to add a TT to an existing set up it would be a lot cheaper. However, the thing about TT's is that they need to be somewhere not affected by vibration or sprung floors - so do you also need to get a shelf or equipment stand?

 

[Maryjane]

Hi Steve, I was shooting for about 500-600 euros budget but could go a bit more if necessary.

CnoEvil - good points for some sneaky researching, im thining I could find out all of the best options, do most of the leg work for him and then go with Johns voucher idea (good thinking John!)

I could give him a voucher for turntable, pre amp, phono stage wires etc.... then I'm hoping he can use the speakers from his recording set up (focal cms40 - can he use these?) or the ones from our panasonic hifi set - not ideal but it might get us till Christmas when I can get him better speakers of he might see some he likes himself in the meantime?

Thanks for the good advice captain duff, we have a wooden topped unit in our sitting room with nothing on it so no need for stands. The rooms about 12x10 with a bay window...

I've been searching for shops with good selections of record players and accessories in Ireland but I'm not having much joy... can anyone recommend a place? I have heard of Clooney audion in blackrock, dublin so i'll check them out.

Thanks again for all your advice!

 

[Maryjane]

Hi Steve, I was shooting for about 500-600 euros budget but could go a bit more if necessary.

CnoEvil - good points for some sneaky researching, im thining I could find out all of the best options, do most of the leg work for him and then go with Johns voucher idea (good thinking John!)

I could give him a voucher for turntable, pre amp, phono stage wires etc.... then I'm hoping he can use the speakers from his recording set up (focal cms40 - can he use these?) or the ones from our panasonic hifi set - not ideal but it might get us till Christmas when I can get him better speakers of he might see some he likes himself in the meantime?

Thanks for the good advice captain duff, we have a wooden topped unit in our sitting room with nothing on it so no need for stands. The rooms about 12x10 with a bay window...

I've been searching for shops with good selections of record players and accessories in Ireland but I'm not having much joy... can anyone recommend a place? I have heard of Clooney audion in blackrock, dublin so i'll check them out.

Thanks again for all your advice!