new turntable

[gazzington]

Hi

I know that on this forum there will have been many other discussions regarding this topic. I have thousands of cds and have been an avid music fan for about 25 years and am suddenly having an inkling to buy a turntable setup. I can spend up to £400 on this setup but really have no clue what equipment to get or even how to set it up. There are a few things that I also need to take in to account, such as my wife is due to have our baby in a few months and therefore small speakers etc are a must, as space in the house is at a premium. I want it to be quite a straight forward setup so that my wife can use it when I am not in the house.

Anyhow, any advice would be great

 

[Al ears]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

Perhaps, before anyone can assist you with your questions, it might be helpful if you could add a bit more information. Firstly the budget quoted, is that for the whole set-up or just the turntable? Do you already own other equipment? You say you have thousands of CDs so I assume you must play them back on something.

Do you actually own any vinyl at the moment?

Not wanting to insult anbody but a turntable is not very child, or even wife-friendly I have discovered.

 

[gazzington]

Hi. Thanks for the reply. The only component I wouldn't need are speakers.
Yeah I was wondering about wife/child friendly aspects but its not such a problem as she usually plugs her phone in to speakers.

 

[The_Lhc]

You're really going to have to tell us what you've got at the moment, as right now you're not making a huge amount of sense, first you say small speakers are a must and then you say speakers are the only thing you don't need to buy. What's the system you're playing your CDs on at the moment?

 

[gazzington]

Hi. Sorry been typing very quickly while at work. The cd set up we have is an old sony all in one unit which is the not the best and it could be argued that I should replace that rather than getting a turn table. The thing is all my cds are ripped to a good level which are fine for listening on mp3 players etc. I have just always fancied a turntable to listen to a few select albums in nice quality, and then adding to the collection slowly over time. I do already own audioengine a2 speakers which the wife plugs her phone into. I apologise, perhaps I have not always listened to music on the best available equipment but rather I have enjoyed a lot of music on adequate equipment.

 

[The_Lhc]

There's nothing to apologise for, we just need to know what you've got and what you want to continue to use. Would you like to use the Audioengine speakers with the turntable for example? If you do then you'll either need a TT with a phono stage built in or you'll need a separate phono stage, which will require another power socket. Alternatively do you want something that you can play either the CDs or the rips on as well? That would obviously eat into your budget and leave less (if anything at all) for the turntable.

Do you actually own any vinyl? It's an expensive business to start buying albums if you don't already have some, they're typically double the price of an equivalent CD album.

 

[gazzington]

Hi I think I shall use the Audioengine speakers for a while and then maybe upgrade later on. I dont think I shall get something that plays cds and rips on also (unless you have a recomendation for one of those), as I suspect the quality of the turn table would lessen. I dont own any vinyl yet, but I have pretty much stopped buying cds other than occasional box sets and was planning to buy some of my favorite albums on vinyl and then slowly build up a collection over time. Thanks for your replies

 

[bigfish786]

That if you have such a massive cd collection, you are probably best served by investing in a dedicated CD player, amp and speakers. My thinking is that you have a massive music collection, so why not hear it at its best. Rather than trying to start again with a media you have no experience of.

Thats my own opinion, and what I'd do in your position.

If you find this successful, you can always venture into vinyl when you have the majority of the system already in place.

 

[crusaderlord]

I agree with the above poster that If you have that many CD's and your wife wants a simple to use format then investing in a better CD player seems to be a good option to hear them at their best. That said i get your sentiment - i recently bought a Rega RP1 just to scratch the itch of being able to play vinyl again, even though i had only about 10 records (increasing very slowly). There is still something to be said for owning vinyl, however i did this from a place where i felt i had my other sources at a good level. The issue now is that vinyl is more expensive that CD, even if you scour bargain sites and charity shops you will find the cost of vinyl is jumping up, even for poor quality. I am still in two minds about whether vinyl for me is really worth it, but i like collecting, and owning a gatefold album is still getting a feel good factor. What i will say is that my wife doesnt feel the turntable is an easy to use system and isnt one she will ever use.

 

[ifor]

If you want a really easy to use good quality TT you would do a lot worse that a second hand linear tracking Technics. It decreasing quality/price check out the following on eBay, or elsewhere:

SL-QL1

SL-7

SL-DL1

SL-5

personally I'd look at the SL-DL1 and upward and over the last couple of years or so have bought a couple (for my offspring) and an SL-7 for myself. In the 1980s I used to own an SL-5

 

[gazzington]

Hi all. Going to sort out CD player and turntable (upped my budget!). I have found a very good condition technics SL 1210 11. Would that be a better purchase than a project carbon espirit or a rega rp3?

 

[stevebrock]

personally I would go for the RP3 over the SL1200, but that just me - yes the SL1200s sound very nice with a decent cart but the RP3 just looks so much nicer and non industrial!

The RP3 is a great deck for the money