should i buy a turntable??

matn911

New member
Mar 27, 2012
4
0
0
Visit site
Hi

I am very tempted to buy a turntable, I currently have Yamaha CD-S300, Yamaha A-S500 and B&W 684. I use phono leads at about £30 each and Cambridge Audio Ultra Bi-wire. I know they are all "budget range" but I am pretty happy with the sound

At the mo I mostly listen to my ipod but with the recent discovery of spottify (now you don't need a s*^tbook account) I am finding way more music I like

I can't help to feel like im missing out on the pure sound of the song and I am thinking of getting Pro-ject Genie MK3?

I know nothing about turntable, don't yet own a LP but really like the idea of owning them

Will I notice any difference or just waist my money

Any help would be great!!
 

MajorFubar

New member
Mar 3, 2010
690
6
0
Visit site
I think you need to find a friendly dealer who will show you what a TT sounds like, particularly what you can expect within your budget. I'm from an (ageing) generation which struggles to comprehend the fact that there are people out there who haven't owned a record or TT, yet I know many people are coming to vinyl as adults for the first time. Put it this way, it won't sound anything like your iPod.
 

stevebrock

New member
Nov 13, 2009
183
0
0
Visit site
Just try it!

I bought a used Rega RP1 a few weeks ao and i must say some vinyl LPs sounds absolutely fantastic (eg Roxy Music - Avalon)

it may not be for you though. i also stream lossless & 24/96 to my Rega DAC as well, i enjoy both formats but nothing like sitting down to play a record and just listen.

I find my streaming is more for convenience but when i have time just to sit and listen then vinyl everytime.

The fun part is looking throuh the used record shops and finding something that you would of never entertained before on CD or something from your youth that you forgot about....and some a re cheap as chips.
 

stevebrock

New member
Nov 13, 2009
183
0
0
Visit site
The good thing about the Rega RP1 is that it comes set up out of the box - just plug and play - have you got a phono stage on your amp?
 

Crossie

New member
Aug 4, 2009
58
0
0
Visit site
Don't bother. You have system you enjoy. You have no LP's. You have no experience of TT's. Stick to what you know and love. Buy some more music or upgrade your current kit.

Sorry but someone had to play devil's advocate.
 

stevebrock

New member
Nov 13, 2009
183
0
0
Visit site
Crossie said:
Don't bother. You have system you enjoy. You have no LP's. You have no experience of TT's. Stick to what you know and love. Buy some more music or upgrade your current kit.

Sorry but someone had to play devil's advocate.

i have no experience of TTs either, why would that stop you?
 

drummerman

New member
Jan 18, 2008
540
3
0
Visit site
Unless you have LP's already, no I wouldn't. However, you probably won't loose to much if you decide to re-sell the turntable in the future.

regards
 

richardw42

New member
May 2, 2010
299
0
0
Visit site
No.

TTs are a complete pain. They are worse than digital, far more temperamental. Unless you already got LPs wouldn't even consider it.

I view vinyl as the hobbyist arm of hi fi.
 

richardw42

New member
May 2, 2010
299
0
0
Visit site
When I meant temperamental. The whole dust, crackles, set up thing.

Andrew. For me it is. With Spotify and Sonos I can think of nothing worse than maintaining vinyl. But I think it's completely fine for people who want the involvement.
 

MajorFubar

New member
Mar 3, 2010
690
6
0
Visit site
richardw42 said:
When I meant temperamental. The whole dust, crackles, set up thing.
I now understand what you mean, but the word you wanted wasn't temperamental. If you want every opportunity to see what temperamental looks like, go digital. In contrast to the simplicity of a turntable which you plug in and it 'just works', digital sometimes feels like trying to balance a juggling elephant on a cricket ball.
 

chebby

Well-known member
Jun 2, 2008
1,253
26
19,220
Visit site
I no longer play LPs.

I sold my last TT almost three years ago but I have kept almost 100 (96 I think) of the best quality/favourite LPs. (I can't be a###d to sell them.)

So I may, or may not, buy another TT some time in the future. (99 percent 'may not' right now). The urges to return to vinyl have become less frequent - and weaker - as time passes.

Even if iTunes/AirPlay/Internet/iPhones were to vanish overnight, never to return, then I would still have many hundreds of CDs and radio. So my LPs are not even a viable 'backup' medium anymore. My tastes in material (BBC dramas, comedies, history and other spoken word word/documentary etc.) are simply impossible to buy on vinyl in all but a few, very rare, instances.

So you need to work out how much it's all going to cost you in time and money (most second-hand/charity/junk shops have a pathetic level of choice and most of the LPs you find in them are dirty, scratched, or otherwise knackered in some way).

I used to - carefully - buy my second-hand records from a good local record dealer who had a regularly maintained and replenished Keith Monks professional record cleaning machine. Cleaning used to cost me an extra £2 for every LP (including new anti-stat/archival quality inner sleeve) before I would let one anywhere near my stylus. That's how (unlike poor Richard) I didn't get any snaps or crackles or pops. But it takes time and care and money to ensure 'clean' sounding vinyl. (Even then they may have originally pressed some excessive groove noise into the record that cannot be removed and only diminishes - a bit - the more you spend on a cartridge!)

There is the fun of learning new (old) skills like cartridge set-up and alignment though. Few dealers know how to do it anymore and 'factory fitted' can mean anything from 'spot-on' to realising they put in on backwards! One tiny mistake or moment of clumsiness can irreparably damage a stylus worth anything from £50 - £500 or more (with no refund :) ).

I had 28 years of playing records on hi-fi turntables, from my teens onwards, and it was enjoyable. I never broke any styli and my records sounded great (especially all the 12" singles). With a bit of care, time, extra money, some skill and decent pressings, you can avoid what Richardw42 describes.
 

Andrew Everard

New member
May 30, 2007
1,878
2
0
Visit site
richardw42 said:
With Spotify and Sonos I can think of nothing worse than maintaining vinyl. But I think it's completely fine for people who want the involvement.

And the better sound quality – don't forget the better sound quality... ;)
 

jacobmorrison

Well-known member
Feb 6, 2009
50
4
18,545
Visit site
Andrew Everard said:
richardw42 said:
With Spotify and Sonos I can think of nothing worse than maintaining vinyl. But I think it's completely fine for people who want the involvement.

And the better sound quality – don't forget the better sound quality... ;)

With a good pressing yes, the problem is that the quality of modern pressings is variable, some good, some terrible. The best gear in the world won't resolve the problems with a bad piece of vinyl. My experience has been that the quality was more consistent while vinyl was the dominent medium, second-hand pressings from releases up to the early ninteties that have been well looked after can be second to none in terms of sound quality. New releases are a different story. Sibilence, poor separation and high surface noise are much more common on the new releases I've heard, and then there's the scratches. The number of times I've got home, taken a record out of the sleeve for the first time and seen the scratches down one side, it makes me wonder if some pressing plants have any quality control at all.
 
stevebrock said:
Crossie said:
Don't bother. You have system you enjoy. You have no LP's. You have no experience of TT's. Stick to what you know and love. Buy some more music or upgrade your current kit.

Sorry but someone had to play devil's advocate.

i have no experience of TTs either, why would that stop you?

[/quote

Probably something to do with the cost of new LP's if you do not already have a load! And no I would recommend a newbie goes out and buys second-hand.
 

BigColz

New member
Jun 18, 2012
8
0
0
Visit site
Interesting read.. I've been thinking the same thing as a lot of bands I listen too are starting to do mp3 downloads and vinyl only.. Which wouldn't be a problem if they did a WAV or FLAC etc CD quality alternative for mp3, but they don't.. The new vinyls come in really cool looking pressings and obviously being brand new wouldn't need cleaning etc if stored properly.. For now i think i'll keep buying CD's cheap but may be an optiopn in the future.. and as previously said it's nice (if you have time) to sit back and enjoy an album start to finish
 

The_Lhc

Well-known member
Oct 16, 2008
1,176
1
19,195
Visit site
BigColz said:
The new vinyls ... being brand new wouldn't need cleaning

That isn't necessarily the case, Keith Monks recommends cleaning new vinyl to remove residue from the pressing process.

But then I suppose he would really, wouldn't he?

FWIW, as a user of both vinyl and digital streaming solutions, I wouldn't bother if you have no vinyl either, new vinyl is (often) massively expensive, whilst second-hand is always something of a lottery. Whilst I do still buy vinyl I only originally bought my TT because I had a load of vinyl from when I was a teenager, as has my other half.
 

BigColz

New member
Jun 18, 2012
8
0
0
Visit site
The_Lhc said:
BigColz said:
The new vinyls ... being brand new wouldn't need cleaning

That isn't necessarily the case, Keith Monks recommends cleaning new vinyl to remove residue from the pressing process.

But then I suppose he would really, wouldn't he?

FWIW, as a user of both vinyl and digital streaming solutions, I wouldn't bother if you have no vinyl either, new vinyl is (often) massively expensive, whilst second-hand is always something of a lottery. Whilst I do still buy vinyl I only originally bought my TT because I had a load of vinyl from when I was a teenager, as has my other half.

Yeah fair point. I must admit the reason the reason I bought my streamer was because it amazed me how musical and almost analogue (fluid and natural) sounding it was from a digital source.. Better than any CD player i'd heard.. Just wish if people don't want to sell CD's then at least sell it at the same quality in downloadable format! |(
 

DandyCobalt

New member
Oct 8, 2010
203
0
0
Visit site
No, don't.

It's a slippery slope that can wreck families and people's lives, as you find what music should really sound like, and devote all your waking hours to listening and tweeking :)

Every new town you visit will have already been researched to find a vinyl store, and at parties you have to edge around the subject using codewords (like "analogue sound") before a fellow turntable owner returns the nod and wink.

Go for it!
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts