The Vinyl Experiment.

[bigfish786]

I've not had my turntable long, after having a very long break from owning a turntable.

after listening to a friends Gyro SE, i thought i'd experiment with vinyl again. I've bought a turntable, tore it apart, built it back up again, covered it in vinyl wrap,experimented with mats,setup,damping, but more importantly, i've bought myself a dozen or so new albums on vinyl, most of which i already own on CD, some i own on Cassette also.

i've given the vinyl thing a good try out now, probably 100 hours of listening, and my overriding thought is that it has been a very worthwhile investment.

the turntable i have is a pretty old Rotel RP3000, from the 1970's. no flashy arm, nor a flashy cart either, but what it does with vinyl is fantastic, so much so, that i keep wondering what i'd have to buy to see significant gains?

the reason i bought this particular deck was, to experment with, to see if vinyl worked for me, and it does, it was cheap, and direct drive, with speed adjustment which i wanted after having a poor experience with a previous Dual turntable.

so my thoughts are now... i'm going to continue to buy vinyl, and look at making a significant upgrade to the turntable when i have enough vinyl to justify it.

what are your thoughts on a next step upgrade, and why? what sort of money gets you into the top 10% of performance without having to sell your house? lol.

 

[FanthorpesHiFi]

Hi Bigfish,

What amps & speakers are you running?

There are some very good value for money entry level decks out there at the moment from Rega and Pro-ject ranging from £200ish upwards.

The Debut Carbon at £325 is excellent value for money.

Dave

 

[chebby]

I've not had my turntable long, after having a very long break from owning a turntable.

after listening to a friends Gyro SE, i thought i'd experiment with vinyl again. I've bought a turntable, tore it apart, built it back up again, covered it in vinyl wrap,experimented with mats,setup,damping, but more importantly, i've bought myself a dozen or so new albums on vinyl, most of which i already own on CD, some i own on Cassette also.

i've given the vinyl thing a good try out now, probably 100 hours of listening, and my overriding thought is that it has been a very worthwhile investment.

the turntable i have is a pretty old Rotel RP3000, from the 1970's. no flashy arm, nor a flashy cart either, but what it does with vinyl is fantastic, so much so, that i keep wondering what i'd have to buy to see significant gains?

the reason i bought this particular deck was, to experment with, to see if vinyl worked for me, and it does, it was cheap, and direct drive, with speed adjustment which i wanted after having a poor experience with a previous Dual turntable.

so my thoughts are now... i'm going to continue to buy vinyl, and look at making a significant upgrade to the turntable when i have enough vinyl to justify it.

what are your thoughts on a next step upgrade, and why? what sort of money gets you into the top 10% of performance without having to sell your house? lol.

Stay with the whole direct-drive 'thing' and get a nice Technics SL12100/SL1200. With your tweaking/modding instincts this will be a good platform for future arm upgrades like those possible with Origin Live for instance ...

http://www.originlive.com/tonearm-options-extras/tools-accessories/technics-armboard.html

 

[chebby]

What amps & speakers are you running?

There are some very good value for money entry level decks out there at the moment from Rega and Pro-ject ranging from £200ish upwards.

Bigfish likes direct drive and enjoys the speed adjustment ...

... it was cheap, and direct drive, with speed adjustment which i wanted after having a poor experience with a previous Dual turntable.

Also, I am not sure what his amp and speakers have to do with the choice of another turntable. (Unless you just asked out of idle curiosity in which case my apologies.)

 

[plastic penguin]

Technics 1200 did spring to mind, but in TT terms, you are spoiled for choice.

If I had the money I wouldn't hesitate buying a Gyro for the Leema, but that the extreme top-end. In the end it'll boil down to how much investment the OP wants or needs.

 

[chebby]

This Sony PS-2250 looks rather interesting (and in great condition and serviced).

 

[Al ears]

Whatever you decide to do in progressing your system bear in mind that when it comes to vinyl the best 'bangs for your bucks' comes from investing in a really good cartridge and, as previously posted, a good tonearm.

When it comes down to it the turntable does presicely that, it rotates, the tonearm / cartridge that is mounted to it is going to make the biggest difference.

Be very careful if going down the Technics sl1200 route as many are trashed ex- DJ kit (although having said that they are extremely well built).

 

[bigfish786]

I have a Leema Pulse Amp, powering some lovely Focal Chorus 826v speakers.

my choice of next/upgrade turntable does not neccessarily have to be direct drive, nor does it have to be new. what i would like is a piece of kit that takes the sound to the next level, with rock steady speed.

the choice out there is immence.

 

[Lost Angeles]

I'd be tempted to take your amp and speakers round your mates, bolt them on his Gyro and see what you think then.

 

[bigfish786]

i may be able to persuade him to bring it to my place.

 

[stevebrock]

into my 5th week now with a Gyrodec SE with RB303 & Benz Micro Ace - IMO way better than the RP6 (which was very good too) which it replaced, biggest thing for me was the depth of the imaging - absolutely fantatsic.

It may be the some of all parts though as I am using a valve amp & SS phono stage

 

[bigfish786]

a Gyro SE is definitely on my shopping list, but it may be some time before i can sneak one in the house. don't get me wrong, the Mrs would love one as well, but i need to take her on holiday first, and i also want to replace my car, and buy a road bike... etc,etc.