Turntables,second hand or brand new,what to buy.

[pegleg1945]

Hi everyone,

I've been back into vinyl for a while now after finding a lot of my old LPs,started off buying a Steepletone plug and play,(dreadful),then a compact Aiwa system,(much better),followed by my Technics midi seperates system which I have now,(better still).

I am now in a position where I can 'splash out' a bit on a better turntable than the one I have at present,with a budget of between £300-£400 I've been looking at second hand Technics SL-1200-1210 turntable,mainly on 'the bay',problem is they are always a million miles away from me and I don't like the idea of a t/t weighing 10-12kgs coming through the post.I do like the look of them,mainly because of the all the bells and whistles,strobe light etc,and the good reviews,but,nearly all the sellers insist that their turntable has never ever been used for DJing which makes me wonder a bit as a lot of them seem to have slipmats on the platter with words like 'warrior' and the likes which seem a bit inappropriate for a home hi fi set up.

Anyway,I live quite near a Richer Sounds store which sell the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon turntable which also gets rave reviews,and at £300 is a cheaper alternative and,of course,is guaranteed as it is new.

I'm sure a lot of you knowledgable members are owners of one or the other of these decks and have goods things to say about the virtues of them and any things you don't like about them.

So do I go for new with gaurantee or a bit of nostalgia and take a chance,I would be interested in all your suggestions and thoughts on the subject.

Thanks in advance

Rich

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Mate, I've been away from turntables for a while now but ith Technics, you never know. If I remember correctly, they came with a standard and a couple of slipmats with the word "Technics" on them, but could be wrong. Be very, very wary - no-one is going to admit to DJ use and hope to sell, are they? Make sure they have at least the Technics headshell, and nothing else.

Can't help you with Pro-ject, after my time, never heard them. Always liked the LP12 but that's over your budget.

P.S Don't get me wrong, Technics are excellent turntables, built like a tank but they're not immune to wear, especially that from an enthusiastic DJ. If you find a good one, they're well worth it.

 

[Al ears]

Even if you do manage to find a 'good' Technics it is probably going to require a service.

For complete peace of mind, and in your situation, I would go for a dealer set-up Project as you mention.

It is a great starter deck and you will have a guarantee. You can always upgrade it with a better cartridge at a later date if you require it.

 

[pegleg1945]

It's difficult to come to a decision,thanks for your replies by the way,there are a lot of SL-1200s on Ebay,one seller has several at various prices round the £350-£425 mark,all look good,all listed as serviced and in tip top condition,one dealer is only 1/2 hour drive from me so no delivery worries,comes with a 60 day warranty too,very tempted.

I have read a load of reviews regarding the Debut carbon too,most good but a couple of reviews on 'vinylengine' comment on a hum from the platter when playing,so now I have doubts there too.Sometimes it's possible to have too much choice!

 

[pegleg1945]

It's difficult to come to a decision,thanks for your replies by the way,there are a lot of SL-1200s on Ebay,one seller has several at various prices round the £350-£425 mark,all look good,all listed as serviced and in tip top condition,one dealer is only 1/2 hour drive from me so no delivery worries,comes with a 60 day warranty too,very tempted.

I have read a load of reviews regarding the Debut carbon too,most good but a couple of reviews on 'vinylengine' comment on a hum from the platter when playing,so now I have doubts there too.Sometimes it's possible to have too much choice!

 

[pegleg1945]

OOPS,sorry for double post.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Go for the Pro-ject, the Technics are good, but the chances of getting one which hasn't been hammered to a degree are quite slim; they are a DJ deck after all.

The Pro-ject will come with a warranty, so in the very unlikely event that you get a dud, you can get it sorted. 2nd hand decks don't have warranties, and are much more likely to develop faults.

 

[pegleg1945]

I'm inclined to agree,plus I can ask for a demo at my local store as they're all pretty good.

Maybe in 30 years time the Debut Carbon will be a collectors item,(and maybe not!)

Thanks for your advice.

 

[floyd droid]

they are a DJ deck after all.

Cough.

 

[Al ears]

Cough.... ballcocks..

 

[pegleg1945]

So is that a cough of agreement?

 

[chebby]

So is that a cough of agreement?

They were designed and sold originally as hi-fi turntables and subsequently got 'adopted' by professional and amateur DJs.

 

[floyd droid]

So is that a cough of agreement?

See Chebbys post and work it out from there 😉

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

I stand corrected (I think). :?

 

[pegleg1945]

I get it now,so it's a good turntable,built to last and to take a hammering,so much so that DJs used them because they wouldn't collapse if treated a bit rough.

Pot luck really then,get a good one for £400-£500 and you have a really good deck,or get something that has reached the end of it's days and wish you had gone new.

Decisions,decisions,I must admit that I prefer the look of retro turntables against the plain look of modern decks such as the Debut Carbon.

I will have to deliberate some more and make my mind up as to what way to go,but thanks to all you guys for your thoughts on the subject.

 

[floyd droid]

Give Dave Cawley a ring @ Soundhifi. He bought up boat loads of SLs just before the discontinued announcement . He may have some un-modified ones left , or even the odd minter second hand. He is the man regarding Teckys. Going down the thiefbay route will prolly end up in tears.

 

[floyd droid]

I stand corrected (I think). :?

While you are scratching yer chin go and stand in the corner on one leg

 

[Al ears]

What floyd droid said. I don't know about Dave Cawley but if he's the man then that is the way to go.

If I were tempted to buy another SL1200, 1210 or whatever I would make sure I was looking at it rather than looking at some photos of it. 🙂

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

I stand corrected (I think). :?

While you are scratching yer chin go and stand in the corner on one leg

Can I stop now, my legs hurting?

 

[floyd droid]

Yeah ok mate thats enough for now ,lol 😉

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Thank f**k for that, it was killing, and I've got a lot of things to do.

 

[floyd droid]

Lol .

 

[pegleg1945]

ok guys that's enough.

Thanks for all your suggestions,I'm going to think very carefully what to do next,as for the standing on one leg,I've been doing it 22 years now.😉

Rich

 

[stevebrock]

I had 2 X SL1200 MK2s, Silver in colour circa 1994.......I was on the bones of my arse so sold them for silly money along with LOTS of vinyl OMG.

They are bombproof and sounded superb even though they were both kitted up Stanton 500AL carts 🙂

 

[philipjohnwright]

I'd go secondhand - in fact I did. Bought a Project Genie to put a toe back in the vinyl world, thought it was so poor I bought an old used Thorens 160 that walked all over it and cost about the same once I'd bought a new cartridge. Both now sold as I gave up on vinyl again (not for sound quality reasons).

Don't get a turntable posted though, a recipe for disaster.