Why I’ll never own a turntable (even though I'd love one)

[What Hi-Fi?]

The case against analogue audio for a parent of a small child.

Why I’ll never own a turntable (even though I'd love one) : Read more

 

[_cruster]

You’re making excuses, and you’re missing an opportunity. Toddlers are not mindless property destroying machines - they can be taught “yes” and “no”. My daughter is 8 now, and some of my favorite memories are of spending an hour here and there with her either crawling on the floor in my music room playing cars, or holding her in my lap while we spun records. It made her curious about hifi, it made her interested in records, and the grand total of things she destroyed was 0.

You can get the thing you want, plant a seed for someone else to love records, and spend some quality time...or you can keep acting like toddlers just ruin things (which is sad, and patently untrue).

 

[Deleted member 2457]

You’re making excuses, and you’re missing an opportunity. Toddlers are not mindless property destroying machines - they can be taught “yes” and “no”. My daughter is 8 now, and some of my favorite memories are of spending an hour here and there with her either crawling on the floor in my music room playing cars, or holding her in my lap while we spun records. It made her curious about hifi, it made her interested in records, and the grand total of things she destroyed was 0.

You can get the thing you want, plant a seed for someone else to love records, and spend some quality time...or you can keep acting like toddlers just ruin things (which is sad, and patently untrue).

I have to agree my two nieces practically grew up at our house and they never touched or damaged any home cinema system, cables or TVs.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

I suppose everybody is different though and if that is how you feel then fair enough. You will know best for your situation.

 

[scene]

I understand the worry about mixing expensive kit with the destructive force of toddlers, but that's no reason not to have a turntable... You could mount the turntable on a high wall shelf, away from prying hands and still use it. Or, as I have done, have the turntable in another room. Mine is in my study, and using the Sonos I can route it through to any of my rooms. Once the boys got to an age (primary school age) they understood not to muck around with the large amounts of hifi and AV kit in the house. Before then the AV kit in the living room was in a Salamander AV cupboard with childproof catches.

Now, as others have said they're interested in music and find the turntable fascinating...

 

[PilotAce]

I'm so torn about buying my first turntable, and your article helps to articulate my thoughts. My kids are in high school now, HS senior and freshman, but that alone wouldn't have stopped me. My daughter, when 3 yrs old, was mesmerized by our new JBL floor-standing speakers, admiring but never touching the moving diaphragms the 8" woofer and Mylar tweeters whenever I removed the speaker grills. So the Technics 1210 GR sits in online shopping cart at $1800, waiting for me to pull the trigger.

As a child, I, on the other hand, had destroyed numerous phonograph needles on my dad's Dual 1209 from before I could remember. As a pre-teen, I spent countless hours listening to classical music recordings on vinyl, and had a few records (birthday gifts from friends?) of my own from the 70s (Bee Gees, Air Supply and SW soundtracks). My dad's old Dual 1209 is begging to be repaired/refurbished, and would probably cost around $250 including shipping. After repairs, it probably wouldn't sound as good as a Technics 1200 series or Fluance RT85...

So do I spend $1800 for state of art, $250 for sentimental reasons, or is all of it wasteful as I also like the convenience of digital libraries/streaming with Bluetooth, and mine and dad's old records didn't have any collectible titles?

 

[DCarmi]

Four grown up kids and the same Rega Planar 3 since before they were born. Some total of damage is one trashed LP! I've probably done more harm myself and I am fairly careful.

The CD player was much more tempting. It had flashy lights, a drawer that magically popped out and was great for hiding lego bricks etc inside.

I did once suffer from a depressed tweeter but we'll save that story for another day.

 

[scene]

I did once suffer from a depressed tweeter but we'll save that story for another day.

Must try to resist making joke about a sad budgie... *failed*

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_10154001892741451]

I have a turntable and a whole raft of LPs from the 60s and 70s.......in good condition in my very dry basement. Every 2-4 years I get them out, play 3 and put it all away again. I remember the delight of a new album.....I miss the covers.....but I wouldn't swap High Res.
But....if you really want a turntable in your life.....don't be fearful of teaching kids right and wrong!.. These are daddy's toys! Consider a man cave, or wait till they leave home.

When my kids were 4 and 2.....30 years ago, I had a Linn set up......my 2-year-old son found the volume knob and proceeded to crank it up. He was so frightened he never touched it again. I tried to keep a serious face on...didn't work....But when he was 25 he got his own back , insisting that I accompanied him to Metallica concert.