Record players - Turntables. I want one. Help.

[Merle]

(I miss my best friend of my 20's through the early '30s. He was a sound engineer from his early life and found a way to keep his room-filling electrostatics, heavy mass inertial turntable grounded to the building through pin-point cones, and tube amplifiers he built himself from state of the art plans with ground busses of investment quantities of pure silver. The quality of pure, clean, large volume air mass management, just made his religiously cleaned scrupulously selected pressings LIVE to my ears. Studio recording? nuance... Live concert? I was IN the audience and could easily discern staging, mic placements, and the venue ambiance.)

You guys bring me to the point of weeping for the things I've given up along the pathways of my life. Now, I'd be happy to find one of the digital vendors who package high bit recordings and make them available to play cabled through my Sony WH-1000XM3 headset.

 

[facetime]

The vinyl rabbit hole

Funny, when I saw thread title - “rabbit hole” were 1st 2 words popped into my head lol

 

[Toothpick]

Any online sources for new/used albums?

 

[never-stop-learning]

Any online sources for new/used albums?

Plenty. I'll find my list.

 

[Sonarsessions]

You really can't go wrong with a direct drive turntable like the original Technics 1200's. I had them and learned to dj with vinyl, transitioning eventually to CD, and then Mp3. I still own my 1200's after 15 years and they run like clockwork. It's all about finding the right set at the right time.

 

[Sonarsessions]

I've heard some people say that the "warmth" people describe hearing from analog recordings is actually imperfections in the recording, whether it be subtle pitch shifts, fluctuations in RPM, surface noise, etc. I don't know enough to support or deny that claim, but I like the idea. Because isn't that the whole idea in getting away from digital sources anyway? To get away from the clinical precision of those recordings and hear more of a human immediacy?

But I'm talking out of my butt here, most likely.

In short, the answer to the 'warmth' described is both yes and no. Many describe the organic sound of vinyl due to the nearly imperceptible imperfects you hear due to the the needle running its course on the record. I always felt the sound was fuller on the record because it was literally sound bouncing off of a hollow needle vibrating along on its track. Just the thought of how a phonograph works was fascinating to me and while the digital era has brought new sounds and music to the forefront, there will be nothing like a good record, needle, and some quality speakers.

 

[shavefan]

Uturn Oribit Turntable $179
U-Turn Orbit Basic

Sony 100w 2 ch reciever with phono input $149
Sony STRDH190

Elac 6.5" 2 way bookshelf speakers $279
Elac DB62-BK

Total of around $610 is obviously above your initial budget, but a good entry level kit IMO. Hard to do better on value, and from a pure price perspective, to get lower than this you're going to have to go used (risky) or a suitcase style 'all in one' like the Crosley's. But unlike the Crosley type systems, the set-up above gives you a lot more flexibility, and one could argue, a lot more fidelity.

 

[Toothpick]

Uturn Oribit Turntable $179
U-Turn Orbit Basic

Sony 100w 2 ch reciever with phono input $149
Sony STRDH190

Elac 6.5" 2 way bookshelf speakers $279
Elac DB62-BK

Total of around $610 is obviously above your initial budget, but a good entry level kit IMO. Hard to do better on value, and from a pure price perspective, to get lower than this you're going to have to go used (risky) or a suitcase style 'all in one' like the Crosley's. But unlike the Crosley type systems, the set-up above gives you a lot more flexibility, and one could argue, a lot more fidelity.

Nice!! I like when folks shop for me. Makes it very easy. My 300 budget was just for the turntable. so this is right in line. Never heard of Elac speakers but they got a great rating it looks like.

 

[shavefan]

Nice!! I like when folks shop for me. Makes it very easy. My 300 budget was just for the turntable. so this is right in line. Never heard of Elac speakers but they got a great rating it looks like.

Those U-Turn spinners are upgradable and would still be around your initial budget. The acrylic platter is probably worth it. Possibly cartridge too. Orbit Plus is $289 with both those upgrades.

I'm familiar with Elac but I've never owned any. My BIL has the 6.5's in his office and they sound good for their size.

 

[Toothpick]

Just to clarify a few things -

list of what I need

• Turntable
• Pre-amp (if the turntable does not include one)
• Stereo Receiver
• Speakers

If I wanted a minimalist setup:

• Turntable w/built in preamp
• Speakers with built in amp

Should be about it to get listening?

It seems my budget has gone up significantly. I think the best setup would include a pre-amp and stereo receiver.