What do I need to know about turntables?

[Oyeve]

I totally agree with the look of the turntable. I dont go for the "artsy" ones unless its the one used in A Clockwork Orange. But I hate plastic. I love my old denon. Too bad they dont make em anymore. Whatever you get, dont get the Ortofon OMB 3E cartridge. It may be cheap but it sounds like ass.

 

[alfa147x]

I totally agree with the look of the turntable. I dont go for the "artsy" ones unless its the one used in A Clockwork Orange. But I hate plastic. I love my old denon. Too bad they dont make em anymore. Whatever you get, dont get the Ortofon OMB 3E cartridge. It may be cheap but it sounds like ass.

I already have next one picked out.
Ortofon 2M Red Phono Cartridge
I got to listen to it at a friends place a few weeks ago. I loved it.
It tough though because you really don't know how it's going to sound before mounting it to your system.

I wonder if a local place with a return policy has it... yeah I shouldn't be worrying about it now.

Also why does the replacement stylus cost 80% of the overall cartridge

 

[NutBucket]

Well, the stylus "does the work" so to speak. I'm sure some will argue with me though.

And I'll defend my recommendation of a Pro-Ject table as nobody has made a better suggestion for similar money new.

Don't forget I use an 80's Onkyo table...and it isn't high end.

 

[EvilYoda]

It's not exactly a high-volume item, heh...the Rega RP1, Music Hall 2.2, and the Pro-ject Debut III dominate that part of the market. I seldom buy new audio gear, but that's what I probably would've looked at as well.

 

[Madwand1]

I already have next one picked out.
Ortofon 2M Red Phono Cartridge

Sumiko has also made some nice cartridges. Didn't yours come with one? I'd probably look into a clamp or replacement mat before swapping a decent budget cartridge for another one. A clamp should also be easier to return.

 

[alfa147x]

Sumiko has also made some nice cartridges. Didn't yours come with one? I'd probably look into a clamp or replacement mat before swapping a decent budget cartridge for another one. A clamp should also be easier to return.

I wasn't serious about replacing the cartridge. It was something I looked into. Yeah it comes with a Sumiko Pearl. I'll look into clamps

How do you know what weight to buy?

 

[EvilYoda]

I wasn't serious about replacing the cartridge. It was something I looked into. Yeah it comes with a Sumiko Pearl. I'll look into clamps

How do you know what weight to buy?

A decent new clamp can get pricey...I would even consider looking at used TTs on Craigslist just for the clamps. The clamp I use and another one I like both came from used TT purchases. (Then you also have a backup if something happens down the road too!)

 

[alfa147x]

A decent new clamp can get pricey...I would even consider looking at used TTs on Craigslist just for the clamps. The clamp I use and another one I like both came from used TT purchases. (Then you also have a backup if something happens down the road too!)

I may be looking for another TT for my bedroom / office. Hopefully I can get a 2 bedroom place soon. That way I'll have a separated bedroom and office. Then I'll need 2 more But I will be looking on CL for another TT. Hopefully I can find a clamp too

 

[NutBucket]

Just to rub it in a bit alfa, a picture posted by my local radio station this morning. Any guesses on what table it is?

 

[sdifox]

Just to rub it in a bit alfa, a picture posted by my local radio station this morning. Any guesses on what table it is?

first letter of the brand is T?

 

[alfa147x]

Just to rub it in a bit alfa, a picture posted by my local radio station this morning. Any guesses on what table it is?

I found a used on on craigslist for $150
Tempting. I still might go with a Debut III for my bedroom

 

[NutBucket]

A 1200 for $150 is gonna be beat to shit by many wannabe "DJs". I would be very careful before dropping coin on it.

 

[alfa147x]

A 1200 for $150 is gonna be beat to shit by many wannabe "DJs". I would be very careful before dropping coin on it.

I really like the full manual aspect to the PRO-JECT. The minimalistic build. The clean look. They probably will be making my 2nd TT

 

[Oyeve]

I like my cherry wood TT (denon) and the laser guided record size detection system. And the CPU quartz lock system. All from 1981. Very cool. Shit, I still have my old Empire cartidge and stylus. Yes, styli cost as much as the cartridge. I bought a few dozen in the late 80s-early 90s because CDs were catching on and I didnt want to be without needles. I stocked up.

 

[lkjhgf]

Okay Mr. I'm old and I know shit.

From what I've read it seems as though that motors introduce noise /hums /ect. By placing them away from the vinyl that reduces this issue.

Yep, I guess that's the problem.

I'm starting to hate picky ass audiophiles. Almost as bad as android fanboys...

By this post it looks that you're the one who's trying to. But in a naïve and wrong way: you surely can't blame people who are trying to help you in this thread by correcting you.

People disregarded that the look of the TT also matters. It was

going in my living room. I wasn't going to break the look of it with a crappy looking TT.

Well, that's an argument, and I didn't disregard it. Actually it's a good argument if taken in consideration after practical things: to make an example that fits an hardware forum, every single case in my house are made of black brushed aluminium for that reason. I hate cheap and coloured plastic, so I wouldn't ever put things like that in my livingroom or bedroom.

 

[alfa147x]

The bedroom TT on it's way

 

[iRONic]

Cost being irrelevant, are you saying that direct-drive is unsuitable for high-fidelity?

Yes

Like those low-fidelity direct-drive cutters they use to master the LPs you play?

The OP is an idiot. He asks us what to look for, apparently he has no clue, then he states that DD TTs are low-fi. I am confused. I have had turntables for decades and the DD being low-fi is new to me.

Oh my...

I've had this Technics SL7 since early '80something. DD, Quartz locked, and a dynamically balanced linear-tracking tonearm. Cost me ~$600 but it's built like a tank and more silent than a ninja. It came with an AudioTechnica cart which I swapped out for an Ortofon OM10 a few months after I got it and I've never looked back. Currently on my second OM10.

I've heard better TTs than mine but they were far more expensive than what I payed; both belt driven and DD.

 

[alfa147x]

I am loving getting vinyl (That's plural right?)


Ordered vinyl:
Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Stadium Arcadium - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Blood Sugar Sex Magik - Red Hot Chili Peppers

808s & Heartbreak [2 LP and 1 CD] - Kanye West
Late Registration [Vinyl] - Kanye West
The College Dropout [Vinyl] - Kanye West
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy [3 LP] - Kanye West

 

[iRONic]

I really like the full manual aspect to the PRO-JECT.

You're gonna beat on your first stylus and a few albums until you get the hang of a smooth start.

Love my full auto!

 

[alfa147x]

You're gonna beat on your first stylus and a few albums until you get the hang of a smooth start.

Love my full auto!

smooth start? Is that when the TT drops the tonearm so the stylus softly touches the record? The pro-ject does that

 

[iRONic]

smooth start? Is that when the TT drops the tonearm so the stylus softly touches the record? The pro-ject does that

Then it isn't 'full manual' but yeah.

 

[alfa147x]

Then it isn't 'full manual' but yeah.

Ah. I didn't realize they got any more manual than this. I'm glad it has that feature. Set the stylus position and drop the tonarm. Easy.

 

[alfa147x]

How true is this statement:

Want an example of the damage you are doing? A Crosley CR249 USB turntable with a ceramic cartridge uses 4.62 grams of VTF (vertical tracking force) most every good Magnetic cartridge today uses 1.5 grams, this causes much less damage to our vinyl and causes much more to yours. Remember when we talked about how many hundred pounds per square in a needle weighs because of it’s very small surface, yours must weigh a literal ton. Your vinyl was not made specifically for your bad player.

 

[iRONic]

How true is this statement:

As an indictment on Crosley's shitty TTs... pretty accurate. My daughter has one of their all-in-one rigs. Ugh...

 

[skriefal]

The OP is an idiot. He asks us what to look for, apparently he has no clue, then he states that DD TTs are low-fi. I am confused. I have had turntables for decades and the DD being low-fi is new to me.

"Direct-drive = low-fi" is a myth spread by the belt-drive turntable manufacturers. The myth was spread wide in the 1980s, as most high-end turntable manufacturers didn't (and still don't) have the skills or funding to design a direct-drive motor system. So they built belt-drive models and then spread FUD about direct-drive turntables.