Turntables -- what's best?

Todd Weger · Post by **Todd Weger** » 30 Aug 2006 7:01 am

OK, so I know there are turntables still out there (you remember, the ones that play what we used to just call records, made of vinyl).

But, what I'm wondering is, should I go to Ebay to find one, or just my local pawn shop? And, is there anything I should be avoiding, or looking for in specific? What should I figure on paying for one?

I haven't owned a turntable since 1980(!), and would like to start haunting the thrift shops for old vinyl steel guitar recordings (both Hawaiian and old country). I also want it to have RCA outs, so I have the option of putting them into my PC and/or an iPod for listening to tunes on the road.

Thanks!

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Todd James Weger --
1956 Fender Stringmaster T-8 (C6, A6, B11); 1960 Fender Stringmaster D-8 (C6, B11/A6); Regal resonator (C6); 1938 Epiphone Electar (A6); assorted ukuleles; upright bass

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 30 Aug 2006 7:17 am

I bought a $99 turntable at the local electronix discount store. Decent two speeder (33/45).
It also has a switchable preamp built in for use with mixers/amps that don't have mag phono level inputs.
I have 3 transcription turntables (from the '70's, with good cartridges) at home that have become totally useless until I make belts for them. The rubber belts have literally "evaporated". All that is left of the original belts is a residue on the platter belt surface. [This message was edited by Ray Minich on 30 August 2006 at 08:18 AM.]

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 30 Aug 2006 7:34 am

Moved to Electronics from No Peddlers.

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Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars

Roman Sonnleitner · Post by **Roman Sonnleitner** » 30 Aug 2006 7:37 am

Well, there's plenty of choice in turntables - seems like records are making a 'come-back' (at least over here in Europe); the only problem is, though, that they are either geared towards DJ use (like the ever-popular Technics 1210 or the various Stanton models), or they are really expensive boutique hi-fi offerings for people who hear the grass grow.
A few affordable good quality exceptions:

-) Thorens: THE classic brand for turnatables - kind of the Stringmaster of record players

, good stuff as medium prices; http://www.thorens.com/en/

-) Dual: similar to Thorens (the OTHER classic brand), usually slightly cheaper; I use their CS455 belt-drive model myself, and I'm perfectly happy with it.

-) Pro-Ject: very high quality, minimalistic design, reasonable price, very popular with first-time buyers. http://www.project-audio.com/index.php?cat=default&lang=en

Mike Winter · Post by **Mike Winter** » 30 Aug 2006 8:14 am

I have a Technics that I bought for $10 at a thrift store. It had a needle and cartridge, so the only thing I had to buy was a belt. Except for a slight hum, which goes away if I touch anything metal on it, it works great. The hum can't really be heard when a record is playing, so I haven't tried fixing it...I'm thinking it's a ground issue of some kind.

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Mike
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Blue Moon Highway
(Country Music...and then some.)
www.bluemoonhighway.com

ZB Custom S-10 (#0509)

Gareth Carthew · Post by **Gareth Carthew** » 30 Aug 2006 8:36 am

Definatly a ground problem.

I'm not an expert on turntables but alot of Technic's that I've seen, mine included, have a single ground wire exciting in addition to the two RCA/Phono plugs. This should connect to a suitable ground point. In my case a screw on the back of my amp.

Ron Simpson · Post by **Ron Simpson** » 30 Aug 2006 9:41 am

My daughter just gifted me with a new turntable. They are available from many of the mail order music outfits such as Musicians Friend. The unit that I have includes a USB cable which connects directly to a computer, along with a program called "Audacity" which turns the audio into a computer file. This is in addition to the standard phono plugs audio outputs.

Øystein Røysi · Post by **Øystein Røysi** » 30 Aug 2006 9:50 am

Todd,
Please, do yourself a favour and get an NAD turntable, or similar. The others are cheap and everything, but if you take the step up to something like an NAD C555, or a Rega Planar 2, you get both quality and reliability. OK, you don't get the ability to plug directly into your hi-fi or PC, but an RIAA module doesn't have to cost much.

If you want to go directly to PC or hi-fi, Denon has at least one or two models that can do this.

Hope this helps!

Øystein

Rick Alexander · Post by **Rick Alexander** » 30 Aug 2006 10:37 am

Amazon has tons of turntables . .

John Swain · Post by **John Swain** » 30 Aug 2006 12:17 pm

Musician's Friend has a DJ turntable with preamp and cartridge(needle) for about $100...I wish I had seen it before I bought a preamp($40), new drive belt($10)for my old Phillips(which could use a better needle!!

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 30 Aug 2006 12:48 pm

I use a Technics SL-BD20. It's a DC-servo drive, which is very smooth and accurate, speed-wise. They're available (used) for under $30. The SL-BD27 is nice, too.

Smiley Roberts · Post by **Smiley Roberts** » 30 Aug 2006 2:02 pm

Numark TT1600MKII Belt Drive,from American Musical Supply. $99.95 Plays 33/45,w/ adjustable pitch range. www.americanmusical.com 1-800-458-4076

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<pre> ~ ~
©¿© It don't mean a thang,
mm if it ain't got that twang.</pre>

Gareth Carthew · Post by **Gareth Carthew** » 30 Aug 2006 3:10 pm

Realistically, if all you're looking for is a good turntable to connect to your hi-fi, you've got sooooooo many choices.

I picked up my Technics in a junk shop I saw as I was driving through a tiny viliage.
It's perfect for my purposes. Direct drive, adjustable speed, strobe spots on the platter.
It cost me £20.
Befor that I was using a "Dual" turtable that was "Free to a good home" from my local electronics/radio junk/surplus store.
All it needed was a new motor and a bit of speed adjustment.

There are so many manufacturers and models out there it's hard to say "these are some to avoid...these are some to look out for..."

Have a look around local pawn shops, you should be able to check them out befor you buy.
Ebay will have, without doubt, a HUGE selection of suitable units.

Pretty much anything you buy (provided it actually turns) should be suitable for what you want.
Although if it has a strobe adjustable speed control it will be usefull if you want to play allong with the records.

James Cann · Post by **James Cann** » 30 Aug 2006 9:45 pm

Dare I say it?--My trusty Garrard sends greetings to all from its honored place on the shelf, still putting up with pesky upstarts tape, CD, and DVD, and if that's not enough, the 16, 45, and 78 crowds are also welcome, thank you very much![This message was edited by James Cann on 30 August 2006 at 10:47 PM.]

Gareth Carthew · Post by **Gareth Carthew** » 31 Aug 2006 4:33 am

I use my turntable alot but pride of place in my Hi-Fi has to go to my Sony TC-377 3 head, open reel tape recorder. What a fantastic sound.

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 31 Aug 2006 4:38 am

I keep several turntables working. I have about 4000 LPs.

If I was only allowed to have one turntable I would have an old AR table with just the on/off switch on it. Great bargain today.

I have a Thorens and it is nice. By my workbench, I built a shelf that attaches to the wall so when I am banging on stuff on my bench, the vibrations don't get to the table. I keep garden variety direct drive Japanese tables like Technics, JVC, Kenwood and others there. NO belts to mess with.

Duals are nice, but are getting to that age where the rubber disc that drives them can be suspect. Lots of folks who still spin 78s buy the Duals because they have that speed.

Best place to pick up turn tables are thrift stores, yard sales and Ebay for the more high end items. Plenty of places on the net for needles, cartridges and belts.

Happy listening![This message was edited by Bill Hatcher on 31 August 2006 at 05:38 AM.]

Jud Thomas · Post by **Jud Thomas** » 31 Aug 2006 2:48 pm

I bought a Dual CS608 on ebay for around $80. The problem was, it got kind of jacked up during shipping. Anyway, there's this stereo service place that works on them and by the time I ordered a new cartridge w/ stylus and had some labor done, it cost me $130 above what I paid for the machine. It sounds great now and is super reliable. My point is, I would avoid the ebay thing. I don't think turntables do very well in shipping. There's too many small, movable parts.
I would suggest seeing if there's any resale/service shops that refurbish them and sell them used. Some even come with service warranties.
The ones made in the 70's and 80's can be really nice if you get a well made one.

Karl Oberlander · Post by **Karl Oberlander** » 31 Aug 2006 3:22 pm

If you cruise eBay long enough you'll spot the absolute best turntable ever made. I have one myself that I bought newe in 1982. It's a Revox B-790 tangential tracking table. I have a Denon moving coil cartridge on it with an outboard Denon HA-1000 head amp. I also kept my Thorens TD-166 with the Lin Basik arm and cartridge. I have the Revox setup piped into my McIntosh MX-117 tuner/pre-amp and then into the Mackie mixinig board.

I kept all my old vinyl from the late '50's on and collected a considerable amount after the CD was introduced and even those expensive ($50) 1/2 speed mastered records were on close-out for less thatn 4$.

Now I have the computer tied into the rack with a Echo Layla board and can make my own Cd's from the vinyl. And great compilation MP3 disks too. I did up all my Hawaiian collection a while back. Literally hundreds of great tunes.

Especially the old 78's. I use an old Gerrard turntable in a 1958 Fisher tube Hi-Fi run again into the mixing board for those. You can see the Fisher in the background of the photos on my web site. I picked it up at an estate sale for $15! All I had to do was change out some caps that were leaking and voila it came back to life. FM dial only goes up to 101 though. I guess there just weren't that many stations back then.

Keep on slidin' boys!

Kobe

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Gibson D-8 Console Grande - Stringmaster T-8 - Alkire EHarp D-10
Fender Super Reverb
kobe@austin.rr.com
http://home.austin.rr.com/kobeco

[This message was edited by Karl Oberlander on 31 August 2006 at 04:26 PM.]

Norman Evans · Post by **Norman Evans** » 2 Sep 2006 5:04 pm

Radio Shack still has Turntables. You may have to have them order one. Check their website www.radioshack.com

Norm

James Stewart Jr · Post by **James Stewart Jr** » 2 Sep 2006 10:57 pm

I'll agree with Smiley on his post.Scroll back and read. Numark turntables are good quality turntables,and it is best to find a company that still makes them (and there are plenty).
Buying a turntable from E Bay or garage sales are risky.
Sure turntables in the 70's were in their heyday but after 30 years most have dried up grease and need new rubber belts and rollers....and try to find a place that can service them or even get parts.
The trouble just ins't worth it.
For our purposes there are plenty being made today ----Just do a search.
Thanks James Stewart,Jr.

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1975 Sho~Bud Pro III Custom (8-7)
1981 Peavey Session 500

Eric Jaeger · Post by **Eric Jaeger** » 7 Sep 2006 9:46 am

As someone who's pursued vinyl sound for forty years, I have to chime in.

Contrary to popular belief, the analog vinyl market is relatively healthy, if a LOT smaller than it used to be. You can buy new turntables from @$100 to over $20,000 (no, I didn't accidentally lean on the zero key). You have to decide what sound quality you want.

A few guidelines:
1) new under $300 belt drives are pretty good, as are moving magnet cartridges from Goldring, Grado, and the like.
2) run as fast as you can from "direct-drive". They may be OK for DJ's but they sound terrible.
3) watch out for used turntables. As mechanical devices they can deteriorate in odd ways.

Have fun. The consensus among crazed audiophiles is that vinyl STILL sounds better than CD.

-eric

Gil Berry · Post by **Gil Berry** » 10 Sep 2006 7:55 pm

I bought a Dual 1229 while I was shopping in Hong Kong in 1973. I think I did replace the cartridge about twenty years ago, but other than that, it's still working perfectly after probably many thousands of hours of playing vinyl. (I've played old SG Record club albums so many times I have the bumps memorized.) Anyway, if you can find one...it is a very good changer.

Per Berner · Post by **Per Berner** » 10 Sep 2006 9:47 pm

Nothing wrong with direct drive, if done right!

Six years ago, I sold my belt-drive Dual, tired of the massive rumble and after replacing the pitch adjustment mechanism for the third time, and got a brand new Technics SL-1210 Mk II - for a number of reasons:

- it's built to last forever
- it is the world's best selling pro turntable, in production since the seventies, so parts and servicing will be available long after all other turntable manufacturers have gone bust
- the pitch control has a wide range
- wow, flutter and rumble are at inaudible levels
- it looks good and is beautifully finished
- and most of all, it sounds very good with my Pickering 757 pickup (not a DJ model).

Gareth Carthew · Post by **Gareth Carthew** » 11 Sep 2006 6:55 am

run as fast as you can from "direct-drive". They may be OK for DJ's but they sound terrible.

That's a bit of a sweeping generalisation isn't it?
Any chance you'd like to expand on the reasoning behind that statement?

I have both a Dual belt drive and a Technics SL-3200 direct drive. The technics is far from "terrible sounding" and is in fact my preffered turntable of the two.

[This message was edited by Gareth Carthew on 11 September 2006 at 07:57 AM.]

James Stewart Jr · Post by **James Stewart Jr** » 11 Sep 2006 6:01 pm

I too would like to know the reason why you dislike direct drive turntables. Their speed is much more direct and less flutter and wow.
Perhaps ---yours is defective.
Please expound----James

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1975 Sho~Bud Pro III Custom (8-7)
1981 Peavey Session 500