Advise: Buying My First Vinyl Player

[hifi-freak]

I was going to recommend Ebay...there you can find good deals on used vinyl players. You can also check this site:
http://www.vinylengine.com/

[SlumpBuster]

There actually are some good turntables in that price range.

Wooch and Pix are right on with the Project and Music Hall recommendations. But they are right that it is mostly the cartridge that will dictate performance. Both allow future upgrade to virtually any cartridge.

Another option is the Audio Technica LP-120 USB turntable. This is a table that has a long history and is a clone of the venerable Technics 1200 DJ tables. The new model has USB output that is gimmicky and may have audiophiles turn up their noses at it. But I've actually spent a fair amount of time with an earlier non-USB version of the table and it is very nice.

Here is a link to one: http://www.needledoctor.com/Audio-Te...=2&category=46

Most of us will only be able to give you a model name and number. It will be up to you to find an Irish retailer or seller.

[pixelthis]

There actually are some good turntables in that price range.

Wooch and Pix are right on with the Project and Music Hall recommendations. But they are right that it is mostly the cartridge that will dictate performance. Both allow future upgrade to virtually any cartridge.

Another option is the Audio Technica LP-120 USB turntable. This is a table that has a long history and is a clone of the venerable Technics 1200 DJ tables. The new model has USB output that is gimmicky and may have audiophiles turn up their noses at it. But I've actually spent a fair amount of time with an earlier non-USB version of the table and it is very nice.

Here is a link to one: http://www.needledoctor.com/Audio-Te...=2&category=46

Most of us will only be able to give you a model name and number. It will be up to you to find an Irish retailer or seller.

YOU DON'T need to buy too much cartridge, however.
My Audio Technica 3003 came on a blister pack from CIRCUIT City, and for my purposes suits me fine. NEVER have been concerned with cartridges much,
most are pretty decent after a certain price point.
AND i believe MUSIC HALL is English, or UK. Your neighborhood, basically.

[pixelthis]

Hmmmm...wetted my whistle, think I will put LEARNING TO CRAWL on the
platter.

[SlumpBuster]

YOU DON'T need to buy too much cartridge, however.
My Audio Technica 3003 came on a blister pack from CIRCUIT City, and for my purposes suits me fine. NEVER have been concerned with cartridges much,
most are pretty decent after a certain price point.

I agree to an extent. Most do sound decent after a certain price point, IMHO that is about $60 for a Grado Black or Sumiko Oyster. But I currently have $30, $80, $150 and $350 carts that I like for different reasons and purposes. They all sound good, otherwise I wouldn't use them, but they don't sound the same. But that is the nice thing about the turntables in this price range. I would have no objection to putting a $30 cart on it or a $500 cart on it. They play well with a wide range.

Also, this all pertains to moving magnet carts, which max out at about $500. After that you are looking at moving coil which is a whole other beast.

[Woochifer]

YOU DON'T need to buy too much cartridge, however.
My Audio Technica 3003 came on a blister pack from CIRCUIT City, and for my purposes suits me fine. NEVER have been concerned with cartridges much,
most are pretty decent after a certain price point.
AND i believe MUSIC HALL is English, or UK. Your neighborhood, basically.

Actually, the cartridge is every bit as important, if not more so, as the turntable/tonearm itself. Upgrading from a Sumiko Black Pearl ($70 piece of crap cartridge that I don't recommend to anyone) to the Ortofon OM30 (lists for $300, but I got it for $160) was like listening to an entirely different component.

And even within the Ortofon lineup, moving up from the entry level OM10 ($80) to the OM20 ($150) is a big step up in sound quality, even though the only difference between the two models is the shape cut on the stylus.

Much like the speakers dictate the personality of your audio system, cartridges do the same thing with the vinyl playback. Skimping on the cartridge has the same effect as skimping on the speakers.

I agree to an extent. Most do sound decent after a certain price point, IMHO that is about $60 for a Grado Black or Sumiko Oyster. But I currently have $30, $80, $150 and $350 carts that I like for different reasons and purposes. They all sound good, otherwise I wouldn't use them, but they don't sound the same. But that is the nice thing about the turntables in this price range. I would have no objection to putting a $30 cart on it or a $500 cart on it. They play well with a wide range.

Also, this all pertains to moving magnet carts, which max out at about $500. After that you are looking at moving coil which is a whole other beast.

I used to have a Sumiko Black Pearl -- biggest mistake of my audio experience. I learned at that point that a manufacturer's reputation in the higher end carries no weight whatsoever in the lower price points. Aside from the Grados, I've not heard anything in the $60 range remotely worth keeping. The issue with the Grados is that they're very susceptible to picking up interference, and that's exactly what they do with my turntable model.

As much as I love the Ortofon OM series and think the OM10 is a very good entry level cartridge at $80, things don't get truly interesting until you arrive at the $150 OM20.

[JohnMichael]

I would not bother with any cartridge with a conical or sperical stylus. Some of the included cartridges on Pro-ject tables have a conical stylus. I think that is why many listeners are not impressed. Audio Technica offers many cartridges with elliptical or better styli. The AT tables has an S shaped arm and the Denon 160 cartridge might be a good match. Of course once you enter into analog it may just whet your appetite for better stuff down the road. The Denon is a high output moving coil cartridge and the AT MC cartridges are low output and require a high gain phono preamp.

[SlumpBuster]

I used to have a Sumiko Black Pearl -- biggest mistake of my audio experience.

Too bad. I've got an Oyster awaiting install in my main system (need longer bolts - LP gear says they are in the mail). I've heard it on another system an liked it, but I haven't heard it in the main system. We'll see if it passes muster.