Troy plays bass

I'd definitely consider purchasing Put Up Or Shut Up if It got pressed.  Same with the Party Scene, but I know that will never happen.  None of the other records do much for me, although a Weightless 7" would be an instant buy.

I've got a Carbon where in IL are you?  Haha

Central.  If you're in Wisconsin like your location says, it'd be a bit of a hike.  I'll ask around here and see if I can find a friend of a friend or something who has one.

With a manual table, the platter SHOULD be spinning the entire time it's switched on.

Good to know.  I had a Technics SL-BD for a bit that would stop spinning when the arm was off to the side.  I guess that one wasn't fully manual though, so maybe that's the difference.

Just search "speaker wire" on Amazon.  Tons of options will come up.  As long as the ends are bare wire and not jacks, you'll be good.

With that amp, you would need the preamp as well.  Some receivers have a built in phono preamp, but not that one.

 

You'll need two sets of RCA cables: one to go from the turntable to the preamp (included with the Orbit) and one to go from the preamp to the amplifier.  Then you'll need speaker wire to run from the amp to the speakers.

So if I buy an "amplifier" then I won't need a pre amp?

The Orbit does come with a set of RCA cables.

 

I highly recommend reading the thread that dethrock linked to.  Lots of great info there.

How is the build quality of the turntable?

 

It feels really good to my hands.  Nice and heavy.  The spool for the belt seemed sort of loose at first, but maybe that's not a problem.  It hasn't affected the sound or anything so far.

 

Yah thanks! I really wish you could do a side by side with a Carbon too

 

I'm still torn!

I don't know anyone around here who has one, but if I did, then I definitely would.  I know a lot of people will be deciding between an Orbit and a Carbon.

Got mine today! Here's a pic: http://instagram.com/p/fdj3bNhpQo/

 

Some initial thoughts:

 

-Setting this up was stupidly easy.  Granted, I've never put a turntable together out of the box before, but I expected more assembly than this.  Just put the platter and slipmat on, put the belt around it, plug stuff in, and play.  I don't know for sure if the counterweight was set up perfectly out of the box or not (I'd appreciate some advice on how to tell), but it seems fine to me so far.  No skips or anything yet.

-My first impression of the sound is that it's really good.  Comparable to my Technics SL-QD33, at least, and far better than my ex-girlfriend's Crosley and the Denon DP-29 at my friends' place.  This is definitely a cut above the cheap stuff.

-Plays well on both speeds.  No weird pitch wobbling or anything so far

-It does sort of bug me that the platter doesn't stop spinning when the arm is in its clip, but I don't know if that's a standard thing or not.

-This is my first experience with a table where I've had to manually change the belt to a different part of the spool.  I don't mind it too much, but the belt feels a little fragile to my fingers.  Again, maybe that's normal.

-I wish I could actually A/B this with a Carbon to give people some better feedback on that comparison.

-I wonder how many times I can listen to the A side of this Pet Symmetry 7" on each turntable for comparison's sake before my housemates wonder what I'm doing.

-It's nice and heavy.  Doesn't feel cheap or plasticky in any way.

 

Disclaimer: I don't claim to have a trained ear for this stuff in any way.  

 

The rest of my setup, for reference:

Nad 7140 Receiver

Technics SH80-57 graphic EQ

Boston HD5 speakers

 

Feel free to ask any questions you have, and I'll answer them to the best of my ability.

i had a dream i saw IIOI last night in a conference room.

yay for drunk dreams?

I actually saw The Graduate and Mark Rose play in a hotel conference room once.

Anyone else having trouble getting into this album? Hmm. 

Nope.  It's my album of the year right now.

any chance for Santi?

I sure hope so.  I'm probably in the minority, but I think Santi is as good as, if not better than Almost Here.

i'll buy whichever you don't want

Already promised to a friend, sorry!

 

I'm just looking forward to a review of someone that actually owns one. I saw in an online q and A recently, that they said they sent one to C/net for revew but had no idea who would review it, or when it might be posted.

I'll definitely post my thoughts next week.

Got my shipping notification for this yesterday.  I'm excited to get this, but in the time since I ordered it, I picked up a Technics SL-QD33 in great condition at a yard sale for $35, and I sort of doubt the Orbit will top that, but we'll see.

My tracking says mine is in New Jersey with an expected delivery date of today (in Illinois).  Yeah, that didn't happen, haha.

Bummer.  Might give in and listen to the stream instead of waiting for my record.

Entering.

In for TA!

I've been trying not to buy so much lately, but I can't pass up that YMAEWK 7" for $5 ppd.

What's a digital box set?

Probably a zip file.

Excited about this.  So Young, So Insane was what got me into YMAEWK.  Any plans to press I Wish More People Gave a Shit?  I think that's my favorite release of theirs.

Do you play bass?

Never touched one.  Fish aren't musical instruments anyway.

 

(Yes, I do play bass, and also guitar and a little bit of drums.)

was in a touring band called News from Verona for a few years--had plans to hit it big. did a month-long national tour with catering and all that jazz but decided to quit to stay home with my wife. honestly, i'm not even that good at bass, I was just a good performer and businessman haha. they're called Pioneer now. doing cool stuff. they always open for the national touring acts that come through in the pop/rock genre (the dangerous summer, the almost, the maine, etc.)

 

Your band ruled.  Seriously.  I saw you five times in a week at Cornerstone Festival a few years ago, and I still listen to All I Know Is I Know Nothing and Coming of Age pretty regularly.  My brother still keeps up with Pioneer a bit, but it was never the same for me after the name/member changes.  That week of shows and those EPs are sort of a magic moment for me though, so thank you.

 

As for myself, I'm a musician, but I haven't failed yet.  I play in a few bands, and I take it pretty seriously, and I plan to do even more after I graduate college in the spring.

Pumped for this.  I also want that lathe cut but not the bundle.  Maybe I'll find some people who only want the album to split the bundle with me.

I know there's not really any sense of scale in that picture, but I assumed those were the CDs.  I could be wrong though.

I saw this discount code on tumblr the other day and picked up The Lack Long After and the TA/Pianos split.  Also, good Arrested Development reference.