sotherbee

How many spins do you think it takes to start accumulating noticeable damage from a turntable such as mine? I am currently looking on Craigslist for something. I think to start with, I will just get a retro turntable with a pre-amp, and find a way to hook it up to my PC speakers. My PC speakers actually sound pretty damn good. I won't have the expendable income to buy a receiver and new speakers for a while. In the meantime, until I get a new turntable, I think I will refrain from playing my most precious vinyl on the Numark (which happen to be brand new reissues by the electronica band Boards of Canada).

I don't have the money to buy an expensive set up at the moment, and there's some vinyl I really wanted to listen to. It doesn't sound THAT bad to my ears, though I don't have much to compare it to as I said. I'd be fine continuing to use this set up until I could afford something better, IF and only IF someone could assure me that it wouldn't wreck my records. Doesn't sound like that's the case though. Do you know for a fact it will damage the vinyl? I'm not questioning your intelligence, I'm just hoping that it's not true.

I just made the decision (and possibly the mistake) of purchasing a Numark PT-01. I bought it to listen to vinyl. I'm not interested in its archiving technology, however I like the fact that I can listen to it through my PC speakers without having to buy a receiver, amp, additional speakers etc. The sound quality is definitely not high fidelity, which is fine. I honestly don't think it's that bad, although I don't have much to compare it to. The point is: I've read on a lot of vinyl forums that playing records on this turntable can/will potentially damage or accelerate wear on the vinyl!! One person said you might as well be playing records with a nail if you're going to play records on such a turntable. Apparently this is due to the heavy, nonadjustable tone arm weight, no anti-skate technology, the ceramic cartridge and/or the stylus being cheap. This allegation is also leveled at most other USB turntables that sell for around $100. Is there concrete truth to this allegation of damage infliction on vinyl? If there is, would the replacement/upgrade of the cartridge/needle help avoid damage? Or, do I need to just replace it with a decent retro turntable? The bottom line: I can deal with bad sound quality, but I CANNOT afford to damage my vinyl. I have some albums which are precious to me. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks. p.s. I did begin reading the DO NOT BUY A CROSLEY thread. I still wanted to ask my question about possible damage specifically, though. I hope you don't mind.