redsonja

So I picked up some of these over the weekend. Got A Night At The Opera, A Day At The Races, and Innuendo. Surprisingly they're really good pressings with no warps or noise or anything, and they sound great, unlike the Iron Maiden reissues which are pretty flat and dull sounding. Going to have to check out some more for sure

Also, speakers really need to be at ear level, or off the floor at least, otherwise you're not really gonna get the benefit of music on vinyl. If you google speaker placement you should be able to find some good tips on how to set that up quite easily, there's not really a lot to it, just make sure they're not right next to your turntable and that they're off the floor, and preferably pointing towards where you're listening from!

Definitely better to have them isolated if you can because it's the vibrations which travel through the surface that can cause skipping, etc.

Did you go with the AT95E cartridge you mentioned? I forgot to ask!

Most definitely, vibrations will cause skipping and you don't want that to happen! When I first got my setup I didn't have speaker stands, so I just stood them at the sides of my table on two dining room chairs until I could pick up the stands that I wanted. Having them that close to the turntable might also cause some sound or hum issues, so best to be safe than sorry

Are the speakers also on the same shelf?

If you're happy then it sounds like a good deal to me You're in Edinburgh? You should talk to Raye on here, he's near Edinburgh I think or a short train ride away.

Allen is best to advise you on the amp I think, but he'll probably say 'trust your ears', and that's about right so have a good listen with both amps and see which sounds best to you. Oh, wouldn't worry about how much it's worth and just concentrate on whether you like the sound Let us know how you get on?

Hey Jade, if it's all in working order I'd say snap his hand off, though you might want to get a better cartridge somewhere down the line. To be honest I wouldn't say that you could get a new system of TT, amp, and speakers (and phono stage) for much less than £1,000 if you want it to sound any better than CDs or even FLAC, so yeah, it sounds like a great deal! But I'm sure as Allen will tell you, try it first if you can!! (isn't that right, Allen?!?!). That's some good advice

Thanks!

Has anyone listened to these yet? Tempted but really want to know how they sound first ...

I'll give that an almighty amen

It is the exact that's right, but it isn't that I don't like it or the way that it sounds, it's just that out of all the turntables I've heard in the under £1,000 category, which actually isn't that many I guess considering how many models are out there, I actually quite like the Carbon Esprit with the 2 Blue. There is a notable difference between the two I guess, but not that notable that it's worth paying an extra £400 for like I did, and I know it's your opinion and that's cool but in my opinion it's nothing at all like going from a Crosley to an Esprit. The Esprit is a really great turntable for the price, if I didn't have my RP6 I'd probably go with the Esprit or an RP3. Oh when I say in the under £1,000 category, I mean just new turntables and not vintage or used And yeah I agree with Tardcore I guess, as there's definitely a different resonance on certain instruments like piano and more classically bent strung stuff, but I really don't hear it on rock or metal for the majority.

I did, and it is as far as I'm aware and I've had it for over a year now. It's not a direct side by side comparison and obviously there is an audible difference there, but to my ears and considering the price ranges involved, there's very little difference in quality though maybe more of a difference in character or voice? Edit: Oh it's the Esprit model I'm comparing to, just to be clear

Go with Allen's advice on this one! I looked at one of those Teac's because my friend was trying to big up how 'cool' they looked and yep, they do look cool, but they sound pretty crappy. If It was between a Rega and the Debut Carbon SB with the platter, at that price point I'd go with the Carbon any day and get a better cartridge (or just upgrade the Red stylus to the Blue like my friend did, it's a great sounding system not far off my RP6). In fact, talk to Raye on here too and he'll be able to tell you all about the Carbon and the Ortofon Blue

Yeah, they're insane alright. Even Fear of the Dark is going EX or NM for around £100 these days, which is crazy money (and why did I ever give my unplayed copy away ten years ago?!). X Factor was great, but I really wish they'd have put Judgement of Heaven and Justice of the Peace on there. Virtual XI ... I really didn't like the production on that one ... plastic guitars ... but the songs were half good! Loved his solo records though.

Does anyone have this? If so how does it sound on the original UK or US clear vinyl? I might have the chance to get a sealed mint copy, but I just wanted to check out if it actually sounds any good first! Thanks

Thanks Raye, and everyone! To be honest I think that the four records I want to keep would probably cost me £15 each anyway maybe more in EX condition and since those four are more or less okay apart from the dust which isn't audible, especially now I've cleaned them up (although I might take them to a record shop with a professional cleaning machine, just to make sure) I think at the very least I'll just keep them and block the seller if he won't accept a part return. I guess he's just hoping he'll get them all back so he can relist them as NM again and sell for the same price... Edit: I guess the funny thing is I had to use my friend's partner's eBay account for all of this, and I cringe when I think what he's had to deal with. Needless to say it's very unlikely they'll let me do that again!

It's all about delivery. If you just turn up and the OP and I don't know you from the next guy, and you just type some words down that on the surface seem to be made to provoke with no indication of tone, then yeah, expect the chance that someone might get pissed off. We don't know what's going on in your head and we don't know you, if you turned up in a bar and did the same thing to a group of friends who also didn't know you you'd probably get a similar response. Some idiot actually asked me if I was 'down to f***' on my profile page the other day, so it's probably not a stretch to say that yeah, people get defensive when people they've never spoken to before start ribbing them, no matter how friendly or not it was intended. You seem like a genuine guy and you've explained, so that's cool

Want to share your thoughts on that?

Haha, Plarocks, thanks for that I guess you've got a fair few stories too then? On one hand that's exactly what I keep thinking I should do, but on the other it just feels like lying down and taking it to me, which I just can't quite get passed. It feels like the seller has knowingly sold shitty records and lied about them continually (and still does in the face of the evidence), but hey, the buyer should just take it and lose out? I'm not a fan of that approach, but part of me does kinda go 'well, to keep the peace maybe ...'.

Why certainly, Ryuk: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281796644695?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Thanks guys - in this case you may be right initially, but since I asked him before dispatch to play them and check for crackle, etc. and since he told me he had played most of them that same week, and that they didn't even need a clean, there's definitely a little more to it than a simple mistake. That I can understand. It's a little frustrating, but you just send it back and get a refund. This however ... the guy won't even acknowledge the photos, and in his last message to eBay said 'the seller wants to keep half of the records and send half back and would like to negotiate a hefty discount which we believe is totally unfair'. In which twisted reality is only paying for the records that were (almost) as described, and sending the crappy ones back 'totally unfair'? This guy ... Jeez.

Hahaha, that genuinely made me giggle

Thanks - I'll keep you posted!