2moreinches Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I don't trust employees at any store I could buy one of these at so I'm wondering what's a good starting turntable that I can get preferrably 200 or less. I may be willing to spend more if it's worth it but I'm not completely sure, I just wanna start spinning on something good cause at the moment I'm using a borrowed turntable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suchashorttime Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 shop thrift stores! find something vintage and cheap, and stash the remaining $180 for an entry level audiophile table. some places you have to ask for the record players, others you have to be lucky, but they are out there and cheap. most of the time, in really good shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stopthisnoise Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I got a Audio Technica LP 120 from Amazon for $250. Amazing turntable, especially for beginners. it isn't a "starters turntable" but it is definitely worth taking the time to learn about it, and it's a great value. Not sure the starting price on them, but i got mine during christmas last year so maybe wait for it to come down in price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koremora Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I got the exact same table, and I LOVE it. Seriously, it's worth every penny. Can't recommend it highly enough for a starter table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2moreinches Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 shop thrift stores! find something vintage and cheap, and stash the remaining $180 for an entry level audiophile table. some places you have to ask for the record players, others you have to be lucky, but they are out there and cheap. most of the time, in really good shape. I don't wanna sound like a noob... but what exactly is an audiophile table? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harryq Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 ditto (Audio Technica LP 120), and you can upgrade the cartridge at some point further down the road, unlike some "starter" record players I bought a sony 300 whatever thing for $100 thinking it would get me by, and then I discovered that the money you spend on cheap record players is money wasted in a year or two when you want something worthwhile... and something that doesn't skip for no apparent reason on perfectly fine records Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harryq Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 shop thrift stores! find something vintage and cheap, and stash the remaining $180 for an entry level audiophile table. some places you have to ask for the record players, others you have to be lucky, but they are out there and cheap. most of the time, in really good shape. maybe I'm just paranoid, but unless I knew what I was looking for, something from a thrift store seems like more trouble than it's worth... I have "flip this house" horror stories in my mind. "oh, it's just a fixer upper!" then you find the mold... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serum7 Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Audio Technica PL 120 here, love it, especially with the Shure m97x. Got both from Amazon. Thrift stores can be really good places too though, you just gotta make sure the stuff works right. Most places have an electronics testing area to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2moreinches Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 Well I looked on Amazon and there's another 120 model but it has the USB capabilities to transfer over to a computer. http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATLP120-P....8799191&sr =8-2 And the regular LP 120 http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT-PL120-Professional-Direct-Drive-Turntable/dp/B00012EYNG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1308799191&sr=8-4 By the prices the first one looks like it's supposed to be more expensive but for some reason isn't. Does anyone know the differences between these? Cause it appears like the first one is a better deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknroll76 Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I have the regular pl120 and I love it. Anything with that USB seems gimmicky and from what I hear the sound quality of the transfer is pretty bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harryq Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Well I looked on Amazon and there's another 120 model but it has the USB capabilities to transfer over to a computer.http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATLP120-P....8799191&sr =8-2 the LP (as opposed to the PL) is the newer one. other than that and the USB... not sure what the difference is I have the regular pl120 and I love it. Anything with that USB seems gimmicky and from what I hear the sound quality of the transfer is pretty bad. I'll admit that I've never used the USB feature on my LP120, or my Sony record player for that matter. I use the RCA cables to a line-in cable into my desktop, and I can't complain about the sound quality of my recordings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shitty Rambo Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Keep in mind you're also going to need a receiver and speakers. Personally I'd recommend a Crosley travel table for "beginners" since it has built in speakers and what not. Although the lack in power could make you luke-warm about records. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2moreinches Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 Keep in mind you're also going to need a receiver and speakers.Personally I'd recommend a Crosley travel table for "beginners" since it has built in speakers and what not. Although the lack in power could make you luke-warm about records. My parents let me take a receiver and nice speakers so I've got that covered Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shenanigans Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Personally I'd recommend a Crosley travel table for "beginners" since it has built in speakers and what not. Although the lack in power could make you luke-warm about records. I bought one of those Crosley 3 in one players from Target a while back and it as awful. No power and it clicked every time it went around and if you have odd sized records the arm doesn't go in far enough to play smaller ones i.e. 5"s. I ended up with the Technics 1200 that I got at a pawn shop for right around $200 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suchashorttime Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 shop thrift stores! find something vintage and cheap, and stash the remaining $180 for an entry level audiophile table. some places you have to ask for the record players, others you have to be lucky, but they are out there and cheap. most of the time, in really good shape. maybe I'm just paranoid, but unless I knew what I was looking for, something from a thrift store seems like more trouble than it's worth... I have "flip this house" horror stories in my mind. "oh, it's just a fixer upper!" then you find the mold... well thrift stores will let you try it out before you buy it. and for a $20 table, why not? the physical appearance of a record player shows a lot, how well it was maintained / how much it was even used. plug it in, make sure the platter spins and changes speed. eye up the needle and make sure it's sitting square in the cartridge. if that all checks out, it might be worth the $20 to get it home and spin a record on it. you can upgrade the cartridge and might end up with a decent sounding table for way under $100. i snagged a backup JVC table like that, and it rules. I don't wanna sound like a noob... but what exactly is an audiophile table? i'm just referring to higher end component turntables. the most well known at the entry level (and perhaps most widely known here) are the rega rp1 and the pro-ject debut iii. they'll run you 3-400, but typically have better balancing mechanisms and solid platters. they're pretty sexy too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonbeams Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 the project debut iii espirit is really sexy. the platter absorbs the color of translucent records. really beautiful. http://www.audiocostruzioni.com/r_s/giradischi/project-debut-III-esprit/debut-III-esprit.htm It should be noted that this is a fully manual table. No start, stop, etc. To change the speed, you have to change the position of the belt under the platter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillhole Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I started out with a junk all in one hand me down from my folks. It was garbage and actually damaged some of my old thrift store records. After that I went to the Numark ttusb which I found out had a manufacturing defect that may or may not have caused damage if I kept using it. Exchanged that and got the AT-PL120 which is a real nice table. It could be a long term keeper or one hell of a beginner table. I swapped out the stock cartridge to a AT-440MLa which really opened her up. Once I picked up the Cambridge Audio 640p pre-amp, I believe that made the biggest difference of them all. I currently have what is displayed in my sig, but that AT-PL120 setup sounded amazing for how little I had invested. A good friend of mine has that turntable now and it's still working like a champ and he is not so nice with this stuff sometimes, so it can take a beating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philviral Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Perfect starter table.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almightyseancore Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamover Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 http://cgi.ebay.com/TECHNICS-SL-D1-DIREC....#ht _1216wt_932 Don't buy a new one. Get this one and spend the extra money on a quality cartridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planetrakis Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 The Fisher Price ones are awesome, and they take a beating. My daughter has had the best show and tells with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almightyseancore Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 http://cgi.ebay.com/TECHNICS-SL-D1-DIRECT-DRIVE-TURNTABLE-/250842328471?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3 a675e2d97#ht_1216wt_932Don't buy a new one. Get this one and spend the extra money on a quality cartridge. all joking aside, this is fully backed. put a Grado on that bitch and you'll never need to buy another table, unless you really want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somethingvinyl Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Definitely go the cheap route at first. Don't invest a lot of money on something that you're just getting into. It will allow you to figure out what you like and your preferences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddieruckus Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 backing the lp120...... great table for the price, I own one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknroll76 Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Well I looked on Amazon and there's another 120 model but it has the USB capabilities to transfer over to a computer.http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATLP120-P....8799191&sr =8-2 the LP (as opposed to the PL) is the newer one. other than that and the USB... not sure what the difference is I have the regular pl120 and I love it. Anything with that USB seems gimmicky and from what I hear the sound quality of the transfer is pretty bad. I'll admit that I've never used the USB feature on my LP120, or my Sony record player for that matter. I use the RCA cables to a line-in cable into my desktop, and I can't complain about the sound quality of my recordings I use the RCA to line in as well and it works great, sound is awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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