pushbacktosquare Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Can someone explain the drawbacks of owning something like this? I've seen negative remarks towards turntables like these numerous amounts of times on this board and although I don't own something like this myself, I would like to know why it's good to stay away from these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtw88 Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 they sound terrible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pushbacktosquare Posted August 6, 2011 Author Share Posted August 6, 2011 Do products like this actually damage the record? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almightyseancore Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 it's possible. they are cheaply built and sound like crap. cheap cartridges with cheap needles can indeed damage the grooves of your records if used enough. get yourself something nice. you'll be glad you did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexH. Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 The drawbacks are that it's a cheap, poorly made piece of shit that will sound like garbage. The advantage is that it looks "vintage", which gives some people a boner. All the components in it are the absolute bottom-of-the-line, and the built in speakers will transmit vibrations to the tonearm, which creates distortion during vinyl playback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhansel411 Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Had one. Sounds awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pushbacktosquare Posted August 6, 2011 Author Share Posted August 6, 2011 I'm still pretty unfamiliar with the "ideal" turntable set up. I've seen some record players without any speakers, I'm assuming there are ports on the back to plug in to external speakers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhansel411 Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Oh yes. And that's how to go. Nothing with built in speakers is really going to give you the sound you desire from listening to vinylz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pushbacktosquare Posted August 7, 2011 Author Share Posted August 7, 2011 I've also seen people that hook up amplifiers. Is all that really necessary? In terms of price range, how much would it be to invest in a quality turntable listening station? Anyone have any sites they can recommend that sell good equipment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daegor Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 A pre-amp really isn't needed for a first time purchase, if you have a stereo system with your TV set up, just plug it into that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhansel411 Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 You'll need a pre amp if you don't have a phono input on your receiver as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinking_in_design Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 I'm actually waiting for my new needle to arrive for my ION turntable. In the mean time I was playing some records on my old crosley (similar to pic) and the sound is really horrible. Mostly because the turning mechanism is broke and spins the record at an uneven speed. This is what happens to a lot of crosleys after a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finchbadass Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 are you trying to feed the VLV trolls? they're over fed as it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexH. Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 I've also seen people that hook up amplifiers. Is all that really necessary? In terms of price range, how much would it be to invest in a quality turntable listening station? Anyone have any sites they can recommend that sell good equipment? You mean vs. just hooking up speakers to a turntable? Yes, it's very necessary. A turntable's output is not at line-level (the standard level that all other audio equipment [CD players, tape decks, video games etc.] outputs at), so you need a pre-amp to amplify the signal to a usable level. You can get a standalone model, or if you get an older or decent newer receiver it will have an RCA input marked "phono" that has a built in pre-amp. Basically, this is what you need: Turntable (used is the way to go if you have less than a few hundred dollars to spend - new turntables under $300 are generally worse than older used models) Preamp (standalone or built into the receiver) Receiver (the big ole box you run components into and speakers out of) Speakers Plan on either spending a few hundred dollars or getting lucky with estate sales & craigslist. Do some research around the Internet on building a budget Hifi system before buying anything, you'll be glad you did. There really needs to be a stickied "I just bought my first Blink 182 vinyl and now I want to play them on something" thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trevorm Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 So are all crosley's just shit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harryq Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 So are all crosley's just shit? that's what this message board has led me to believe, yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shitty Rambo Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 I used to use a portable Crossley table a few years back. It sounds pretty terrible. It now sits on a dresser near my bedroom bathroom and is only sometimes used when I shower. There's records that I would play on it that would only get as loud as a cell phone speaker, after stepping my game up I realized those records sound amazing and it was that gnarly table that made them sound bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtz Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 ITT: guy who has over 200 records in his tradelist asks very basic questions about turntables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somethingvinyl Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Another negative about the Crosley is that everything eventually breaks. Like someone said, everything is bottom of the line. Once the CD kills, the motor on the turntable will blow too. You'll have eventually paid $75-100 for a radio (but that eventually dies too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chutterhanban Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 I've also seen people that hook up amplifiers. Is all that really necessary? In terms of price range, how much would it be to invest in a quality turntable listening station? Anyone have any sites they can recommend that sell good equipment? You mean vs. just hooking up speakers to a turntable? Yes, it's very necessary. A turntable's output is not at line-level (the standard level that all other audio equipment [CD players, tape decks, video games etc.] outputs at), so you need a pre-amp to amplify the signal to a usable level. You can get a standalone model, or if you get an older or decent newer receiver it will have an RCA input marked "phono" that has a built in pre-amp. Basically, this is what you need: Turntable (used is the way to go if you have less than a few hundred dollars to spend - new turntables under $300 are generally worse than older used models) Preamp (standalone or built into the receiver) Receiver (the big ole box you run components into and speakers out of) Speakers Plan on either spending a few hundred dollars or getting lucky with estate sales & craigslist. Do some research around the Internet on building a budget Hifi system before buying anything, you'll be glad you did. There really needs to be a stickied "I just bought my first Blink 182 vinyl and now I want to play them on something" thread. make sure you pay attention to this answer, original poster. he's got everything you need. and what he said about the pre-amp is completely true and completely necessary in most cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mesi Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 ITT: guy who has over 200 records in his tradelist asks very basic questions about turntables. True dat !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daegor Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 You totally don't need to spend "a few hundred dollars" though be thrifty and patient, I've currently got a turntable I picked up off of craig's list for $20, it's better than my $130 ION, and A LOT better than my brother-in-law's $100 Crosley. It has a built-in preamp, so no extra money spent there, I just plug it into my surround system that I use for the TV. Granted, my surround is pretty nice, but before I had a nice surround I again used craig's list to put together a very decent stereo set up (receiver, those old stand up cabinet style speakers) for about $50 that sounded awesome. as mentioned, new is NOT the way to go if you are on a budget, new turntables and stereo equipment is usually more expensive and lower quality than used equipment for the same price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derkwithano Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Had one. Sounds awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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