Official "Help Me Choose a Turntable" v.2.0 Thread

[kannibal]

Hello,

I just picked up a cheap Technics SL 220 for $10 over the weekend that didn't come with a headshell, cartridge, or stylus. I was wondering if it would be pointless to put a Shure M97xE cartridge on it or if I should stick with something cheaper since the turntable is on the lower end of things. Also, as far as headshells go is this a decent product?

http://www.amazon.com/American-DJ-TT-HEADSHELL-Turntable-Headshell/dp/B0002E51V2/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1322079271&sr=1-1

I'm running it through an Onkyo tx-36 receiver and JBL speakers. Thanks for any information and helping me out.

I've had a Shure m97xE for a couple of years now and it's not bad but just a little weak, not punchy.

I've been much better off with a Ortofon 2M Blue which should be in the same price range.

What? 2M Blue is $199, the Shure cart is $55 from Amazon. The Shure cart is the best cart under $100.

[jryall]

I've had a Shure m97xE for a couple of years now and it's not bad but just a little weak, not punchy.

I've been much better off with a Ortofon 2M Blue which should be in the same price range.

What? 2M Blue is $199, the Shure cart is $55 from Amazon. The Shure cart is the best cart under $100.

Well, when I bought my Shure it was about 100 euro (=US$ 135) and the 2M Blue is about 140/150 euro over here.

Maybe it's because Ortofon are made in the EU and Shure in the US (I'm located in Italy)?

[wtfomfg666]

This thread doesn't have enough information/thoughts on new systems so here is the setup I just bought. Keep in mind i am updating from a shitty 1980's sony system that was a hand me down, and I am by no means an audio expert or audiophile. With that said I am absolutely blown away with the end result. Rich, clean sound with more than enough power in my opinion. I spent about $850 on everything but it would probably be closer to 1k now that the black friday sales are over.

*Receiver- Harman Kardon HK 3490 120 Watt Stereo Receiver

Really happy with this receiver, crystal clear sound and is actually very appealing to the eye. In terms of sound customization you just have treble, bass and left/right knobs but no equalizer so if you are a sound nerd this might not be for you.

*Turntable- Pro-Ject Debut III

Enough has been said about this turntable. Great sound, easy setup and looks great on top of my HK receiver.

*Speakers- Klipsch Synergy F-10 Premium 6.5-Inch Floor-Standing Speaker

While i'm currently using these speakers with my turntable, eventually they will be replaced and moved to my surround sound setup. With that said these speakers still sound pretty damn great running through my system. The bass will not blow your face off but is more than adequate for most music. Very clear, crisp sound that sounds beautiful at higher volumes.

[ajxd]

What? 2M Blue is $199, the Shure cart is $55 from Amazon. The Shure cart is the best cart under $100.

You're wrong.

[bearchuck]

What? 2M Blue is $199, the Shure cart is $55 from Amazon. The Shure cart is the best cart under $100.

You're wrong.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and you'll find TONS of people who would would say that you're dead wrong. In fact, there are plenty of folks who claim that if you play with the cartridge loading (62k instead of 47) and you upgrade to a Jico stylus, you'll have yourself a cartridge that outperforms others many times the Shure's cost.

Take definite statements like this with a grain of salt, kids; trust your own ears. I personally haven't heard the m97x so I can't tell you anything other than what I've heard ... and some of that is very good, while some is less-than-positive.

Here's an interesting tidbit to chew on. Ask Dave from Lucky Lacquers what cartridge (as well as several other top mastering houses in the word) use as a reference for vinyl playback. It's the Shure m97x. If you don't know Dave, do a search in this forum and find out how respected he is. If you listen to punk rock, chances are he mastered a big chunk of your vinyl collection. I quote ...

"The M97x is what all the REAL mastering houses use for a flat system, most accurate response and to dial in the lathe. Best for archiving and transcription and to test the tones on the cutting lathe....flattest, true response."

[electrocute]

Sorry to come in here and piss someone off. That m97x is not the greatest. I had one on my Sansui 939 (one of my 4 tt's) and wasn't impressed with the sound at all. If your going for cheap I'd choose a grado green1 prestige which sounds better (imo). I currently have an Ortofon 2m Blue on one of my TT's and a Denon DL-103. Both give me great sounds but the Denon imo sounds better.

I'll post my system specs this afternoon. Off to work now.

[bearchuck]

Sorry to come in here and piss someone off. That m97x is not the greatest. I had one on my Sansui 939 (one of my 4 tt's) and wasn't impressed with the sound at all. If your going for cheap I'd choose a grado green1 prestige which sounds better (imo). I currently have an Ortofon 2m Blue on one of my TT's and a Denon DL-103. Both give me great sounds but the Denon imo sounds better.

I'll post my system specs this afternoon. Off to work now.

I don't think that anyone is pissed at all. There's absolutely nothing wrong with an honest opinion ... and like I said, I haven't even heard the m97x myself. I just know that it's generally well-regarded as a nice budget cart. Of course, that doesn't mean everyone feels the same way.

I actually started out with a Grado Blue on my AR-XA and recently upgraded to an 8mz V stylus. It's pretty awesome, with all the warmth that Grados are known for but with a lot more clarity and detail.

I eventually want to pick up a Denon ... either the 103 or 110. I've heard one of the lower-end Ortofons (OM-5E) and it was a little too clinical for my tastes.

[Vinyl Fury]

Just wanted to come by and say that for anyone looking for a new table and looking at the entry level audiophile options, I just got the Music Hall mmf 2.2 and so far it is a revelation. Its very similar to the debut III, even made in the same factory and uses a pro-ject arm, but it has more options and is a step up in quality over all. Adjustable feet and VTA are big pluses. Better cartridge than the ortofon om5e. I got mine for $399, which is only 30 more than the debut and its well worth it in my opinion. it took me a long time to decide on a table and pull the trigger, and I'm quite pleased with my decision.

[weinerdog]

Where did you find it for that price? I'm looking to dive in soon. I see a site called thenerds.net has it for $365 + ship, but I've never heard of them. All others are over $450.

[Vinyl Fury]

Where did you find it for that price? I'm looking to dive in soon. I see a site called thenerds.net has it for $365 + ship, but I've never heard of them. All others are over $450.

It was a local shop, echo audio, which carries mostly high end stuff so I was surprised they had such a deal. I too have only seen it for 450 elsewhere

[sergeantscruffy]

This thread is a little tough to navigate. If I've only got about a $200 budget for a new table, what would you guys recommend?

[ruben]

Hi everyone,

I've been reading a few pages on this topic and it's clearly that there are different opinions. So if anyone can kick me in the good direction that'd be nice .

My needs:

Listen to vinyl from time to time on a lazy sunday afternoon.

I got a record player atm but it's not a great one, need to re-aline the counterweight everytime and it's a manual arm so not good for (clumzy) me so I decided to buy some new gear overtime.

I've seen (from the first page and on) that the Pro-ject debut III and Rega P1 are well praised players.

The Pro-Ject Debut III costs €247 ($322)

& the Rega P1 costs £230 (€275 / $359)

I don't have any problems with that prices, but what turntable would you suggest? Because after reading weeks on the internet I'm only getting sick of it. I guess they're each others equals? And is it worth going for the RP1 Performance (£298 / €357 / $466)?

I just want my lazy sunday afternoons relaxing in the sofa without damaging my vinyl : ).

Thanks in advance,

-Ruben

[kforkevin777]

Okay, so, I've tried reading through all of this, and it still confuses the hell out of me. I'm tired of vintage stuff, and I tried the Record player/CD player/Cassette/Radio/Vinyl to CD things companies are starting to make, and the sound is pretty bad with no bass.

I'm not looking to spend a load of money, and it's just me listening in my small room. I've kinda decided on a AT-LP60, the non-USB version. But I have no sort of home stereo system or anything, as up until now I've been using an old stereo with a turntable that you just plug a set of speakers straight into. I see that you can either use a stereo system of sorts, or powered speakers, but I don't know the first thing about either. If I'm just using it as a way to listen to vinyl, should I find a decently priced system, or should I invest in powered speakers?

I'm also planning on upgrading the cart if I go this route. Any suggestions?

Does this seem like a good way to go, or should I try something else, or what?

Thanks!

[electrocute]

Just curious why are you so against vintage? You can get some very nice vintage TT's for the price of a rega or music hall with an added upgrade on a cartridge and stylus. I had a music hall 2.2 with an ortofon cartridge on it and was not pleased. I've still preferred vintage TT's for the best bang for your buck.

Also I wanted to say that you have a nice collection going on. Preserve it by not gimping out on a nice TT, Receiver, Cartridge and Stylus.

You will also achieve a better sound (imo) when running through a receiver than just straight through speakers.

If you want any ideas on some low cost/budget ideas let me know.

[kforkevin777]

I'm not really against vintage, exactly, but when it comes to trying to find stuff locally, there's nothing. Out of the close to ten turntables and record players I've bought, I have ONE that worked properly. When it comes to looking at vintage stuff online, there's so much to look through, and given that I have very little knowledge on the subject, I have no idea what I'm looking for and end up giving up.

I'm not really trying to gimp on a quality setup, as I wouldn't waste money on something that is rumored to damage my vinyl or anything, and I had heard good things about the AT-LP60. I'm still pretty new to collecting, and I'm a college student, so I don't really have a grand to spend on a setup. And I also don't know a lot about receivers and styli and amps and all that, so I was hoping to find something with minimal complications.

Some sweet ideas on a budget system would be awesome. I'd really appreciate it. You could PM me or you could post them here in case someone is having a similar problem.

[philrockabill]

I've got both vintage and new equipement. My vintage turntable is kinda messed up now. I think i need to change the ground and the rca plugs. And my receiver would need a huge tune up too.

A couple of months ago, i bought an AT-LP120 and changed the cartridge for a Shure M97xe. I think it works perfectly and beyond of what i was expecting. It's connected to my Onkyo receiver using it's own pre amp.

[kforkevin777]

Well, hopefully I can come up with something soon. I probably don't have a record player anymore right now cuz I took the one I got for Christmas back and asked my dad to take my old one up to his house, and he left it in the back of the truck, and it's been raining the last two days. Awesome.

Any help would be appreciated. I still have no idea if getting a receiver of some sort or getting powered speakers to pair with the LP60 would be better or if someone can give me some tips on vintage stuff.

[karadotcollett]

Hey there. First post. Anyway, my mom got me a Crosley table for Christmas, and as I've been reading around the internet I've been getting scared to play any more of my records on it as the platter is too small and I've read that it will destroy the vinyl (it already doesn't spin level, and when I was playing one record it squeaked on every rotation). I am going to take it back to the store and go get a decent one but I don't know what kind to get.

I'm poor as shit and have about 300 dollars max to spend on everything (and it would be better if it was even less) that I would not feel irresponsible spending that much. And can someone please explain to me all of this terminology? I've been collecting records for a while but obviously just got a turntable so I know next to nothing about them.

Anyway, I'd like something that can play all speeds and all sizes of records and it would be nice to have as much built in stuff as possible so I wouldn't have to buy a bunch of extra stuff. It doesn't need to be super high quality but it just needs to sound good.

Thanks.

[hillcrest]

Just ordered myself a Pro-Ject Debut III with some 24 year old savings bonds my Grandma found!

Sweet upgrade from my current set up.

[weinerdog]

Just ordered myself a Pro-Ject Debut III with some 24 year old savings bonds my Grandma found!

Sweet upgrade from my current set up.

Nice! I'm looking at comparable models. Insound also has 15% off everything in their store, which is making a few models more affordable for me. Not trying to advertise for them...just throwin it out there - I've never bought from them.

[karadotcollett]

Ignore previous post. I got this http://www.amazon.com/Denon-DP-300F-Automatic-Analog-Turntable/dp/B000FMNBXG which came highly recommended by a friend of mine. He said I could just plug it into speakers (it has a pre-amp), but I don't have anything except for my Roland Microcube guitar amplifier. Would that work or should I be getting something like this http://amzn.com/B000OG88KY ? I already spent a bit more than I wanted to and I would like to avoid buying speakers if the amp will work or spending a lot of money if I need to get speakers.

[hillcrest]

Yeah I got 15% off and free shipping on musicians friend. So it came to $339 shipped for a gloss white. I'm happy with that.

[kforkevin777]

So I was planning on ordering an Onkyo TX-8255 on Amazon for $140, or a Sony receiver for $86, both 2-channel stereo receivers, but now I don't have to order either. My dad's friend just gave me an old Pioneer VSx-423 5.1 surround sound system (without speakers, but I have a huge amount of speakers), and I was curious so I goggled it, and there's a good bit of them on eBay going for like $89 plus shipping. Hopefully it's good. Now I can be ridiculous and set up a ton of speakers in my tiny room. Has anyone else ever had this or one similar? It has a phono stage, so that's good.

Does that mean I can get a turntable without a built in preamp?

I think, since I don't have to drop the cash on a receiver, I'm gonna order the LP120 for $200. Is there a similarly priced one that would be better? The turntable is the only thing I have to buy, so I can spend $250-$300 tops on it. Suggestions? A fully automatic one where you don't have to manually change speeds is all I really ask.

Should I order the LP120 and upgrade stuff? Should I buy the LP60 and upgrade even more? What should I upgrade? Other suggestions on a table are welcome! As are stuff to upgrade and what to upgrade to. Will I get that much of a difference if I buy a preamp for about $140?

EDIT: Scratch that, the AT-LP120 and PL120 aren't automatic and have a lot more DJing tools than I really care to have.

So now my options are the AT-LP60 ($70), and the Denon DP-29f ($150~). Any more help would be awesome.

[karadotcollett]

Goggled. Haha sorry I had to point that out. I'm really hoping the one I linked in my last post is as good as my friend said, maybe you could find a cheaper used one on the Bay. It is probably good to get one where you have to manually change the speeds though, because the mechanism that does that can hurt the components.

EDIT: I think if the receiver has a pre-amp then the turntable doesn't need one. I heard that old receivers like from the 70s make much better pre-amps than the newer ones.

[philrockabill]

Ok, here's a few points that needs to be said.

Turntable with a built in preamp = Any receiver will work. If you use a newer home theather style receiver, you'll need to use the pre amp from the turntable since the amp don't have a phono. These turntables just gives you the opportunity to either use a phono box or it's internal pre amp. It's the easiest way to go. You just plug in your turntable into AUX and put the turntable's switch to "line out" and you're ready to go.

Turntable with no built in pre amp = You'll need a Receiver with a phono (vintage ones usually have one) or use a phono box if using one with none. A newer receiver WILL NOT WORK if used with a turntable with no pre amp. You will need a phono box.

No matter what: Turntable + receiver + speakers + (phono box if needed depending on set up). This is what you will need to make your turntable work.