Need Help...

[rawb22]

I'm pretty new to this. I've settled on (what my research and budget have come together on) the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon.

Soo...what else am I gonna need? I've tried finding places that break down what each component is and what it does and what you'll need, but those resources kind of suck. That's the turntable I'm gonna get, so what are its parts, how to they work, and what do I need to do to keep them working? What else am I going to need and how do I figure out which is best?

I appreciate the help, guys! Thank you!

[gabpower]

I do not have this exact model so I can't tell you much about precise parts but if you fiddle with an old turntable found for cheap you'll get a good sense of how it's made and how it's supposed to work. Then if want to "pimp it" with other parts than it's really up to you. You may prefer the sound of certain components compared to some other, different cartridges and amps, etc. To each his own. A good word of advice from myself would be to try the Pro-Ject like it comes out of the box and check sometimes later if it suits you. Everything you change afterward should cost a lot so don't get too exicted to change the parts as they are already good.

For the "How do they work?" question than I guess it's just ready the manuals and getting a general sense of how electronic audio works. That's basic and easy : Turntable > Amp > Speakers.

The same would go for a guitar if you get the general picture.

Make sure the amp has a "Phono" input or you'll need a pre-amp box between the two.

[[[Delete this account]]]

I got an old Technics 1200, it was about the same as the carbon. I had heard great things about it and I couldn't be happier.

You will probably want to replace any cart that comes with the TT, the Shure 97mxe is a good budget friendly choice, from my experience it sounds pretty good for that price range.

If you don't have an amp, you can find some cheap ones on ebay or craigslist. Same with speakers, I would advise you to get headphones over speakers on a budget. At least for sound quality, usually speakers at the same price range as headphones will not have the same sound quality.

if you want to find out what sounds the best, read some reviews on carts and pre-amps, or you can judge for yourself. It doesn't hurt to try out different options as long as they are within your budget.

[PC Music]

You need either a receiver, an integrated amp (which is the same as a receiver except it doesn't have an AM/FM tuner), or a pre-amp and amplifier (the other 2 combine them in one package).

Also speakers or headphones as the others guys said. If you don't already have speaker wire you'll need that, obviously. 16 gauge speaker wire is a good standard for home use. If you use a worse grade it'll sound bad and thicker wire is overkill.

You don't actually need to replace the cartridge on a Debut Carbon since they already come with an Ortofon 2M Red cart, which is 100 dollars on its own.

[rawb22]

So now what I'm wondering is what all the components that can be upgraded are. I know what the tone arm and the platter are, and that's basically it.

[gabpower]

You can actually upgrade anything on a turntable if you're crazy enough but why would you do that if it's working fine?

[cymbalism15]

So now what I'm wondering is what all the components that can be upgraded are. I know what the tone arm and the platter are, and that's basically it.

Also the cartridge/needle which I believe makes a bigger difference than the other two (not sure how much the tone arm affects it besides resonance)

You can also upgrade the preamp and everything on down the line but that's a different story.