What is a good starter turntable for under $1,000?

tigzstudio · « **on:** 27 Aug 2010, 10:41 am »

I was just looking for some opinions on a good turntable to start out with under $1,000....I watched a documentary recently about Vinyl and it has motivated me to purchase one. I get the feeling I have been missing out on the music with my all digital setup.

Thanks!

Delta Wave · « **Reply #1 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 10:47 am »

I covet my Luxman pd121. I picked it up in mint condition for a few hundred. But you should be able to find a nice used VPI deck in your price range.

Wayner · « **Reply #2 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 11:52 am »

You can buy a new Technics SL1200 and a cartridge and a bunch of LPs for under a grand.

Wayner

JohnR · « **Reply #3 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 11:55 am »

My advice, FWIW, and assuming that includes cartridge, would be to check out what you can get that includes local support for that price. TTs are a lot more fiddly than other components...

Ericus Rex · « **Reply #4 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 12:19 pm »

Used is probably your best bet. There's an Oracle Alexandria with Prelude arm on Audiogon right now. That's a killer table. You could also find a Micro Seiki DDX-1000 with arm for just under 1K. I've owned both these tables and they are great. The VPI suggestion is a good one too.

Minn Mark · « **Reply #5 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 01:15 pm »

Pro-ject Debut III. Comes in variety of colors, comes complete and factory set-up (nothing fiddly here) and sounds great. Michael Fremer (of Stereophile, TAS , etc) gave favorable review, and so do I. Its not a $1000+ set-up (~$400, less if used) and leaves lots of rrom for a phono pre-amp if you need one, and of course, the 'software'--LPs.

Cheers,

Mark

mfsoa · « **Reply #6 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 01:20 pm »

I was going to say get as much Pro-Ject as you can afford, they have something for almost any budget.

decal · « **Reply #7 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 04:01 pm »

Make sure you include some sort of record cleaning system into your budget.Nothing sounds worse than dirty records.I just bought this one.http://www.amazon.com/Spin-Clean-Record-Washer-MKII/dp/B002UKSZUU/ref=sr_1_1/180-2413113-6798610?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1282924709&sr=8-1
Easy to use,works great and very affordable.Good luck.

toxteth ogrady · « **Reply #8 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 04:20 pm »

JohnR is right, turntables can be very fiddly. Since it's your first, it might be best to get something plug and play to see if the format works for you over the long run - The Pro-Ject and Technics are good recommendations.

Another option is to pick up a used table and arm and buy a cartridge from a good shop locally. Have them walk you through the set up, otherwise you won't be realizing the full potential of the medium.

TONEPUB · « **Reply #9 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 04:30 pm »

What's your all digital setup like and what level of sound quality are you hoping to achieve with a $1000 investment?

turkey · « **Reply #10 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 04:48 pm »

Quote from: toxteth ogrady on 27 Aug 2010, 04:20 pm

JohnR is right, turntables can be very fiddly. Since it's your first, it might be best to get something plug and play to see if the format works for you over the long run - The Pro-Ject and Technics are good recommendations.

Another option is to pick up a used table and arm and buy a cartridge from a good shop locally. Have them walk you through the set up, otherwise you won't be realizing the full potential of the medium.

Does your system have a phono input? If not, you're going to need to add a phono preamp or replace the preamp you have. Make sure this will fit in your budget too.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #11 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 05:37 pm »

Quote from: tigzstudio on 27 Aug 2010, 10:41 am

I get the feeling I have been missing out on the music with my all digital setup.

You are - and good luck on your search

Come visit us for pointers when you buy your rig.

John / Facilitator - Vinyl Circle

woodsyi · « **Reply #12 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 05:43 pm »

Quote from: TheChairGuy on 27 Aug 2010, 05:37 pm

You are - and good luck on your search

Come visit us for pointers when you buy your rig.

John / Facilitator - Vinyl Circle

I think you can give him more advice than that, John. It looks like he is in Martinez, CA. Isn't that close enough for you to give him some local knowledge?

TONEPUB · « **Reply #13 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 06:15 pm »

If you can go a little more than a $1000, here's a great table I've been listening to lately...

http://grantfidelity.com/site/Opera_Consonance_LP6.1

You can also get a Clearaudio Concept with their cartridge for about $1400 pre installed
and ready to go.

tigzstudio · « **Reply #14 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 07:43 pm »

Wow, I appreciate all the responses. I will take all the advice and do my research, as well as check out any local hifi shops for some demos. Just the amount of responses already speak to the passion people have for vinyl.

My digital setup does not have a phono input, I think to start I will go with maybe a 500 dollar turntable and 400 dollar phono possibly, with the rest for cleaning and records....I may go a bit over budget but I can get away with it I think.

johsti · « **Reply #15 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 08:12 pm »

I'm in the same boat being a vinyl newbie myself. I ended up finding a used mint condition Technics SL-1200mk2 with a cartridge on Craigslist for a very reasonable price and a used phono preamp on audiogon for well under $1,000 for both. New records aren't cheap and the accessories (cartridge, stylus, record cleaner, etc.) to go with them can be outragesously priced so keep that in mind if they're included in your budget.

I went with the Technics because they're a solid table with great resale value and can also be modded to another level, so I've heard. They must have done something right if it's been in production for 30 something years. Check kabusa.com for more info on the mod potential. Since the whole vinyl thing is new to me, I didn't want to invest too much in case it wasn't my thing.

In the meantime I've been researching how to setup a turntable and found some interesting videos on youtube which has some good info, and some bad info like putting the counter weight on backwards. I'm looking forward to receiving my preamp so I can start listening to some music. In the meantime I'm just trying to learn as much as possible so I don't break anything

johzel · « **Reply #16 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 08:27 pm »

Used can always be a great way to go. When I was researching new entry level tables (plug and play machines can be a good starting point) I kept coming back to Pro-ject and Rega (I bought the Xpression III and have no regrets). Now I'm starting to think about upgrading - Thanks for the post TONEPUB, that might be something for my "upgrade" . . .

Wayner · « **Reply #17 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 08:29 pm »

I only suggest "new" to newbies, 'cause I've heard what has happened to a couple of guys that went down the "used" path and it cost them a lot of money. KAB is great advice. Get a new Technics from them, put in a cart that they recommend. Now your "plug and play". Now I wouldn't go hog wild buyibg record cleaning machines and all the other "fluff" stuff until you've decided that vinyl is way cool. If you buy used LPs (highly suggested), be patient with buying them. Pull the records out of the sleeves and look at the surface quality. Look for the obvious scratches, scuffs, cracks and warps, plus look for signs of record wear. For now you can wash the used records in your kitchen sink if you want with dish washing detergent and dry them off with some bath towels. You should get a record cleaning brush, like a Dishwasher D4 or something like that.

Wayner

drphoto · « **Reply #18 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 08:45 pm »

You can get a pretty good phono pre for less than $100 @ phonopreamps.com.

I have a new Rega P3-24 w/ a Denon DL-160 and am quite satisfied with what it does for less than $1K.

Would I recommend it to you? Nope. Not because of problems, but because I havn't heard anything else. I looked at entry level decks from Pro-ject, Sota, etc. I even considered that Oracle (but read somewhere it had motor problems.....whether that's true....I dunno)

I got the Rega, because there was a guy selling them at a steep discount on AG. The ad said it was used for a few weeks, but it was brand new. After I got mine, the same ad reappeared. I was worried it was some sort of scam, but there seemed to be no issues.

Not to open up a can of worms, but I think w/ some of the latest gen. DAC's and computer based sources, digital audio is finally as good or maybe better sonically with a lot of other advantages. (ease of use for one) So if you're looking for a better sound only. You might want to reconsider.

Don't get me wrong. I love vinyl. It can (and does) sound great. But the experience is about more than that. It's about being 'hands on'. It's about the thrill of scoring great sounding records on the cheap, or recordings that don't exist in digital format. It's more of a hobby/lifestyle thing than just good sound.

Sorry to ramble.

joe (born again vinylphile)

toxteth ogrady · « **Reply #19 on:** 27 Aug 2010, 09:45 pm »

One cheap option for a decent phono stage is to pick up a vintage receiver and just use the phono section through the tape out. You'd be amazed at how good some of the phono sections are in these older units.