Interested in new Turntable, online v bricks and mortar?

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Interested in new Turntable, online v bricks and mortar?

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Dunnersfella

4083 posts

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#2321163 20-Sep-2019 13:11

Do watch out for some of the Rega's on the market, many will use lower profile carts that can only work with Rega cartridges. Using after market units will raise the arm too high, even if you can increase the VTA via on-board adjustment or shims it will only end up hitting the perspex lid of the t/t.

Re: not liking records any more, that's your choice.

I've had 30+K of hifi at home, including a turntable - it suits my mood at certain times, at other times I'd rather play music via Roon etc. However there's one constant, my partner only ever uses Bluetooth... despite the gear at her disposal.

Different strokes for different folk.

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1101

3121 posts

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#2321232 20-Sep-2019 14:18

Dunnersfella:

Re: not liking records any more, that's your choice.

Its not a matter of not liking
its the quality of the pressings
its about bang for buck when you dont have any gear and on limited budget

Its more a garbage in = garbage out sort of thing.
Why spend maybee $450+ if the quality of the actual record will never match
*** especially when you dont even have a hifi system & are going to cut corners quality wise in buying that *** (my assumption)

clicks pops hissss jumping across tracks
not to mention buying used records from real groovy. It could be allready worn out .
Im guessing the guy isnt going to be paying maybee $100 for a hi quality pressings

I still have records (not that many now though) .
the quality the record itself can be really bad (not all) , even ones I bought new & looked after .

then again, many are happy still using pre-recorded cassettes :-)

ilovemusic

1428 posts

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#2321234 20-Sep-2019 14:23

i broadly agree with previous poster 1101,

as to record quality, i'd modify his sentiments by saying most modern pressings are rubbish, even the fancy heavy weight audiophile vinyl, plus with those you also have to put up with dubious remastering.

i've got plenty of 30-40 year old records that were well looked after and will beat any modern pressings.

bottom line is if you only have a few records think carefully before investing in a record playing system.

getting a turntable is only the start, factor in a phono stage, some basic record cleaning bits and pieces and it all adds up.

jarledb

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#2321238 20-Sep-2019 14:29

I used to have a large vinyl and CD collection, and good Hi-fi equipment to boot.

Got rid of the vinyl and CDs when I moved from Norway to New Zealand 6 years ago. Have not missed them once.

With todays streaming I have access to most of my old stuff and at a quality that at least rivals the vinyl.

Would spend some more money on speakers, rather than getting a turntable. But thats just me.

Might be somewhat scarred by having had to cue up vinyl records every 3-4 minutes when I worked in radio in the late 80s and beginning of the 90s.

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1101

3121 posts

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#2321240 20-Sep-2019 14:35

Wanting a TT may just be an emotional sort of thing, thats OK .

Given he's just starting out, & what he'll be matching it up with ,and others will be using it (may not be as carefull as needed), he may be better off getting something cheaper.
Chances are the difference between a $200 & $450 TT may not be noticeable for the casual listener.

Even CD's can have bad pressings .
Not as common though. Ive had a few bad CD's with (slightly) distorted sound . I had to download a lossless mp3 to get desent copy

jarledb

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#2321305 20-Sep-2019 15:22

1101:

Even CD's can have bad pressings .
Not as common though. Ive had a few bad CD's with (slightly) distorted sound . I had to download a lossless mp3 to get desent copy

If you have distorted sound with CDs, thats probably not the pressing but the mastering (so the sound work done before the CDs were physically created).

The biggest problem with sound quality these days is this: The loudness war, and it affects CDs, Vinyls and even more the stuff you hear on the radio.

Dunnersfella

4083 posts

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#2321308 20-Sep-2019 15:26

Lossless MP3?

Tell me more...

As I'm typing this I have about 20 records sitting on the shelf next to me (yes, I'm at work and we regularly play records + Spotify... currently it's Bob Marley, but pretty much never play Tidal or Deezer, despite having accounts).

Out of the records I'd say 8 of them sound brilliant, some are trashed (too many Panheads and records don't mix) and the rest are second hand finds that weren't great, but cost next to nothing.

There's another 30 or so records sitting next to the office system from another staff member - so I guess this office would disagree with you - one of the guys here has over a couple of thousand dub and reggae records at home. Maybe we're foolish with our money? Maybe we 'just get records'? Maybe we're old school? Who knows - but I would NOT discourage people from getting into vinyls, people waste money on booze, drugs, cars, new lounge suites - it's their call.

I get more enjoyment from music than almost anything in life and with vinyl I sit down and listen to the entire record... it's a case of taking in the whole album. With streaming I'm always on my phone switching tracks / playing with other apps etc so it quickly becomes a background thing.

Earbanean

903 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2321317 20-Sep-2019 15:50

Going for Vinyl isn't just about sound quality - or maybe even not at all about it. There's the whole issue of style and aesthetics. It's just quite cool to sit down with a scotch, put on an album and listen to it right through, with no screens and apps etc It's about appreciating the workings of a well build piece of mechanical kit. Much the same way as I love mechanical watches. I could get a much cheaper, more accurate digital watch, but I love the aesthetics and style of something mechanical that's really well made.

Or put it this way, would you like a high res digital photo of the McKenzie country hanging on your wall, or a (much less 'accurate') Peter Beadle painting of it? Different people will have different answers to that.

elpenguino

3359 posts

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#2321746 20-Sep-2019 23:52

As shown , these days there's really only 2 good reasons for vinyl.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

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