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need turntable advice

callktulu
For those of you who are audio enthusiasts, I'd like your collective advice regarding the purchase of a record player.

I have no plans to hook this into a traditional sound system with speakers; this would be for headphone listening only. If that's the case, do I still need something high-end and costly? Or will any turntable with a headphone "out" jack be adequate (assuming I use really good headphones)?

To narrow it down a little, this weekend I happened to be in a home audio store, and they had a beautiful turntable for $850, plugged into what was obviously an equally expensively priced tuner and output speakers. And then I happened to be at Wal Mart, where they had a simple system on sale for $30.

I'm thinking I need something in-between, but I don't know what features are needed or desired. I just know I want to listen to my records... :D
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Comments

18 comments

Date Votes
  • SCOUT5
    I bought all three of my daughter in laws one of the Victrola 6 in 1 combo players in a wooden cabinet, about $75. They love them and play old family records as well as records they find in thrift stores etc. They especially like them at Christmas time. Because it is easy to just unplug it and carry it they frequently take them to gatherings and play old records.

    I have no idea how one would sound through good head phones. Just that my DIL's like them and have had good service from them for two years now.
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  • kissgoodnight
    Turntables are making a comeback. I saw some advertised on a WalMart add.
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  • callktulu
    OK, cool, thanks for all the advice and additional info that wasn't advice but made for good stories! :lol::D 8-)
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  • callktulu
    So no advice on phono pre-amps vs. receivers, etc?
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  • KenK/84Bravo
    Brings up bad memories for me.

    I had a really nice Yamaha Sound System, bought a component at a time, while in the Army. Nice High end stuff.

    When I got divorced after 11 years, I left my sound system in the basement, until I could retreive it.

    I had a really nice direct drive Yamaha turntable. Straight tone arm, Bang and Oluffson (sp?) Cartridge.

    When I tried to pick my stuff up? Guess what?

    What Stereo? Never saw it. Don't know what you are talking about.

    Yeah. It just got up and walked away. :cry:
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  • callktulu
    :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:
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  • bustedknee
    I read about a new sound concept. They claim it is easier to manage and produces much higher quality sound
    Its called...8-trac...sounds snazzy.

    I'm going to try to get in on the leading edge of it. It will be great and maybe I'll get rich.


    I'm sorry folks, but I was an electronics technician for 35 years and you can't beat digital.

    Old cars, old guns, old music, even old women can be fun...but you can't beat digital.
    --Bustedknee 2019
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  • callktulu
    callktulu wrote:
    So no advice on phono pre-amps vs. receivers, etc?

    Well, part of this depends on two things:

    1. One, what is your end-game for the system? Is your intent to use the system as a multi-media audio system, OR, is your intent, as stated in your OP, to simply listen to vinyl direct?

    Like I said, headphones.
    2. What is your opinion on main-stream audio (AM, FM, etc), and what is your opinion of services like XFM and Sirius?

    Yes, I'm well aware of the audio limits of modern radio. I listen to CDs in my car, or MP3 rips of my CDs. I recognize the limits of audio fidelity through a vehicle. But in my home, I plan to listen to my records through a turntable & pre-amp via headphones.
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  • callktulu
    HA! I wish I could take you up on that, but I'm not only on a limited budget, but I just can't afford to listen w/o headphones. Just too many people around. :)

    Thanks for the advice. I chatted a lot with someone very helpful at Crutchfield, and they recommended this phono pre-amp:

    https://www.crutchfield.com/I-rETNc108/p_779DUO/Cambridge-Duo.html

    A little more pricey, but apparently really good BFTB.
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  • callktulu
    AWESOME, thanks FDC!!
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  • callktulu
    bustedknee wrote:

    I'm sorry folks, but I was an electronics technician for 35 years and you can't beat digital.

    Old cars, old guns, old music, even old women can be fun...but you can't beat digital.
    --Bustedknee 2019

    False. For convenience, digital is great.

    But until our bodies & brains are digital machines, we still see, hear, smell, taste, and feel in analog. That's why the best 4k HD television image is still not as good as actually SEEING something with your own eyes. Same for listening to music, as well.

    Digital is for sure the way to go in a car when you want to listen to music. But for pure listening enjoyment (and not multi-tasking with driving), an analog system fills in all the missing pieces digital can't (yet) provide.
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  • bustedknee
    Analog is converted to digital.
    Digital is converted to analog.

    You don't listen to digital.



    A faithful reproduction is possible without the noise of analog. It can be amped as well.

    I wrote slow for the analog minded.
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  • callktulu
    bustedknee wrote:
    Analog is converted to digital.
    Digital is converted to analog.

    You don't listen to digital.



    A faithful reproduction is possible without the noise of analog. It can be amped as well.

    I wrote slow for the analog minded.

    But what's converted from digital to analog is still lower fidelity than the original analog. Amping doesn't make the digital-to-analog conversion better, just louder.
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  • bustedknee
    Yep.
    And lets assume quality components.
    Now, will you agree the digital signal is cleaner?
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  • callktulu
    bustedknee wrote:
    Yep.
    And lets assume quality components.
    Now, will you agree the digital signal is cleaner?

    Depends on your definition of "cleaner."
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  • iceracerx
    It never ceases to amaze me what one can learn here @ GBGD. 'There is no noise in analog'. I guess all the hissing, popping and such is just in my head. The fact that a vinyl record conveys sound via a mechanical means that degrades the record each and every time the record is played, only adds to the noise.

    Way way back in the late 70s DBX came up with an equalizer that somehow (electronically) reduced the playback noise of records. I went to a demo of the device at a high end store (The Stereo Shop, if anyone remembers that place) and the demonstrator asked the audience what we did went we turned on our systems. His answer was to turn the volume up, and then dropped the needle while listening to the system hiss, only to hear the loud POP as the needle touched the vinyl.

    Yep, that was about right. With the DBX system there was no hiss, hum, feedback, buzz, etc, and there wasn't a single POP when the needle hit the record.

    Maybe I dreamt that. Or maybe that store simply had no idea how to set up their system and the Klipsch speakers.

    Who needs a turntable with a concrete base, rubber band drive to dampen motor noise and a glass platter anyway?
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  • callktulu
    Maybe I'm in the minority, but I actually like the soft hiss and pops of surface noise from vinyl playback.
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  • callktulu
    bustedknee wrote:
    Yep.
    And lets assume quality components.
    Now, will you agree the digital signal is cleaner?

    Where did you go? I thought we were having a good discussion here...
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