Low Budget Vinyl Source - Page 10

Congratulations the Technics is one of the best of these kind of linear tracking automated designs.

From what you describe of the disapointing sound I'd say first off get a new stylus.

The design is standard TP4 / P-Mount and lpgear.com have a good range including an inexpensive ersatz version of the original Technics EPS-24ES.

However luckily for you Jico in Japan also have 3 different stylus tips that will fit your cart including their famous SAS.

Phonograph Stylus : National/Technics > EPS24CS

This is the best part of 100USD but considering even the most basic decent cart today will cost you at least half that, it's a veritable bargain given it's one of the very best stylii profiles being made today.

As for the noise you are hearing when it's not palying this is most likely hum from lack of grounding. Did the deck come with a grounding wire? I'll bet not.

Here in the manual you get a rear view

Technics SL-5 Owners Manual, Service Manual, Schematics, Free Download | Vinyl Engine

And there should be a wire coming out of a minijack socket next to the phono output RCA sockets which connects to a thumb screw on the back of the Akai in order to ground the deck. If you didn't get this then just strip the end of one end of a cheap mono minijack cable from Radioshack and attach the bare end to the Akai's earth which should be next to the phono input.

You generally shouldn't pay more than 50-100USD tops for most the decks on that list.

Marantz can get hyped up on places like ebay because they have always been a well repected brand and their kit generally has a good rep for lasting the distance. With vintage tuners and amps or receivers this is well founded but with turntables most of them were nothing special to start with so I wouldn't pay much more for a Marantz on there than for a Hitachi, unless the way a particular model looks is worth a premium for you.

Most of these decks should be around 50 USD on craigslist, or maybe half that from a yard sale. What is worth paying more for is if you can buy from a trustworthy guy who services old decks and he's replaced the belt and cleaned and re-oiled the bearing and put a new stylus on there etc then 100-150 would be a fair price. But actually only a few really classic decks from marques like Dual, Technics, Pioneer, Kenwood, or Sansui should exceed this and not by much for lower end models. Thorens, AR or Lenco will justifiably be a little more depending on the model and condition as these are often fixer uppers. Also there will be variations by country with Thorens being more common than AR and therfore cheaper in Europe for instance.

Obviously there will also be people cashing in on the whole 'vinyl renaissance' and pretending to sell stuff which is "classic" or that they have "fully restored". Generally I wouldn't buy sight unseen / untested unless you really can't find anything locally as shipping turntables requires a fair amount of knowledge.

Bear in mind also you can sometimes still find the Technics SL-BD20 on amazon brand new discounted for around 150USD and this isn't that far behind a lot of the decks in that list especially given the fact that you won't then need to buy a new cart or stylus which start around 50USD. Although it does have a P-Mount cart which is best avoided if possible.

Also with the particular Marantz you mentioned you will need a higher compliance cart as it's a low mass tonearm on there. This isn't much of an issue but it similarly limits your choice so it's also worth finding out what cart is on there currently and how much a new stylus will set you back.

Classic Shure carts can be quite valuable in themselves and are very well supported by third party specialists so you'll probably be able to upgrade what's on there by a significant amount which is a big plus.

You're a lucky man. I'd always go with the local dealer option if it's convenient and they are doing part exchange offers like you say.

It means you can actually go and hear the differences between sources and make an informed choice because no matter what advice you can get on here, everyone has different tastes and preferences and moreover having someone knowledgeable nearby who can answer all your questions is very helpful when you are getting into vinyl for the first time. So I'd grab that opportunity.

When I got my first deck having read loads of magazines I had a pretty good idea I wanted a Rega P3 (they were cheaper back then) but ended up with a cheaper but slightly better deck which I had never heard of ( now long defunct before you ask ) because the dealer happened to have just got it from another client who had part exchanged it for a better one. This began a 20 year relationship with that same dealer.

You find turntables like the Rega's keep their value as they have very few things that can go wrong so the guy can always sell it on when you exchange it in order to upgrade. Yes you can do this yourself as well but it's always better to have someone on hand to align the deck and show you how to set it up properly etc..

This thread was really designed as a less expensive route to vinyl nirvana for Head-Fiers who can't afford to, or simply don't want to spend the 500 odd dollars to buy a decent new budget set-up and maybe arn't fortuntate enough to have a local place where they can actually see and hear these decks in action. The P1 is actually a little cheaper and came out after this list was originally written, but anything by Rega is always a good starter deck, always has been, which is why they are still around.

yeah definitely. It's about the same standard as the Technics SL-BD20 which goes for around 150USD if you can find one on Amazon. It's one of the best options short of a new P1 for sure.

At this end of the market it's a lottery how much decks go for and there isn't really any difference between spending 50 and 100 USD in terms of the quality of what you get. These vendors on the whole are just trying to get rid of stuff and make a few bucks so it's pot luck really.

Any decent new cart from the likes of AT or Grado is going to be 50USD alone but this Technics looks in decent condition from the pics and has an AT cart on there already so you may just be able to get a new stylus for it. It's the best of the bunch in that list anyway.

The only problem with the Grado Black on this deck is that the tonearm is a little too high mass so it's not an ideal match.
Cartridge Resonance Evaluator

The best cart for this would ideally be something like a Denon DL110 but since you are on a budget the Audio Technica AT95E would be the best match.

The model number on that AT is going to be on top so you just need to take it out of the headshell to find out what it is. AT stylii are pretty common so you should be able to find one easily enough. That cart looks better than a basic one judging by the amount of metal on it.