Better hurry up if you want a Technics deck. I saw a thread here about how Panasonic is stopping production. A real shame, because that's a solid deck.

Hey thanks again for the advice. I did a quick search but was still left wondering about the albums themselves.
 
Assuming I clean and take care of them is there a negative side of actually listening to them? I mean if I buy a record that seems to be on the rare side of things like $100 is it bad to listen to it or should it stay packed away in its own little world?
 
Thus I guess I am wondering if in general it is bad to listen to a record a lot or can ruin the record over time?
 
And I have been frantically (but patiently) looking for a technics 1200 (preferably 1210 which is the black version) so hopefully I will get a turntable soon.
 
Regards,
 
Austin

Have to let the more experienced answer the question about longetivity. I'm not a firm believer in hanging onto them and not listening. I play everything I got and I'm sure I have a few that are probably right around that price range. If I got my hands on something really pricey I would probably resell it

I second the Rega P3 suggestion but add that it is highly desirable to consider P3-24 version and add the Rega Elys 2 MM cartridge to that package (installed ready to go from the vendor). Usually a "package deal" like this will save you some money and lot of headaches (since mounting a cartridge is definitely not a beginner task). A decent phono stage that is able to handle MM and MC cartridges will allow you to add a MC cartridge down the road. A very decent phono amp can be had for a few hundred (Music Hall PA 1.2 @ 150USD, Rega Fono mini @ 150USD) to several hundred dollars ( Pro-ject Phono Box SE II @ 329USD, Clear audio Nano @ 350USD, Rega Fono @ 350USD, SIMAUDIO Moon LP3 @ 349USD etc)
 
The Rega P3 is likely the most popular TT of all time (IMO). You could enjoy this LP spinner for a long long time . It also has quite a few proven/solid upgrade options you can take advantage of giving one even greater potential performance in the future.
 
Peete.

Here's my two cents worth, if the idea is to digitize a vinyl collection to something like iTunes, a Project or Rega turntable can be purchased with cartridge, as well as a phono amp, if needed, easily,  within your budget. My personal experiences recently, with SACD, CD, vinyl, and iTunes playback of ACC or wav files from CD imports, suggests it all sounds great; and, other than a pop here and there to reveal that I'm listening to something that originated on vinyl, the quality of sound from any source has proven to be indistinguishable from others, no matter the interface.
 
Many years ago, I chased turntables like I chased women; but, finally realized happiness with a Sony PS-4750 with a Shure V15vMR cartridge. I'm using that turntable and cartridge today, to get my own collection of vinyl to iTunes for the convenience of iTunes. What I've discovered so far is vinyl sounds real good compared to CD's and SACD and therefore it makes sense get the vinyl into iTunes rather than spend money on the same material on CD. I do not think at this point vinyl sounds better than CD with my record player/cartridge; but, I also don't think buying an A rated turntable/cartridge  would get me to a higher plateau of pleasure than I am now experiencing. I've come to this conclusion as I cannot distinguish any difference in sound between SACD and vinyl with the record player/cartridge I'm using now. It would appear that only if vinyl did not sound as good as SACD I might want to start chasing turntables again.

While I am extremely appreciative of the advice from both of you I think I am leaning toward a Technics 1200 series turntable. Been looking everyday but waiting for a black one and more importantly one that was home used and taken care of.
 
Also I do not have any plan to convert any albums from vinyl format to digital. I actually only own (been buying like crazy) about 20 records and majority of my collection is already digital. I apologize if I gave off some sort of impression that I wanted to go from vinyl to digital.
 
 
So does anyone else have any advice on my previous question of playing and listening to "rare" records (or any records for that matter). I was curious what the affect of listening to a record has on the life and quality of the record? I was more detailed in my question above.
 
Thanks again,
 
Austin

 
Quote:

eertelppa said:

While I am extremely appreciative of the advice from both of you I think I am leaning toward a Technics 1200 series turntable. Been looking everyday but waiting for a black one and more importantly one that was home used and taken care of.
 

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Do it! Good move being picky for a good sample.
 
The 1200 is an awesome record rotator. The needle holder stick is not as bad as most people say, although it can be improved on.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by eertelppa /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
So does anyone else have any advice on my previous question of playing and listening to "rare" records (or any records for that matter). I was curious what the affect of listening to a record has on the life and quality of the record? I was more detailed in my question above.
 

Click to expand...

 
If the TT is set up well (good alignment, good VTF) and the stylus is in good condition there is very little wear from playing a vinyl record. 
 
There are odd exceptions in other analog disc formats (certain transcription discs are only good for 5 or 6 plays, but nobody has them and if you do you could probably get the archiver to send you a digital copy in exchange for the privilege of being in the same room as them...) but by and large the problems of record wear are overstated. It is far more common to find discs that have damage from poor handling than from being overplayed. 
 
On that note, if you do have a favorite record I would look into ripping it. The task is not as complicated as most people immagine. I put it off for years afraid of complications but it was really pretty easy once I decided to try it. Ripping the record slows down the handling damage issues.

Hey I am still alive just been slammed at work. Yeah I have been looking on various sites (eBay, audiogon, craigslist, etc) for a 1210 but being picky is taking a lot of patience. Staying away from anyone selling 2 of them or anyone who used them for dj'ing. Also trying to find one around 300ish, its possible just patience.
 
Thanks for the information on the records, I know if I take care of them and keep em clean I should be in good standing.
 
On another note my vinyl collection (which started about 2 months ago) is growing rapidly and the need for a turntable is making my patience dwindle. May just splurge and buy the one that meets all criteria except in my exact price range.
 
Thanks again for the advice. Going to start looking at a record cleaner (of some sorts, will probably just start with the search bar) after obtaining my turntable.
 
Austin

Last bump for any additional advice on record cleaning, or turntables. Thanks again everyone.

Everyone,
 
Rather than making a new thread (which I initially planned on) I decided to post here and hopefully receive some valuable advice.
 
I am going look at a used Technics 1210 that a guy has had at his moms house for five years in a box (he goes to Stanford and took with him his matching set of TT's). He is selling it at a very reasonable price with no stylus or cartridge.
 
Over the past month I have done some reading, searching, scouring, and have a few additional questions.
 
- I used the following to help get me on the right track:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/460213/cartridge-stylus-for-technics-mk2
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/294047/technics-1200
 
1. Any advice to look for when viewing the TT?
 
NOTE1: Do not want to spend more than $300-500 for stuff right now (stuff is defined below), I have it but plan on buying a car and house soon, so if I don't have to stretch then I won't for the time being (although bear in mind I would rather stretch then rebuy stuff in 6 months)......
 
2. Any advice on a cartridge? I don't need top of the line but close to it is fine. The Denon 103/160 keep popping up when I search.
 
3. Any advice on the best website to buy this stuff from. I know someone has found one that doesn't have skyrocket prices or insane shipping (I am the person who waits for the best deal to come up before buying something, I use amazon a lot lol)
 
4. What about a new tone arm? Is this something I should consider? I read about the tonearm being heavy and strong, this goes back to my previous questions of can/will I wear out records listening to them?
 
5. What about a needle/stylus?
 
6. Bubble level, record brush, alignment protractor, force gauge, cartridge brush, headshell?
 
NOTE2. As far as a preamp and amp, I own a Marantz receiver, but plan on a diy bijou or beta22 (but I want tubes...bad)
 
NOTE3: My dad has a 80 dollar record cleaner (I think VPI or something) that he claims is amazing and he can do 4 or 5 records every 10 minutes, thus he offered for me to use it. 
 
 
PLEASE do not feel compelled to answer all or spend your valuable time typing me up everything. Even the smallest of answers is appreciated and all advice welcome.
 
Thanks for everything and helping me out as I know most have been in my shoes before.
 
 
Austin

1:
Look for obvious signs of damage. The most frequently abused part of a 1200 is the tonearm followed by the platter bearing. 
 
The tonearm bearings should not have play with light to medium finger pressure The arm should move freely in all directions. 
 
The main bearing should spin freely. The common test is as follows: Turn TT on and start at 33rpm. WITHOUT pressing the stop button turn the TT off (the on/off switch) The platter should spin down for (I want to say 30-45seconds, but check the web).
 
2: Grado black, always popular. Get it and all the other stuff you need from TTVJ: a head-fi sponser and a generally cool guy.
 
3: See #2. TTVJ FTW
 
4: Eventually getting a new arm is a fun upgrade to the 1200, but it can wait until you have a few bills burning a hole in your pocket. The 1200 arm is a high quality amr that is affordable thanks to mass production. It has freakishly low bearing friction provided its in good shape (the caveat applies to all arms...) and will not wreck your records. The truely straight arms on cheaper DJ decks are known for wrecking records but thats not a problem here.
 
5: see #2
 
6: you can download free protractors from vinylengine. I like the Stevenson alignment with technics 1200 arms (and properly mounted rega arms, as a tangent)
The rest of the stuff you will have to buy. TTVJ....
 
Regarding the record cleaner - records only need to be cleaned once, or at the worst infrequently with proper care. mooching off your dad is totally fine. 
If he payed $80 for a VPI cleaner he got a rocking deal BTW. Even the old-school 16 is pretty pimp.

Thanks for all the info and help. I will do my best to test the turntable before purchasing.