[jb4555]

Im tryin to get into vinyl.
There are tons of record players out there.
Does anyone have any recommendations for good, cheap turntables, either new or used that I could search for on Ebay?
Thanks

 

[Mat Bon 0013]

REGA comes to mind for cheap good sounding TT's. I like the P3 in particular comes with the RB300 tonearm, even better value if you can get a good condition in secondhand. Hope this helps!

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally posted by jb4555 Im tryin to get into vinyl. There are tons of record players out there. Does anyone have any recommendations for good, cheap turntables, either new or used that I could search for on Ebay? Thanks

How cheap is cheap? Are you looking for something recent/modern, or something vintage/older?

 

[jb4555]

I really dont know. Do vintage turntables sound better than the modern ones? Im not looking to Dj or anything. Just to hook up to an amp and listen to. If I'd have to give a price range, I guess under $100 (dunno if that is super cheap or not)

 

[bundee1]

Nothing that good or cheap. Try a music hall mmf 1 under $200.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally posted by jb4555 I really dont know. Do vintage turntables sound better than the modern ones? Im not looking to Dj or anything. Just to hook up to an amp and listen to. If I'd have to give a price range, I guess under $100 (dunno if that is super cheap or not)

Some vintage tables sound better than some modern ones... depends on the table (except that vintage generally requires some cleaning up and tweaking before they're usable).

If you feel like vintage, the Thorens TD-145 and TD-160 are great tables... there are quite a few other decent ones (Sansui SR-222, Sony PS-X line [PS-X60, PS-X600], some of the older Duals... ).

As far as new stuff, Music Hall and Rega (among others) both make good tables, also look into the Moth Alamo if you run into one. Another place to search for used tables is Audiogon (www.audiogon.com). Generally the better educated you are about the various brands, the better experience you'll have getting a used table... just make sure the seller knows how to properly pack turntables.

As far as brand new, many people have liked the Music Hall line -- except they've had some quality control and build quality issues. Good sources are www.decibelaudio.com and www.needledoctor.com.

Under $100 falls into the "super cheap" category of turntables, and it's likely you'll be unhappy with anything you buy new at that price point -- even buying used at under $100 requires some *very* careful shopping and you'd have to luck out in order to get something halfway decent. If at all possible, try & save up at least $200 if you want to buy a used table, or $300 for something new. Bundee1's recommendation for a Music Hall MMF-1 is a good one, altho you can sometimes find used MMF-2.1's at nearly the same price as a new MMF-1.

Edit -- don't want to make you feel like you're opening a can of worms getting a turntable. It's just that anything under $100 (especially new) is likely to be very crummy and sound like it. Analog is different than digital in that the price/quality ratio scales upward much more slowly and evenly.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by fewtch Under $100 falls into the "super cheap" category of turntables, and it's likely you'll be unhappy with anything you buy new at that price point -- even buying used at under $100 requires some *very* careful shopping and you'd have to luck out in order to get something halfway decent. If at all possible, try & save up at least $200 if you want to buy a used table, or $300 for something new. Bundee1's recommendation for a Music Hall MMF-1 is a good one, altho you can sometimes find used MMF-2.1's at nearly the same price as a new MMF-1. Edit -- don't want to make you feel like you're opening a can of worms getting a turntable. It's just that anything under $100 (especially new) is likely to be very crummy and sound like it. Analog is different than digital in that the price/quality ratio scales upward much more slowly and evenly.

Agreed. The only choices in new turntables priced at about $100 including cartridge are really wretched: Just about the only new turntable/cartridge combo that you'll find for anywhere close to $100 is the Sony PS-LX250H and its RadioShack-sold RCA clone, both with a permanently fixed, non-upgradable cartridge on their cheap, flimsy, plastic toy-arm that tracks at a relatively heavy 2.5 to 3 grams - with really crappy sound to boot. (You might as well equip that really cheap turntable with a ceramic cartridge rather than a magnetic cartridge, in this case.) The only convenience that those turntables offer is their full-automatic operation (push a button, and then the turntable does the rest).

If you must buy such a non-upgradable turntable that doesn't require much in the way of adjustments, the fully manual Music Hall MMF-1, priced at under $200, is a far better choice. Otherwise, you're WAY better off spending a lot more $$$ (say, at least $350 total) for a turntable-and-cartridge combo.

One more thing: Buying a new lower-end turntable with the intention of upgrading its supplied cartridge to something better will cost you almost as much $$$ as buying the next model up in the same line that's equipped with a cartridge that's similar in performance to the cartridge that you're planning to upgrade to. In other words, buying a new Music Hall MMF-2.1 turntable and then upgrading its supplied cartridge to a Grado Prestige Gold will cost you nearly as much $$$ as buying a new MMF-5 turntable (which is already equipped with a cartridge that can equal or beat the performance of a Grado Gold).

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally posted by Eagle_Driver Agreed. The only choices in new turntables priced at about $100 including cartridge are really wretched: Just about the only new turntable/cartridge combo that you'll find for anywhere close to $100 is the Sony PS-LX250H and its RadioShack-sold RCA clone, both with a permanently fixed, non-upgradable cartridge on their cheap, flimsy, plastic toy-arm that tracks at a relatively heavy 2.5 to 3 grams - with really crappy sound to boot.

Well, there's one single possibility I can think of (and I haven't heard this table, so take it with a grain of salt):

http://www.lpgear.com/Merchant2/merc...ct_Code=ATPL50

Might be just barely listenable at under $100 with the supplied "upgrades" and perhaps a reasonable introduction to vinyl. Trouble is, this table will have practically zero resale value... might as well give it away or toss it in the trash when it's time to upgrade.

 

[millerdog]

Another suggestion if you are willing to wait. Fons CQ30 with a good tone arm. A CQ30 with a Grace 707 sold on Ebay a while back for only $145.
I would suggest a Dual TT. Get one for less than a hun then upgrade the cart. It's a good beginners rig. I still use my 1246 in my second system.
Duals are cheap belt drives (compared to Thorens) that are easy to set up and just listen. Dual was HIFI way back when and they can be found for less than a hunski.
md

 

[BlindTiger]

I too was looking at TT.
It was between the MMF 2.1 and the Sumiko Pro Ject 2.0
I chose the Pro Ject because it has the one piece tonearm, the Music Hall has a plastic cartridge shell attached to the tonearm.
I heard it may break off, not likely if you stick with the stock cartridge but I'm sure many would want a better one.
Saturday audio has the NAD TT on sale for 369.00

 

[TimSchirmer]

I have a music hall MMF-1 and am rather happy with it. As long as your records are clean, it sounds pretty damn good.

I'll probably get a better TT somewhere down the line, but I don't really need to as vinyl makes you listen to the music rather than analyze it.

 

[ilikemonkeys]

technique sdl 50, or something like that. you can find them on ebay for about 70 dollars. Buy a Grado Black cartridge for about 50 bucks and youve got an awsome record player. I couldn't replace mine for something under 1000 and get better sound. Vinyl is the **** man. Enjoy!

Bill

 

[provny]

keep in mind that you will also need a phono stage (phono pre-amplifier). Perhaps your amp or receiver might have a built in phono stage-- but this is usually not the case nowadays.

 

[Gopher]

check out used B&O tables on ebay... I've seen some good deals go by

 

[BlindTiger]

how much are you looking to spend?
You can find deals in pawn shops. Sure, some may be technics but you may find a Rega.
I'm not too sure on all that B & O stuff, most of their stuff has their proprietary connectors.
Some used High end stores may have some Music Hall's from customers upgrading and they'll probably install a new cartridge for you.
You can't go wrong with the MMF or Pro Ject in the $300 range. Both are very simple designs, just a motor suspended on a rubber band turned by a belt on a plastic base with the platter on top of it.
Then go to all the flea markets and yard sales for $1 LP's.