[Wodgy]

I recently rescued a lot of interesting 33 and 78 rpm vinyl records from a lady who just retired after 50 years of running a local dance school. I'd been thinking of getting a turntable for a while, and I might as well take the plunge now.

Most of the good turntables I've heard about (the Music Hall ones, and the Pro-Jekt ones) only play 33's and 45's. Could someone recommend a good, low-cost turntable for newbies that also plays 78's?

(It seems a lot of the "DJ" turntables play 78s, but is their sound quality okay?)

 

[Tuberoller]

Please visitKAB .They sell some decent tables that feature 78rpm playback.You will need a 78rpm specific cartridge and I strongly recommend a phono amp with the proper equalization curves as well to extract the best sound quality.Vestax,Gemini and a few others manufacture some decent three speed tables.Stay away from vintage tables.

BTW,I like that you recognized that you "rescued" the records.happy listening.

 

[Matt]

I have a Dual CS 5000 and I hear it is great for 78's and, best of all, you can get one for a reasonable price. It has three buttons (33, 45, 78) right on the table, so it's easy to change the speed. It's belt-driven and it has a quartz speed control.

The table is very musical with 33's and 45's, with a lush-but-detailed, definitely non-sterile characters. I have 78 platters, but I haven't personally heard 78's on this table, as I don't have the cartridge.

It was manufactured from the mid/late 80's until 1990.

- Matt

 

[Wodgy]

Thanks so much for the suggestions.

I was actually very lucky; if I had walked by the dance studio two hours later they'd all have been thrown in the garbage bin out back. That would have been sad -- I'm really looking forward to hearing some of these.

 

[zowie]

If the question is an intro turntable for 78s, the usual advice is to select between:

1. Used good quality 70s turntable like Dual 1200 series. $40-100.

2. Used classroom portable record player from ebay, ca. $50.

I have used #1 extensively for audio restoration, which I do semi-professionally, with custom stylii and the works.

However, I've found there are better choices for casual listening.

For 78s from the 1940-60s, I really think they sound best on a 1950s - mid-60's turntable with the venerable flip-over ceramic cartridge, like a V-M changer. That may not be what I'd use for archival transcriptions, but it's the best for casual listening without running computerized filters.

For 78s from prior to the early 30s, these tend to sound best for casual listening on an accoustic phonograph, e.g., Victrola. Nice ones are expensive, but later portable models are not and are plentiful. They are easily serviced. With a pair of affordable binaural mics and an MD, you can make very natural-sounding digital transfers.

The basic principal I'm finding, after owning probably 20 phonographs and turntables, is that absent using expensive custom equipment, records sound best on the equipment of the era for which they were manufactured or slightly later. The same holds true with mono LPs and early 45s.

If you're also inquiring about a good intro turntable for modern LP playback, there have been previous threads about that.

 

[Wodgy]

My first turntable arrived today! I wasn't sure that I wanted to spend a lot of money on one of KAB's tables, so I took Zowie's advice and bought a vintage Fisher table (made by BSR). I know it's not one of the best tables (ceramic cartridge rather than magnetic, etc.), but it's in beautiful condition and I think it matches nicely with the phonostage in my vintage Fisher 400, plus the price was right, only $32.

I'm honestly amazed by how good vinyl sounds, even with this simple setup. I'm too young to have grown up with vinyl, so it's been a real eye-opener! The sound is just so much more dynamic and natural. I know I'm going to be hunting for used discs... Thanks again guys for all the advice.