Turntable for beginners?

[poogie]

Just bought a dozen of LP records from garage sale. Any advice for a quality turntable, budget less than $500.00.

[JasonR]

These are the two I am looking at, both are nice decks.

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com...ELAID=26050355

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=REP1

[Drew664]

I have the same budget you do, and I'm still interested in getting into the vinyl scene even though I haven't jumped in yet besides buying a couple of records. The two models Jason linked are what you will receive here for recommendations on turn tables. Now for phono amps, I was given these choices. Audio quality in descending order - best to worst.

Parasound Zphono
Music Hall PA1.2
Rega Fono Mini
NAD PP2
Cambridge Audio 540p

What I have noticed though, is that these items are almost never on sale! I will occasionally check prices to see if they have dipped, but they seem to remain constant. Maybe during the holiday season we'll see some discounts.

[Drew664]

Ha! Just noticed your AV rack poogie... Looks familiar.

I love mine - great purchase.

[CasualKiller]

I went with the Rega P1 / Fono Mini combo, solid package to say the least. And I'm not that easy to impress TT wise, you can see pics of my old table setup in my gallery.

[Chizzap30]

I work for a dealer that carries both the Rega P1 and the Project Debut III. Between the 2, I would pick the P1. It's an all around better table.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by Chizzap30

I work for a dealer that carries both the Rega P1 and the Project Debut III. Between the 2, I would pick the P1. It's an all around better table.

Hi Chizzap,

Mind giving us your reasoning as to why you feel this way?

John

[Chizzap30]

The two big reasons are going to be the platter and the tone arm.
The steel platter of the Debut III resonates quite a bit. This can possibly feed some of the resonance back through the album and into the the stylus. This would add something into playback that was not in the original recording.

The tone arms when even just looking at them, the Rega's appears to be of higher quality. It's easier to set up with the tracking force and ant-skating (even though I'd recommend having it set up by someone whohas the proper tools and knows what they are doing).

When listening to both, the Rega is more detailed and better bass extension.

[FreddieFerric]

Originally Posted by Chizzap30

The two big reasons are going to be the platter and the tone arm.
The steel platter of the Debut III resonates quite a bit. This can possibly feed some of the resonance back through the album and into the the stylus. This would add something into playback that was not in the original recording.

The tone arms when even just looking at them, the Rega's appears to be of higher quality. It's easier to set up with the tracking force and ant-skating (even though I'd recommend having it set up by someone whohas the proper tools and knows what they are doing).

When listening to both, the Rega is more detailed and better bass extension.

Good reasons all the way around.

[FreddieFerric]

Originally Posted by poogie

Just bought a dozen of LP records from garage sale. Any advice for a quality turntable, budget less than $500.00.

Why don't you post a list of the lp's that you bought over here: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=90118

[Chizzap30]

yeah. I've listen to the entire rega line (with the exception of the P9) And I had my heart set on getting a Rega P3-24. However, Linn introduced the Majik LP12. So now I'm saving up for that beauty.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by Chizzap30

The two big reasons are going to be the platter and the tone arm.
The steel platter of the Debut III resonates quite a bit. This can possibly feed some of the resonance back through the album and into the the stylus. This would add something into playback that was not in the original recording.

The tone arms when even just looking at them, the Rega's appears to be of higher quality. It's easier to set up with the tracking force and ant-skating (even though I'd recommend having it set up by someone whohas the proper tools and knows what they are doing).

When listening to both, the Rega is more detailed and better bass extension.

Thanks for that very well written explanation Chizzap!

John

[rded]

Originally Posted by Chizzap30

yeah. I've listen to the entire rega line (with the exception of the P9) And I had my heart set on getting a Rega P3-24. However, Linn introduced the Majik LP12. So now I'm saving up for that beauty.

Chizzap, when are you getting the LP-12?

[Chizzap30]

When the funds become available. Hopefully some time this year.

[rded]

Originally Posted by Chizzap30

When the funds become available. Hopefully some time this year.

I hear you! Hopefully sooner right?

[Chizzap30]

Indeed. Even though I do get spoiled when I go into work. I get to play with a Fully Loaded LP12(all the upgrades currently available with the exception of the new Urika and Radikal). But I figure the Majik is a good place to start and I can completely do all the upgrades down the road.

[un4gvn94538]

Originally Posted by Chizzap30

The two big reasons are going to be the platter and the tone arm.
The steel platter of the Debut III resonates quite a bit. This can possibly feed some of the resonance back through the album and into the the stylus. This would add something into playback that was not in the original recording.

The tone arms when even just looking at them, the Rega's appears to be of higher quality. It's easier to set up with the tracking force and ant-skating (even though I'd recommend having it set up by someone whohas the proper tools and knows what they are doing).

When listening to both, the Rega is more detailed and better bass extension.

guess i made the right choice then. im very happy with the p1 and planning on pairing it with the phono mini soon that is if i can stop spending all the money on vinyl.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by un4gvn94538

guess i made the right choice then. im very happy with the p1 and planning on pairing it with the phono mini soon that is if i can stop spending all the money on vinyl.

Good luck with that!

John

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by Drew664

What I have noticed though, is that these items are almost never on sale! I will occasionally check prices to see if they have dipped, but they seem to remain constant. Maybe during the holiday season we'll see some discounts.

Seems like they've gone up - the list price on the Parasound was $150.
Acoustic Sounds used to have it for $150, now it's $199 wherever you look.
I got an open box from Audio Advisor for I htink around $115 and I couldn't be happier.

[Drew664]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

Seems like they've gone up - the list price on the Parasound was $150.
Acoustic Sounds used to have it for $150, now it's $199 wherever you look.
I got an open box from Audio Advisor for I htink around $115 and I couldn't be happier.

Yes, I noticed that too when I went back to my $500 budget thread to give some info. Kind of makes me wish I would have picked it up then.

Now I'm semi looking into a squeeze box. I wasn't aware that they existed before a week ago. Would adding a squeeze box and tube amp give the same warm sound effect as vinyl?