I Need A New Record Player

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So I'm getting pretty sick of listening to my records on this piece of crap record player my roommate found in his parents attic. I want to buy a decent one, but i really don't have the loot to shell out for a good one. And what is a good one anyways? I have no clue what I'm looking for. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Brock K, Tuesday, 5 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I have no clue what I'm looking for.
Yes, you do. A recordplayer.

helenfordsdale, Tuesday, 5 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

If you're looking for a turntable for straight playback, definetly look into getting a belt-driven one since they tend to sound a lot better than the direct driven ones (ex. Technics 1200's).

Since you're on a budget, I would recommend a Rega Planar 2. Pretty solid build, nice open and detailed sound, and pretty affordable. A used one could probably be found for about $300US.

Also, if you buy used, the owner will probably have a tone-arm and a cartridge set-up, so you won't have to buy any additional gear.

Philippe, Tuesday, 5 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Philippe is correct. Belt drives do sound better, and the Rega is inexpensive and sounds great.

Sean, Tuesday, 5 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Are the Pro-Ject range available where you are, Brock? Very good build quality for the money. Other than that - yeah, can't go far wrong with a Planar 2.

I have a (heavily modified) Systemdek IIx900 sitting idle (RB250 arm, Goldring 1012GX cart) which I'd rate higher than the Rega, and which you could have for not very much money... but I expect the shipping would be a pain in the behind. Oh, and one of the cartridge tags needs soldering.

Michael Jones, Tuesday, 5 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The theory does go that belt drives sound better, but in my opinion the convenience of a 1210 outways this sound differences as the 1210 isn't a bad sounding record deck by any means, and I have a pretty reasonable separates system to be able to listen to the differences (Arcam 10 - I got it half price from Arcam when it was released as a promo because I worked in a hi-fi shop at the time, with Celestion 700 speakers (which I got dirt cheap second hand, again from my time working in a hifi shop).

My reasoning is that any decent belt-drive will need you to manually switch the gearing ratio to change speeds, and if you're going between 7" and LP all the time this gets very tedious very, very quickly. PLUS buy another 1210 and a cheap mixer and you can DJ! 1210s are also getting cheaper second hand at the moment (you can find them for less that £150 if you look around) and will last you a lifetime if not thrown out of a 12 storey window on a regular basis.

Unarguably, direct drives give less wow too.

However, the best direct drive, and one of the best turntables ever, is the Technics sp-10 which is kind of a super-1210 that radio stations used to use before CDs, it is just the drive unit, and needs to be fitted with a separate tonearm, and onto a separate base, and they are pretty rare second hand these days, not to mention expensive. I wish I could afford one because they can sound incredible.

If you look around second hand you can also sometimes find something called a parallel tracker which was a type of record player popular just before CDs took off. The best ones will give you the ability to program a side of a record! Very cool, but also very rare. I got one once for 30 quid, but it broke after a couple of years.

Anyway, boring hi-

chewshabadoo, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

May I suggest America's answer to all questions: Ebay. A turntable can be had for pennies on the dollar - from all the people "upgrading" to CDs.

Dave225, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I have a good all-around sound system, that I'd highly recommend... an old KLH, from Cambridge, Massachussetts.. turntable and amp are one unit, I think the turntable is actually a Marantz. They're cheap, the cartridges are easy to find, and sound great.

Andy, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"from all the people "upgrading" to CDs."

Everyone knows this was finished by 1992.

Paul Barclay, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The problem with belt-drives is that they don't play at the right speed most of the time.

I've got a Technics direct-drive that's not a DJ style--a SL-DD33--and I'm very happy with it.

Douglas, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I've got a JVC that I bought at a thrift shop for 5 bucks and it sounds fine to me.

Kris, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

... hate to dwell on this, but

Everyone knows this was finished by 1992.

..Just getting around to parting with them now. Happy?

BTW, did you have anything constructive to add to the thread?

Dave225, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The problem with belt-drives is that they don't play at the right speed most of the time.

Hmmm, might be the case with the real cheapies I guess (belt slippage), but at that end of the market I'd have thought motor noise from similarly-priced direct-drives would be even more of a nuisance. The Crown and Ariston turntables I had years ago were D-D and they were just calibrated wrongly, playing 1-2% too fast (I suppose you can adjust this on a Technics).

Unhelpfully, I'll point out that while yr typical high-end models are practically all belt-drive (Nottingham, VPI, Oracle, Michell, Linn, Thorens, Pierre Lurne, Kuzma, Wilson Benesch, Girati, SME, etc), the record-player many seem to think of as the absolute state-of-the-art in vinyl replay is direct-drive: the Andy Payor-designed Rockport Sirius III.

Michael Jones, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

three years pass...
I'm thinking of getting a Technics SL-BD20. If my CD player has an auxiliary input jack, can I use the speakers in it to listen to records or do I need to get something else? Thanks in advance. (Also, I would appreciate any advice on other low-end models < $200.)

youn, Sunday, 1 January 2006 04:00 (nineteen years ago)

>I'm thinking of getting a Technics SL-BD20. If my CD player has an auxiliary input jack, can I use the speakers in it to listen to records or do I need to get something else? Thanks in advance. (Also, I would appreciate any advice on other low-end models < $200.)<

If the auxiliary jacks are more than just out jacks, yeah, absolutely.

As for under $200 models, the Sony PSLX250H can be had under a $100, and its a pretty fine record player for the money. Its a belt driven turntable, and assuming all you want to do is play records, it fits the bill. If you do some searching on needledoctor.com, you can find a replacement stylus for $30 rather than the $55 Sony wants for it.

Alan Conceicao (Alan Conceicao), Sunday, 1 January 2006 04:15 (nineteen years ago)

vinyls sound bad,cds scratch/skip easily - i'm going back to tapes.

retrogurl, Sunday, 1 January 2006 04:22 (nineteen years ago)

The input jack is the kind you can use to hook up your TV or computer. I notice that some record players come with a pre-amp. Do I need that?

youn, Sunday, 1 January 2006 15:54 (nineteen years ago)

you'll probably need a preamp if it doesn't explicitly call itself a phono jack.

kyle (akmonday), Sunday, 1 January 2006 17:37 (nineteen years ago)

three months pass...
Does anyone have a Vestax or a Numark portable record player? I read the reviews at turntablelab.com and it seems that the sound is better on the Vestax but that the construction of the Numark is superior. A real user review would be extremely helpful. I want to get something that I don't have to hook up to another unit. Thanks very much.

youn, Wednesday, 26 April 2006 00:25 (nineteen years ago)

four years pass...

I'm in urgent need of an upgrade as my system is really showing its age.

Any recommendations for a decent, not-too-expensive, home-use record player? Do the tips upthread [Rega Planar, Pro-ject] still apply?

Is this good advice: If you're looking for a turntable for straight playback, definetly look into getting a belt-driven one since they tend to sound a lot better than the direct driven ones ??

Answers in layman's terms, please.

Daniel Giraffe, Tuesday, 27 April 2010 08:09 (fifteen years ago)

A Project or a Music Hall are the go-to entry level good decks. They are belt driven. Usually come with a cartridge.

Belt drive and direct drive refer to how the motor is linked to the platter. In a bd there's only a flimsy rubber band making the connection, but this is good for sound quality since the motor's vibrations don't get passed along as much. But you can't slip-cue (pull back on the platter) because that would pull back on the motor and damage it. And it would stretch out the band, too. In a dd the connection between motor and platter is with gears. You get very quick start-up, which is good for dj-ing. On the downside, vibrations get passed along. But there's a differential in there so that when you pull back on the platter, it doesn't affect the motor--just as when you stop pedaling a ten-speed, or even pedal backward, the wheels keep going.

Michael Train, Tuesday, 27 April 2010 10:52 (fifteen years ago)

And the best Rega you can afford is still a good idea.

Michael Train, Tuesday, 27 April 2010 10:53 (fifteen years ago)

Thanks so much for the explanation, Michael.

I'll have a search round on the net for Rega and Music Hall.

Daniel Giraffe, Tuesday, 27 April 2010 11:49 (fifteen years ago)

nine years pass...

I was bought a Crosley turntable with in-built speakers which has sat in my kitchen and been given a proper pummelling (and pummelled my records) over the last 10 years.

It's a cheap and cheeerful piece of work but it sounds pretty good and is compact enough to sit on a work surface without taking up too much space. Unfortunately it's now playing the records too slowly and I'd like to replace it. I've seen more recent Crosley models and some of them are really horrible - the sound is tinny and they probably destroy records.

Anyone had any luck with all-in-one portable-style turntables, preferably with inbuilt speakers and the option to switch to Bluetooth? Are they all absolutely awful now? Do they all mash up your records? I miss playing records in my kitchen!

doorstep jetski (dog latin), Friday, 1 November 2019 10:04 (five years ago)

check to see if the glue connecting the platter to the spindle is loose, my Rega spun slowly and it was the platter/spindle loosebut not loose enough to not spin, just spun at a low/variable speed. I took it for repair and all it took was a blob of glue.. still good 12 years later...

my opinionation (Hamildan), Friday, 1 November 2019 13:46 (five years ago)

from the sound of it, worst case should be a new belt

maffew12, Friday, 1 November 2019 13:51 (five years ago)

alas, despite researching, I can't work out what size belt it needs

doorstep jetski (dog latin), Friday, 1 November 2019 14:02 (five years ago)

try eBay, turntable model number + "belt", sort price low to high

I'm no expert... there is conceivably some motor issue... but maybe you can tighten the belt to compensate!

maffew12, Friday, 1 November 2019 14:17 (five years ago)

I'd also suggest trying a new belt. My pro ject rpm5 started playing too slow and it turned out the belt had just become brittle and loose over time

Duke, Friday, 1 November 2019 18:22 (five years ago)


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