I want to listen to records, but I'm just not ready for that kind of commitment.

July 18, 2009 3:36 PM

I've got a year left of college and am going to be moving at least four or five times during the course of that year. I want to buy a turntable so that I can listen to some records I've bought over the course of this very same year, but I don't want something that'll weigh me down too much when I move. Does such a device exist?

Once I'm out of college and can settle down in one place for more than three months at a time, I'll probably look into dropping some cash on a serious/respectable system, but in the meantime I'd just like to be able to listen to these records without too much fuss. I've done some digging, and it looks like it's possible to use one of these newfangled USB turntables with headphone-jack-style speakers like the ones I already own.

The only catch is, though, that every single review I can find about USB turntables is written exclusively from the perspective of a person who bought the gadget so that they could digitize their records. I've already got digital copies of all of these songs - I'm more interested in the ritual and, to some degree, the purported "warmth" associated with records. So, I suppose my main question is: is it possible to get a USB turntable and use it just like a regular turntable, in which you put in a record and get out music (preferably on my pre-existing, easy-to-move-with speakers) as the record spins? If so, is this advisable? If not, what would you advise for a person in my situation?

Thanks a bunch!

posted by ewingpatriarch to media & arts (10 comments total)

Why does it need to have a USB connection? Consider this portable Vestax.
posted by Spacelegoman at 5:01 PM on July 18, 2009

The answer is yes. A USB turntable like this one has a built-in amplifier and headphone jack. Many of the others have an integrated pre-amp, but that's only enough to play at a certain volume unless your speakers are powered and have a volume adjustment on them.

However: A portable turntable with a built-in amp and headphone-jack style speakers likely won't sound as good as well-ripped tracks on your iPod. Really, it won't. The folks who are so into vinyl that they prefer them to CDs? They're generally using a reasonably nice amp and reasonably nice speakers. Vinyl without a decent amp and speakers is just fragile and heavy, not warm or romantic.
posted by eschatfische at 5:23 PM on July 18, 2009

Why don't you go to a pawn shop and get a good used one from the early '80s? It will be cheaper and more well made than some newfangled Chinese USB turntable junk.
posted by bengarland at 5:28 PM on July 18, 2009

A great deal of the "warmth" of vinyl can be instantly translated to "mud" by poorly made/cheaply constructed equipment. I understand the portability issue of an entire audio rack, but consider this: at 55 lbs. an audio system is not exactly an anchor, and if you get just one good piece of equipment now, you won't have to replace that particular piece of crap later, after having dragged said piece of crap around for a year and allowed whatever violence that equipment may inflict to be done to your vinyl.

I recommend a decent mid-line turntable in a good hardshell case for your wandering days. Alongside that, any bookshelf stereo system with a standard Red/White RCA Aux Input will stand in for an amplifier. (You aren't planning on getting into the market for an SME in a year, were you?)
posted by EnsignLunchmeat at 6:21 PM on July 18, 2009 [1 favorite]

any stereo system with a standard Red/White RCA Aux Input will stand in for an amplifier.

Really? It's my understanding that the Amp must have a Phono input, which use different preamp voltages than the Aux inputs. Also, any component turntable I've used has a separate ground wire which must be connected to the amplifier, else you get a loud 60-cycle hum.
posted by Rash at 7:48 PM on July 18, 2009

I wouldn't count on a USB turntable being very high quality.
Go with EnsignLunchmeat's suggestion and get yourself something decent. Hell, I got myself a Technics direct-drive turntable for a measly buck at a yardsale and it's been great- you can find good equipment for a steal if you look around a little.
posted by dunkadunc at 10:07 PM on July 18, 2009

Sony made a portable record player in the 80s, which would probably be exactly what you want, and I still kick myself for giving mine away in the 90s. It was called the Sony Discman.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f15/sony-portable-record-player-229816/

Hard to find? Yes. Totally terrific? Yes. Hangs on the wall, stands on its own, or lays flat? Yes. Jacks for headphones? Yes. Terrible at playing back really warper records? Yes.
posted by davejay at 10:07 PM on July 18, 2009

er, warped.
posted by davejay at 10:08 PM on July 18, 2009

@davejay

The Discman was their portable CD player -- the walkman equivalent for CDs. The record player seems to be called the PS-F5 or PS-F9.
posted by brainmouse at 11:16 PM on July 18, 2009

Sound advice, thanks everyone! I think I'll end up doing the reasonable thing: I'll wait until I'm able to settle down at least a little bit, then do some legwork and investigate pawnshops and yard sales for a while until I can find something good for cheap. If anything turns up on Craigslist in the meantime, I'll go with that. Thanks for talking me down from the USB ledge.
posted by ewingpatriarch at 8:00 AM on July 19, 2009