Put the needle on the record!
November 24, 2019 4:02 AM Subscribe
Looking for suggestions for a reliable sturdy user-friendly intro level turntable, used or new, for a 12 year old who is into all kinds of different tech. I want to go above portables with cheap cartridges and speakers and disappointing sound quality, but below fancy stuff that is fussy to set up and will be wrecked by thrift store vinyl.
- At least 33 and 45 rpm required, 78 rpm would be interesting. Auto changer not necessary.
- I would be okay with tracking down a small external amp/speaker setup, or using a preamp into a boombox.
- I wish to avoid (at the one end) cheapo imports that try to satisfy a retro urge, and (at the other end) fancy counterweight mechanisms etc.
- Initial budget (without knowing anything about this) is about $50-$100?
- Second-hand is fine.
- I am trawling thrift stores too!
- Particular recommendations for a stylus also appreciated!
- At least 33 and 45 rpm required, 78 rpm would be interesting. Auto changer not necessary.
- I would be okay with tracking down a small external amp/speaker setup, or using a preamp into a boombox.
- I wish to avoid (at the one end) cheapo imports that try to satisfy a retro urge, and (at the other end) fancy counterweight mechanisms etc.
- Initial budget (without knowing anything about this) is about $50-$100?
- Second-hand is fine.
- I am trawling thrift stores too!
- Particular recommendations for a stylus also appreciated!
Response by poster: Good point flabdablet - building a small system around something like the Stanton is definitely an option, especially if I can get a cheapo deck.
posted by carter at 4:28 AM on November 24, 2019
posted by carter at 4:28 AM on November 24, 2019
I've heard good things about this target turntable.
(Will say that we have one of the retro dealies and it's been fine for three years now. The sound is solid. Made sure to get one that had a replaceable needle but generally I dislike the audiophile impulse to scare people away from the only turntables they can afford.)
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 5:38 AM on November 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
(Will say that we have one of the retro dealies and it's been fine for three years now. The sound is solid. Made sure to get one that had a replaceable needle but generally I dislike the audiophile impulse to scare people away from the only turntables they can afford.)
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 5:38 AM on November 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: PhoBWanKenobi, that target turntable also looks really interesting! I guess I'm showing my age here, but I did not even think about a bluetooth speaker. It's an obvious solution too.
posted by carter at 6:11 AM on November 24, 2019
posted by carter at 6:11 AM on November 24, 2019
Rega and Pro-Ject are two solid European brands if that’s any help to you - from entry level up to actually pretty good.
posted by rd45 at 7:30 AM on November 24, 2019
posted by rd45 at 7:30 AM on November 24, 2019
This might be highly region-dependent, but there aren't many good thrift store scores for record players these days; something is usually chronically wrong with a turntable in a thrift store. If you're trying to actively avoid wrecking your vinyl, it's not a likely way to find a decent one.
2nding Audio Technica AT-LP60; I had one for years, it worked great and it now lives at someone else's house and still does a good job. This appears to have possibly changed, but the cartridge on mine was replaceable.
If you can move your budget up a little bit, the Monoprice Monolith turntable is also solid (the cartridge alone is worth like $100 or so, and the rest of the build is pretty good), and the real power the the glory is the Audio Technica LP120, which is basically an old Technics clone before they re-released it and started charging a buttload for it. I've had both but far prefer the LP120; it's a really good turntable for the price, but it isn't exactly entry level necessarily.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:00 AM on November 24, 2019 [3 favorites]
2nding Audio Technica AT-LP60; I had one for years, it worked great and it now lives at someone else's house and still does a good job. This appears to have possibly changed, but the cartridge on mine was replaceable.
If you can move your budget up a little bit, the Monoprice Monolith turntable is also solid (the cartridge alone is worth like $100 or so, and the rest of the build is pretty good), and the real power the the glory is the Audio Technica LP120, which is basically an old Technics clone before they re-released it and started charging a buttload for it. I've had both but far prefer the LP120; it's a really good turntable for the price, but it isn't exactly entry level necessarily.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:00 AM on November 24, 2019 [3 favorites]
Is there an audio repair/refurb store near you? I picked up a fully refurbed Technics from the 1970s with a really nice cartridge from the local repair place for a couple of hundred dollars a few years back. They had cheaper ones, but this one sounded lovely.
posted by scruss at 11:31 AM on November 24, 2019
posted by scruss at 11:31 AM on November 24, 2019
I dislike the audiophile impulse to scare people away from the only turntables they can afford.
A good way to think about this is to roughly balance your total spend on records with the total spend on equipment.
So if you start with 2 thrift store records costing $10 and a $100 turntable you are spending 10X as much on the equipment.
If you then buy another 20 new records costing $20 each, thats $400, so now the $100 turntable is only worth 1/4 of the records and it is maybe time to start thinking about a small upgrade.
When you have 100+ records, I think the comparison stops making sense but it's useful when starting out.
posted by Lanark at 2:56 PM on November 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
A good way to think about this is to roughly balance your total spend on records with the total spend on equipment.
So if you start with 2 thrift store records costing $10 and a $100 turntable you are spending 10X as much on the equipment.
If you then buy another 20 new records costing $20 each, thats $400, so now the $100 turntable is only worth 1/4 of the records and it is maybe time to start thinking about a small upgrade.
When you have 100+ records, I think the comparison stops making sense but it's useful when starting out.
posted by Lanark at 2:56 PM on November 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
I'd put in another recommendation for Pro-Ject's low-end turntables. I'm still using the Debut III I bought as a student in the early 2000s, which came with a decent Ortofon cartridge and has been easy to set up for different cartridges later. It looks like the Primary E is the same thing in the current lineup. A second-hand one may be within your budget (bear in mind that if it's had a lot of use, you might also want to replace the stylus).
posted by offog at 3:05 AM on November 25, 2019
posted by offog at 3:05 AM on November 25, 2019
This is the sort of question that makes grandfathers reminisce. When college kids were listening to music in the 1960s, most were using stereos (turntable, amp, speakers) given to them by parents who chose them with regard to price and without much information about quality. More or less like there are lots of kids today listening to music with $15 ear buds plugged into phones.
However, in any group, there was likely to be one audiophile who picked his equipment carefully, and his cartridge would be a Shure V15 Type II (Improved). (These syllables are lodged deeply in my memory.) So, if retro was a goal, that's the way I'd go.
posted by SemiSalt at 8:29 AM on November 25, 2019
However, in any group, there was likely to be one audiophile who picked his equipment carefully, and his cartridge would be a Shure V15 Type II (Improved). (These syllables are lodged deeply in my memory.) So, if retro was a goal, that's the way I'd go.
posted by SemiSalt at 8:29 AM on November 25, 2019
I has the Audio Technica 120. Around 200$. Was a college radio nerd. Like the old Nikon camera adverts: buy your last phonograph first. I play thrift store on it. Play my prized lps on it. Easy to hook up to whatever stereo you got. Adjustable, which is a hassle, but essential, especially if you plan on using different cartridges.
Why did I skip most of your parameters: I tried to go with a used one. Twice. It was just a massive headache. It was so bad I recycled them instead of letting another human try and deal with getting them to play music. I love DIY and tinkering but I had to draw the line with wanting music and getting hassle. When I got my 120 I did consider the Sony PS-LX310BT and the 60 series units from Audio Technica. I've heard both and I'm happy I went with the 120. I've spent some time listening to Uturn's Orbit Basic Turntable (the green is lovely) and was quite impressed, but that one was using a nice cartridge. The owner of that UTurn? He had also tried a used player. There is lots of attention in that market so there really isn't good deals to be had that I have seen. I would also consider that Monoprice unit, it's got the right stuff right.
Get something that makes deciding on a cartridge a question. I've got a small collection, and I'm using the AT95E cartridge the 120 came with. That's about a 50$ cartridge. To get better is going to cost me. I've heard a Nagaoka MP-110 and liked that with the rock music. It's at least 100$, which is also how much a Denon DL-110 would run, which is my other big contender.
posted by zenon at 10:35 AM on November 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
Why did I skip most of your parameters: I tried to go with a used one. Twice. It was just a massive headache. It was so bad I recycled them instead of letting another human try and deal with getting them to play music. I love DIY and tinkering but I had to draw the line with wanting music and getting hassle. When I got my 120 I did consider the Sony PS-LX310BT and the 60 series units from Audio Technica. I've heard both and I'm happy I went with the 120. I've spent some time listening to Uturn's Orbit Basic Turntable (the green is lovely) and was quite impressed, but that one was using a nice cartridge. The owner of that UTurn? He had also tried a used player. There is lots of attention in that market so there really isn't good deals to be had that I have seen. I would also consider that Monoprice unit, it's got the right stuff right.
Get something that makes deciding on a cartridge a question. I've got a small collection, and I'm using the AT95E cartridge the 120 came with. That's about a 50$ cartridge. To get better is going to cost me. I've heard a Nagaoka MP-110 and liked that with the rock music. It's at least 100$, which is also how much a Denon DL-110 would run, which is my other big contender.
posted by zenon at 10:35 AM on November 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
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posted by flabdablet at 4:13 AM on November 24, 2019 [1 favorite]