Turntable newbie needs alittle advice (1 Viewer)

[Christopher_P]

Finnaly finished tinkering and getting my new HT setup and now I am already in the mood to add something lol. I was going through my mothers old records (wow didn't know it but she even has Star Wars: A New Hope eep!) the other day and I was thinking maybe it would be a good idea to add a turntable to my setup. (60's rock and 80's metal are my favorite genres) I grew up with tapes then in 1990 I got my first CD player so I have never had a turntable and I do not know anything about them other than the basics (33/45/78).

The Flea Market here and other shops have tons of records so I have access to them I just need to decide on a turn table. I'd like support for all 3 speeds and either a way to run audio out (composite or digital coax) or some way to run an adapter out to my receiver.

I don't have a huge budget so one under $200 would be best. (broke my savings on my HT) Hopefully you guys here can provide some advice. I saw a player on QVC's site and a few other sites with the same model that plays all 3 speeds however it says "audio line out" and I'm not sure which type of audio line that means.

 

[Bob Segno]

Christopher, A good place to start is www.stantonmagnetics.com
Very good turntables for the right price.

 

[Kenny_H]

A few other places to check would be Link Removed and www.jandr.com. Good selections from either.

 

[Christopher_P]

Thanks for the links VERY helpfull. Needle Doc has a Vestax Handy Trax that plays all 3 speeds and from the looks of it has audio out (white/red's) which is just what I needed.

Hopefully this will be the turn table for me to get so that I can hook it up into my HT and start digging around for some classics.

 

[DavidLW]

Christopher_P

Make sure that your receiver has a Phono Input. Nearly all turntables comes with stereo Phono Outputs consisting of RCA conposite jacks. These tables will only work plugged into the phono section (input).They will not work plugged into the Aux or Tape inputs.

There are record players that have built in phono sections. These will have a Line Output consisting of RCA composite jacks. These record players must be plugged into the Aux or Tape inputs of your receiver.

If your receiver has a Phono Input then it doesn't matter what you get. However, you must get a record player with a built in phono section if your receiver doesn't have a Phono Input. Either that or spring for an external phono section.

 

[Royce H]

EBay is also a good place to look for turntables, but be careful and ask any questions you may have of the buyer BEFORE bidding.

 

[Charles Gurganus]

With a $200 budget I'd look at the Music Hall 2.1, which includes a cartridge. I like audioadvisor.com for their 30 day return policy. For a mass market TT, Technics makes a decent couple of models (BD20 and BD22) in that price range.

 

[Christopher_P]

Make sure that your receiver has a Phono Input. Nearly all turntables comes with stereo Phono Outputs consisting of RCA conposite jacks. These tables will only work plugged into the phono section (input).They will not work plugged into the Aux or Tape inputs.

There are record players that have built in phono sections. These will have a Line Output consisting of RCA composite jacks. These record players must be plugged into the Aux or Tape inputs of your receiver.

If your receiver has a Phono Input then it doesn't matter what you get. However, you must get a record player with a built in phono section if your receiver doesn't have a Phono Input. Either that or spring for an external phono section.

Negative receiver only has tape deck inputs. So if I was to buy the Vestax Handy Trax (from Needle Doc) which has composite out but does not have a built in phono section I would need:

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...fo&i=585PRE600

to run between the turntable and my receiver then correct?

 

[Frank_S]

Christopher, make sure you have a phono section(stage) in your receiver. If not, you can pick an inexpensive one up from Radioshack, the little rat for $25. There are others you can get for under $100 too.EDIT: Yeah, the Crutchfield unit will work.

If you're not familiar with TT setup, buy one locally and have the cartridge aligned properly and you're all set.
If buying used, look for a used Rega P3.

If you have to buy online, I also recommend AudioAdvisor.
The MMF 2.1 is $299, comes setup with cart. installed.
Good luck!