Record Player Advice

[Shaki]

I was out at my old man's recently and he was very excited about showing me his new record player. He stuck on a Led Zeppelin record and I was pretty much in awe of the difference in sound quality to what I have been used to with CDs and iPods. I'd always heard that vinyl was far superior but put that advice mostly down to muso eccentricity. Now the case is clear in my ears.

I am therefore going to jump on the bandwagon and purchase myself a record player. I don't have a clue about this really so was looking for some advice.

The room where I'll be having it isn't huge so I don't need massive volume and would prefer not that much space taken up. I'd rather not spend that much but if I have to in order to make a difference then I will.

I've been looking at the cheaper end first and stuff like this seems to get decent reviews:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wooden-Retro-Turntable-Cassette-Player/dp/B001EZPI02/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1350397633&sr=8-4

However, I don't know if this would give me that difference in sound that I am looking for just by virtue of it playing records. Are the speakers really important to the overall vinyl enjoyment? I know the old boy splashed out a fair bit.

Pardon my ignorance. Hope you can help.

[Chris]

[Shaki]

That's second on my list at the moment.

[kybosh]

definitely one of these .........or a Linn Sondek as a close 2nd choice

[Mr Owl PhD]

I have a Rega P1, which is very good and not too expensive (c. £200). This is the updated version:

http://www.rega.co.uk/html/RP1.htm

I guess old P1s are probably available for less second hand. You'll need an amp and reasonable bookshelf speakers but, again, those could be had pretty cheaply second hand and then you can upgrade when you've got the cash. I suspect the sound will be a lot better than the one you linked to, which looks a bit flimsy and gimmicky (which some of the reviews seem to say too!).

[Soda Jerk]

Are the speakers really important to the overall vinyl enjoyment? I know the old boy splashed out a fair bit.

Each part of the set up is equally as important, in my opinion.

I would opt for separates so you can fine tune the sound with each component. If you buy that all-in-one unit, how it sounds will be how it sounds, and you can't really do anything to alter it.

If you've got the cash, then getting a good turntable is the first step. Project or Rega make very good turntables at reasonable prices. These are much better options than turntables with built in pre-amps, or all in one units, to my ears.

For me, an amp is an amp. It's quite difficult to get a shit amp. A recognised brand will see you right, as well as ensuring it has been well looked after, if it is a second hand one. So long as it has the correct input for the record player, it's hard to go wrong. A good equalizer is handy too, for levelling out bass-heavy records and such. Some may disagree, but I've had a couple of amps, and not really noticed a huge difference in sound, compared to switching the turntable itself or the speakers.

Speakers are very important, and play a major part in the output. When I upgraded from some old Panasonic speakers from some mini-system to a pair of Mordaunt Short speakers, the difference was incredible. I'd certainly recommend Mordaunt. Reasonably priced, and can get second hand ones alot on Ebay.

Speaker cable can make a great difference too. Cheap thin stuff wares out very quickly and generally doesn't sound great. You'll get more life out of a much thicker cable, and a better quality of output.

[kybosh]

For me, an amp is an amp. It's quite difficult to get a shit amp. A recognised brand will see you right, as well as ensuring it has been well looked after, if it is a second hand one. So long as it has the correct input for the record player, it's hard to go wrong. A good equalizer is handy too, for levelling out bass-heavy records and such. Some may disagree

The best hi-fi amps have no eq , purists would say the producer makes the record sound how it should sound , you should not really try to colour this with eq

Speaker cable can make a huge difference to sound , some stuff costs an obscene amount per metre.

Holburn hi-fi would be a good place to visit to see how silly things can get , good for advice though

[Duckula]

I recently upgraded to a Pro-Ject Debut SE that I got for £70 on ebay, it had barely been used and was in great condition. It's a bit of an older model but it sounds great to me and a far step up from the Phillips no name thing I had been using before. Still need to get a decent set of speakers though...

[Soda Jerk]

The best hi-fi amps have no eq , purists would say the producer makes the record sound how it should sound , you should not really try to colour this with eq

Oh I agree. I don't try to colour the sound of the record. I tend to have both the bass and treble at 12 o clock but I do dial down the bass a bit on hip hop records, because hip hop producers are stupid and pile on bass that makes my speakers sound farty, and that's no fun to listen to. I find the 'loudness' dial to be very useful in the EQ stage too. That's more down to depending on what volume I'm playing music at, and making it sound good at both low and high volumes.

[Shaki]

I knew there would be intricacies but didn't appreciate the extent. Speaker cable?!

Thanks a lot for your advice, I'll get some proper equipment. Might need to involve Santa.

[kybosh]

it can get very silly http://www.futureshop.co.uk/wireworld-the-gold-eclipse-6-speaker-cable-22-3m-pair-p-3235.html

[Shaki]

it can get very silly http://www.futureshop.co.uk/wireworld-the-gold-eclipse-6-speaker-cable-22-3m-pair-p-3235.html

I've been a very good boy this year...

[TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH]

Don't get too bogged down in the whole audiophile aspect of turntables etc.. It's always good to remember that you are meant to be enjoying listening to music, not worrying about potential sonic imperfections in yr equipment.

[Alan Cynic]

I have some good quality speaker cable free if you want?

[Monster Zero]

I made a move to separates from my bog-standard hifi system after hearing a record I owned on my brother's separates, couldn't believe the intricacies in the music that I never heard before.

I set myself a budget and bought a Project turntable, Yamaha cassette deck, Marantz amplifier and B&W speakers along with proper speaker cables and interconencting cables. Later upgraded my old Philips CD deck that I had already bought as an add on to my hifi (resisted CD's for ages but hand was forced when Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 'Live Seeds' only came out on CD) to a Marantz CD player. I also later bought a proper glass/metal rack to replace the wooden shelf unit my dad made for me and proper metal speaker stands, filled with sand to weight them.

You can pretty much buy all equipment and sundries for budget ranges from cheap and nasty to insanely expensive, cables costing thousands and shit like that. Although it's true to avoid getting too obsessive about the intricacies of the sound, I definitely found that investing in above cheap cabling along with the rack and speaker stands all noticably improved the sound. My amp has volume and balance nobs, that's it, take what you get, amp does all the work. Have never wished i had any equalizers to mess about with at all.

I still use all that gear and it's about 15 years old now. Only issue is that sometimes my turntable is a bit sticky to get moving when I turn it on but I put that down to lack of use as I rarely seem to have time to listen to music in the house these days.

My tip would be to invest in a copy of 'What Hi-fi?' magazine, it's been a while since I bought it but they used to have a pretty good guide to match all price ranges, that's basically what I did, picked out the higher rated items in my price range then went along to Sevenoaks hi-fi shop to hear them tried out with each other. Ace service, guy offered all kinds of advice on suitable items for my budget and took the time to let me hear as many cominations of equipment as I wanted.

I think that shop has closed in Aberdeen now, not sure if there is another shop offering the same sort of service but I would recommend trying to find one that will hook up various component parts together so you can turn up armed with a copy of your fave tunes to play on it and decide what sounds best for you....

[Mr Owl PhD]

I think the Sevenoaks store is still open in Aberdeen. It's still on their website anyway:

http://marketing.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/store/scotland/aberdeen/default.aspx

Holburn Hifi do something similar in terms of being able to listen to different stuff instore. I guess it might help to call ahead to discuss requirements and then go along for a listen.

[Soda Jerk]

Plinth's guide is pretty much bang on. Marantz make great gear, and you can pick up a second hand Marantz amp on ebay for a good price usually.

You don't have to spend loads, but going a little bit above stuff considered 'entry-level' is advised. The difference between my first turntable which cost £75 from Comet, and the Pro-ject Debut which was around £150, was unbelievable. The old one really hissed and sounded really muffly, and made it a bit pointless paying so much for records that sounded a bit guff. Cymbals and hi hats just sounded like they were underwater. The Pro-ject just made everything so clear.

[Shaki]

Thanks for all your advice. That's me set up with everything now and I frequently referred to this thread. I got a Marantz amp, Marantz turntable, TEAC CD player and Morduant Short speakers. All sounds pretty fucking good.

[Flights]

it can get very silly http://www.futureshop.co.uk/wireworld-the-gold-eclipse-6-speaker-cable-22-3m-pair-p-3235.html

£8302.50 for a pair of 3m speaker cables. Unbelievable! 

[Soda Jerk]

Have you guys done anything to reduce or eliminate inner groove distortion? You may notice your records sound a bit crappier as the stylus gets closer to the middle of the record. It depends on the record usually, but it seems alot of the records I've bought recently suffer form it quite badly. Is it just a matter of getting a better cartridge?