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absolute cheapest vinyl rig possible...


recstar24

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Hi!

 

A few weekends ago, we visited my wife's grandma's house for a final time, as she was recently admitted into a home, and they are going to have an estate sale.  This was a chance for the grandkids to sort of go through and pick any momentos they wanted.

 

I thought it would be nice to take home her grandma's old vinyl  and possibly play it a bit.  I am not a vinyl guy at all, nor do i see myself really getting into it.  So all I am looking for is a very cheap, small space, functional vinyl rig that my wife can listen to her grandma's old records.  

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Craigslist - mid 80's to early 90's high quality turntable.

 

Integrated receiver (1970-mid 90's?) with phono input. Will probably have a niceish radio tuner and probably a passable speaker amp if you shop carefully. 

 

New cartridge, or at the very least a new stylus if the TT comes with something niceish. 

Maybe a record and stylus brush to help with the dust bunnies. 

 

There is no reason to spend more than $200 all things told, and you can often do MUCH less if you are careful, patient, or already have some of the parts. 

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I had this same plan a few months ago and now I'm balls deep in it with 2 tables and about 75-ish records and growing; it's good and bad. 

 

My tips if I had to re-do:

 

Don't try to find a vintage used audiophile table first off, they add up to repair or upkeep especially if parts are missing and need to be replaced.  Avoid anything Crosley brand.  Avoid Technics SL-1200 and its ilk (cheaper Technics are perfect though), prices shot WAY up and they are only getting more used/beat with time.  They are great tables otherwise...

 

Try to find a cheap old automatic table like a Pioneer PL-7 or Technics SL-D2/3 for a couple bucks ($40?).  I foolishly traded PL-7 in for a SL-1600 and realized my mistake about a month down the road.

 

The cartridge needs to be cheap but good and with cheap styli that are readily available, Shure m91ED for $50 with a decent needle is a good starting point.  Replacement EVG Styli' for these are around $15 or less on eBay.

 

Cheap vintage receiver for a built in phono pre like Harmon Kardon 330c or Pioneer SX-780; $100 or less.  There are $50ish standalone Phono pre-'s as well that can get you by.

 

Then you'll learn the fun of VTF, overhang and different alignment methods, anti-skate, VTA, and record cleaning :(

 

If that sounds like too much a pain in the ass, which it is, Rega, Pro-Ject, Music Hall, U-Turn have great starter tables with their own quirks, look to spend about $200-400 for one of these.  There's also this guy: http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT-LP120-USB-Direct-Drive-Professional-Turntable/dp/B002S1CJ2Q.

 

Bottom line I would allocate more attention towards a decent Cartridge and Phono Pre- moreso than the table itself.  Sadly where I live it is real hard to find specialists who are passionate about the turntable and associated gear aspect even at a record store... weird I know.  AudioKarma and VinylEngine I have found I like for forums.

Edited by Mr.Sneis
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I bought this for my daughter for christmas,this is what she wanted.All in one unit so you would not need anything else,

 

http://www.amazon.com/Crosley-CR8005A-GR-Cruiser-Portable-Turntable/dp/B00990Z13S/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1RG3CQGF043BBK34X4Y0

 

 I have seen it cheaper at target/kmart on sale.

Edited by bozebuttons
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Nothing wrong with either table!  I foolishly had it in my head I NEEDED the Technics despite it needing work out the door (easy fix for auto return level) so I traded in my Pioneer for store credit.  In hindsight I probably got peanuts for the Pioneer and it is/was a very respectable table that I just dumped without a thought.  I do love my SL-1600 but not having adjustable VTA is a slight detractor.

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Steer far far far away from any TT with automatic anything. 

 

Adjustable VTA is nice, but also not :P 

 

I think the audiophile community makes MUCH more of VTA than is necessary because a modern tonearm needs to be designed to be put on who-knows-what TT with who-knows-what height from the plinth to the platter. TT's designed to "just work out of the box" (by engineers {who got payed to do that}) can easily get VTA to within a few MM for any cartridge with a fixed tonearm. 

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I can get that.  When I bought the SL-1600 the auto start did not work. It was definitely a gamble when I bought it, but I had a good feeling about fixing it as it was a commonly reported issue it seems.  The fix took less than 30 minutes and a few bucks for white lithium grease to lube up to arm mechanism and was good as new. 

 

Part of this decision to take the plunge was just how clean this 1600 was, too bad the cartridge (AKG p25md/24) had a bad/unobtainium stylus.

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