• This topic has 30 replies, 24 voices, and was last updated 2 years ago by neila.
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  • Recommend me a turntable
  • bensongd
    Free Member

    Son wants a record player for Xmas. Going to let him have my Cambridge amp and jpw minis to run it through.

    It doesn’t need to be audiophile standard and may get subject to a bit of abuse. Something easy to use.

    I have no idea what they cost, richer sounds still the place to look?

    sc-xc
    Full Member

    What’s the budget? Rega Planar 1 consistently wins best budget turntable at about £275

    Audio Technica are well regarded as well.

    poolman
    Free Member

    I just got a rega planar 1 plus, the plus being built in Phono amp as I have active speakers.

    Love it, great sound, love the fully manual spec even changing speed by moving belt under the platter.

    Even better I got it in a bf deal, mat black which is the new colour to match their speakers.

    Hmv are doing 30% off selected vinyl, or 2 for 40 quid, but a lot of stuff is out of stock.

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    desperatebicycle
    Free Member

    For a kid, something easy to use, so recommendations at nearly £300 with a manual belt change. Jeez, this place. Kid would get bored and not use it.
    Seriously, better off setting your budget and looking on the web than asking on here. Or asking Richer what they’d recommend in the price range

    redmex
    Free Member

    Belt pulley swop hardly tricky but I agree a lot for a first turntable
    Get a second hand Project/Dual etc may need to look for a new stylus and it’s a good start on a learning curve how to look after everything , how to handle vinyl, scratches and dust are pish etc

    derek_starship
    Free Member

    This is the thread ended:

    Audio Technica LP3. Sub £200, fully auto and can be upgraded cartridge and stylus wise. Phono stage built in.

    mikeyp
    Full Member

    Agree with the audio technica recommendation. Manual belt changes are a pita if you just want to play loads of music whilst under the influence.

    jairaj
    Full Member

    I’d say pop in to Richer Sounds and see what they have. Audio Technica are a fairly decent budget level brand that should make something suitable. Otherwise my choice would be something from Pro-Ject if thats within your budget.

    Audio Technica will be better value for money and come with more features (eg phono stage included) compared to Pro-Ject. But the Pro-Ject may possibly last longer and have better supports for spares 10 years down the road if he’s still into playing records.

    If durability is a really a concern maybe a DJ turntable would be better? Again I think Richer sounds can help you out here.

    I have a very good condition Numark TT500 just needs a cartridge I’m happy to sell for £100

    bensongd
    Free Member

    That’s been an eye opener. Not sure what I was expecting though. Thanks all.

    scud
    Free Member

    i have a Rega Planar 1 and a 3 (and two Technics 1210 mk2!) great turnables, but not sturdy.

    The Audio Technica cheaper ones are fantastic, maybe look for a second hand one of these, can be had for £100-125:

    https://www.dv247.com/en_GB/GBP/Audio-Technica-AT-LP140XP-SV-DJ-Turntable-Silver-/art-DJE0007063-000?campaign=GShopping/GB&ProgramUUID=5G_AqJarZwoAAAFl0FZyjI8V&gclid=CjwKCAiAksyNBhAPEiwAlDBeLOnXhAWR7OGBUWWEfCfeLH52lk_MzylO3SvgH5A28B6OBfYgUeSstxoCz6QQAvD_BwE

    Then if he gets into vinyl, maybe next xmas a second one and mixer and he is off….

    lucky7500
    Full Member

    Old fashioned I know but your best bet is to buy the current issue of what hifi and look at the record player section at the back to see what they recommend at each price level. Having said that, for the last 20 years the answer has been Rega Planar 1 if you can afford it, or whichever Project Audio model is within your price range.

    scud
    Free Member

    or the other thing to do is look on FB Marketplace, it is littered with great 80-90’s TT’s from pioneer, technics and the like, see if he really gets into it first?

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    these turntables with phono stage built in, can i still plug it into the phono socket of my amp? not had a turntable since the early 90s so a little out of the game

    scud
    Free Member

    @rocketdog, the phone stage just goes in between the turntable and the phono socket, some amps have a phono stage built in, so don’t need it, some turntables have one built in so don’t need seperate one…

    chakaping
    Free Member

    I had the same question as RD, but I’m afraid I don’t fully grasp the answer.

    If I used to plug my old turntable straight into my amp, can I still do the same with these newfangled ones?

    zbonty
    Full Member

    If your new fangled TT already has a built in phono pre-amp just plug it in another spare input (aux, tuner etc)

    As for the OP, as it’s a gift for your son whatever’s new, got a decent review in budget I’d say. Though the ‘sensible’ option is cheap 2nd hand older one.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    Gotcha now, ta.

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    the phone stage just goes in between the turntable and the phono socket, some amps have a phono stage built in, so don’t need it, some turntables have one built in so don’t need seperate one…

    sweet, will it make my 1980s vinyl sound any better?

    winston
    Free Member

    There is a Sony PS-LX310 that can be had for around £180  It gets good reviews for sound quality , has a built in phono stage and crucially has blutooth if he wants to send music direct to a speaker. Its also easy to adjust speed and the arm is automatic which is incredibly useful if you get distracted as the younger generation tend to do!

    https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/sony-ps-lx310bt

    poolman
    Free Member

    What about the Lidl dual one for 90 quid last year. May be some resale ones now.

    beamers
    Full Member

    There is a Sony PS-LX310 that can be had for around £180

    That looks fantastic!

    That would sit nicely on the sideboard in our lounge connected to a blue tooth speaker, but could also make regular trips into my man cave to be connected to my Rotel RA-01 Amp and Mission floor standing speakers.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    A back-of-an-envelope, oversimplified summary of Phono.

    Phono (record player) signals are unusually low. They need boosting to line levels. This what the Phono input of an amp does.

    If you have a turntable with the phono stage built in then you’re already outputting line level signals, so instead of connecting to Phono on your amp you’d connect it to anything else. Aux would be typical but you could connect it to CD-in and it’d make no difference. Every RCA connection pair other than Phono is line.

    elgoulin
    Free Member

    What about Sony’s turntables? they sound pretty good and are easy to handle.

    slowoldman
    Full Member

    It doesn’t need to be audiophile standard and may get subject to a bit of abuse.

    Hmm, I’m not sure turntables are happy about any abuse.

    csb
    Full Member

    Turntables with a built in phono amp let you use any source setting of the amp (e.g. aux or tuner). They can usually be switched to non-phono output if you have an external phono amp (a little box that some people think improves sound) or you have an old amp with a phono setting (as tbe amp has a phono stage in it).

    Edit: Which is what cougar said

    Edukator
    Free Member

    So what did you get OP? I’ve just bought one of the first Dual 505s made for 60e. After a couple of hours of tinkering it all works ( cartridge held in with a zip tie because the thread is stripped) and sounds pretty good. I couldn’t think of how to set the speed then it started to get dark, I turned on a strip light and all became obvious.

    jamj1974
    Full Member

    I bought the Sony model that Winston linked too for our 16 year old daughter, and it has a really good sound for the price. Bluetooth functionality is very handy because most of the time it is paired with a JBL Charge 4. The fully automated play function is also useful! I recommend.

    aphex_2k
    Free Member

    Really happy with my Audio Technica Lp40 WN. Great intro tt. Sounds great to me.

    onewheelgood
    Full Member

    Phono (record player) signals are unusually low.

    <pedant> It isn’t just that they are low, it’s also because the frequency response is not linear. Vinyl albums are cut with reduced bass and strengthened treble, to prevent groove excursions becoming too great, and suppress the hiss and crackle of vinyl surface noise. When played back bass must be boosted, and treble cut by exactly the same amount they were changed in the cutting process. This process is called RIAA Equalisation. So as well as boosting the signal, phono stages, whether in an amp, a separate box, or in the turntable itself, implement this equalisation.</pedant>

    Cougar
    Full Member

    Not pedantic at all. I think I knew that about 30 years ago… (-: Interesting info.

    neila
    Full Member

    I ended up with the Sony after asking a very similar question and it has proven to be very good indeed. Simple to use and sounds great to my non expert ears. The bluetooth is a nice feature too when the family are watching TV and fancy a listen.

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