Vinyl player?

herbieflowers

Hey, I'm a big jazzhead and was thinking of investing in an LP player - any recommendations?

thanks

MediaTank

Project from Eastern Europe come highly recommended on these boards and elsewhere.

herbieflowers

excellent, thanks MediaTank

big_moe

yup. i have the project audio debut mk3 and its the business

herbieflowers

right, is the turntable itself that important? In relation to the rest of the setup? And if I were to set things up well, does it have tocost me an arm and a leg?

Slaphead07

well it's all important, you hear the weakest link in the chain and all that. Depending on your amp you may also need a phono stage - some amps have 'em and some don't. Some projects have a small phono stage built in but they're not great. www.richersounds.ie have cheap and cheerful phono stages anyway, or www.superfi.co.uk
There's nothing quite like vinyl, enjoy the revival!

herbieflowers

cheers Slaphead. What's the second-hand market like generally? Or am I best just to make one big investment? And my checklist for a good setup would be...? Sorry about all these novice questions, appreciate the help!

Slaphead07

herbieflowers wrote: »

cheers Slaphead. What's the second-hand market like generally? Or am I best just to make one big investment? And my checklist for a good setup would be...? Sorry about all these novice questions, appreciate the help!

Normally I would know of a few S-H turntables but there's none around at the moment. Project are a very good starter deck though, nothing wrong with them at all.
As the risk of stating the obvious... you'll need an amp, if it doesn't have a phono stage then you'll need that too... and a good pair of speakers. I know www.cloneyaudio,com have some good SH amps and speakers at the moment but they might be a bit on the high-end side, they have more than what's listed on the website so call them. That said you generally get what you pay for.
Have a look at www.richersounds.ie as well but be aware this is very much entry level hifi (I expect flaming contradictions to that but it's nonetheless true).

herbieflowers

That's great, thanks for your help.

mcwhirter

Ebay can be quite good, but you have to be careful on the quality of the items. You need a good cartridge/stylus too. Manual decks are generally the best soundwise.

redzer007

if you have an existing decent stereo you could add a line for a turntable eg Musical Fidelity XLP

as for me Im a rega man, but agree that the project TTs are excellent

enjoy,

mine is in storage at the moment looking forward to getting it back

R

big_moe

i just updated my project audio debut 3 for the project audio RPM5 superpack.

wow.

the difference is unreal. it has a better cart (ortofon tango MC) and tone arm, and is a better overall deck. excellent deck... its in the same league as the rega P3 and while the rega pips it slightly for sounds quality, the RPM5 is a fair bit cheaper when you take the arm and the cart into account.

adam

Slaphead07

big_moe wrote: »

its in the same league as the rega P3 and while the rega pips it slightly for sounds quality,

I dunno, at the risk of a flaming I think Regas are overrated and well past their sell-by date. I far prefer the open sound of a Project over the very British 'polite' sound of Rega.

PaulieBoy

herbieflowers wrote: »

Hey, I'm a big jazzhead and was thinking of investing in an LP player - any recommendations?

thanks

Interesting to note that nobody mentioned where to put your new deck!
Stick your new deck on a floor standing cabinet, in a house with a suspended timber floor and it will be a total disaster :-(

I agree with the above posters on the Pro-Ject deck, I love mine and have it for donkeys years, so it was/ is good value for money overall.
But I have mine sitting on a wall mounted shelf, that way I can walk across the floor without the thing skipping all over the place. A good deck is pretty sensitive to external vibrations.
So placement of the deck is something you want to consider.

Totally enjoy whatever you get, like I say, I got mine years ago, threw out many CD players, DVD players, and all the rest in the meantime, this thing lives on, you really will get good value for money over the long term.

Something about vinyl, dunno what it is, but it's got that "somethin" that CD's are missing !

herbieflowers

Hate to resurrect this thread but...is it worth getting a proper sound sysyem to boot to get the most out of a turntable? It seems like a hefty investment all round, is it really worth it? Would anyone be able to list their setup for me, just to get a feel of what setups people have...? Thanks again

padi89

herbieflowers wrote: »

Hate to resurrect this thread but...is it worth getting a proper sound sysyem to boot to get the most out of a turntable? It seems like a hefty investment all round, is it really worth it? Would anyone be able to list their setup for me, just to get a feel of what setups people have...? Thanks again

Yes definitely, there's not much point spending a bit on a turntable and running it through your generic stereo.It can be expensive but you don't have to go all out straight away, you can buy some decent gear and upgrade if and when you want to.Go to a dealers and listen to some setups is the best thing to do to give you a feel for different sounds from systems.Alternatively the used market is the best bang for your buck but it helps to know what your looking for and what to avoid, have you a budget in mind?

Slaphead07

herbieflowers wrote: »

is it worth getting a proper sound sysyem to boot to get the most out of a turntable? It seems like a hefty investment all round, is it really worth it?

Only you can decide if it's worth it or not.
Some people are happy with a €200 system and some would view a €20,000 as a fairly modest hifi setup. You'll only ever hear the weakest link in your system whether that's a cable, a tired amp or saggy old speakers.

herbieflowers

padi89 wrote: »

Yes definitely, there's not much point spending a bit on a turntable and running it through your generic stereo.It can be expensive but you don't have to go all out straight away, you can buy some decent gear and upgrade if and when you want to.Go to a dealers and listen to some setups is the best thing to do to give you a feel for different sounds from systems.Alternatively the used market is the best bang for your buck but it helps to know what your looking for and what to avoid, have you a budget in mind?

Nope, no real budget, I'm thinking more long-term, when I can actually set aside a decent amount of money aside. Thanks for the reply

herbieflowers

Slaphead07 wrote: »

Only you can decide if it's worth it or not.
Some people are happy with a €200 system and some would view a €20,000 as a fairly modest hifi setup. You'll only ever hear the weakest link in your system whether that's a cable, a tired amp or saggy old speakers.

Cool. Are there any websites that are helpful for novices like me? thanks for your input

Slaphead07

herbieflowers wrote: »

Cool. Are there any websites that are helpful for novices like me? thanks for your input

well if you look at http://www.cloneyaudio.com/pre-owned.shtml you'll see Ruark speakers for €995 and an Audiolab amp for €400. That's a very solid start in hifi young man! That amp will have a good phono stage too so no need for those cheap phono-stages.
That would keep you happy for years and then, if you wish, you might upgrade one component or just an interconnect or whatever.

Cloney usually have more second hand stock than they advertise so don't be shy about asking either.

herbieflowers

Slaphead07 wrote: »

well if you look at http://www.cloneyaudio.com/pre-owned.shtml you'll see Ruark speakers for €995 and an Audiolab amp for €400. That's a very solid start in hifi young man! That amp will have a good phono stage too so no need for those cheap phono-stages.
That would keep you happy for years and then, if you wish, you might upgrade one component or just an interconnect or whatever.

Cloney usually have more second hand stock than they advertise so don't be shy about asking either.

Excellent, thanks Slaphead

mcwhirter

herbieflowers wrote: »

Cool. Are there any websites that are helpful for novices like me? thanks for your input

TNT audio is a good website and also hifi world is a useful magazine for vinyl lovers. There are lots of 2nd hand dealers advertising their wares too.
Often you don't need to buy new. All my equipment other then amplifier is 2nd hand.