Turntable recommendations?

[tobyd]

Refurbishing a vintage turntable (try eBay or Craigslist) is the cool way to go.  NeedleDoctor.com will help you with replacement parts.

My setup.

Thorens TD166 Turntable
NAD Phone Pre-Amp PP2
Onkyo A/V Receiver
Infinity Speakers

Sounds killer!

[wml7]

 

[runwhiteyrun06]

I won a Regap1 in a contest if you're interested. I think it retails for like 300 but I personally hate it. I'm just going to keep using my dads old one from the 80s for now.

[ggw]

If you are willing to be patient, you can find some great stuff on ebay and/or craigslist.  I got a pair of mint condition Paradigm Mk3s (the big boys, not the minis) for $300.  Those would be right up your alley considering they're Canadian.

PS.

Speakers are the most important piece of this puzzle.  If you skimp anywhere, don't do it on your speakers.

thanks, you've just reminded me that i abandoned my search for a decent set of speakers recently, and need to get back on that.  any sub-$300 recommendations?

4 nkotb:
- http://www.buy.com/prod/califone-record-player-with-built-in-speaker-for-education-and/q/loc/111/213659095.html
- http://www.amazon.com/LP-R450-Turntable-Cassette-Radio-Recorder/dp/B0046TWVQ2 (or http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/741691-REG/Teac_LPR450_LPR450_Turntable_Cassette_CD.html)

[chaz]

Floorstanders or bookshelves?  For 300 you can get a pretty decent pair of used bookshelf speakers. 
Try and find a used pair of epos els-3.  if you do they will be less than 300.

or stretch your budget a bit and try these

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrmoni&1305376087&/Quad-12L2-BirdsEye-Maple-%E2%80%93-Gor

or these

http://www.musichallaudio.com/products.php?l=2

PS.

Speakers are the most important piece of this puzzle.  If you skimp anywhere, don't do it on your speakers.

thanks, you've just reminded me that i abandoned my search for a decent set of speakers recently, and need to get back on that.  any sub-$300 recommendations?

[sweetcell]

If you are willing to be patient, you can find some great stuff on ebay and/or craigslist.  I got a pair of mint condition Paradigm Mk3s (the big boys, not the minis) for $300.  Those would be right up your alley considering they're Canadian.

ohhhhh those look (sound?) sweet.  they're up my alley b/c they are rated as having excellent bass response.  i'll be cranking the dance/electronic/etc out of whatever i buy and i prefer to not have to add a sub so these just might be the ticket. 

Floorstanders or bookshelves? 

towers.  i've got an OK bookshelf setup but looking for something with a fuller spectrum.

[chaz]

I'd try and haggle with this guy to get closer to your budget:
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/ele/2256880958.html

[sweetcell]

great tip, chaz - thanks!  and i'm working in ashburn most days, so picking up these bad boys wouldn't be a problem.  hummm...

i've found another deal, but they need a repair: "the surrounds on the woofers need replacement".  there are 4 woofers total.  any idea how much this might run?  is this a repair worth doing, or is this telling us that these things are shot & beyond salvation?

[chaz]

great tip, chaz - thanks!  and i'm working in ashburn most days, so picking up these bad boys wouldn't be a problem.  hummm...

i've found another deal, but they need a repair: "the surrounds on the woofers need replacement".  there are 4 woofers total.  any idea how much this might run?  is this a repair worth doing, or is this telling us that these things are shot & beyond salvation?

Well that depends on what they are and how much....

[Unsanity]

Crosley record players are about the worst things ever. Those 80's all in one player/amp/radio/cassette decks are better! I would take the advice and cruise craigslist for cool old 70's equipment. Spring cleaning is beginning and people will have yard sales and most will sell old players, speakers and receivers for next to nothing. I even saw an ad about 3 weeks ago that read something like "technics record player, speakers and amplifier with a stack of old records...FREE in my driveway"

[HoyaSaxa03]

i have a Dual 1219 in fantastic condition (dust cover intact, all parts working well), with a fairly new Shure v15 III cartridge for sale/trade

http://dual-reference.com/tables/1219.htm

also an Onkyo TX-8555 receiver

http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=TX-8555&class=Receiver&p=i

PM me if you're interested, price negotiable

[sweetcell]

if i had the money...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170615245054

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

Hey, can I suggest something?    If I'm reading correctly, your main goal is to be able to play records, not necessarily construct an audiophile's dream.   The main point here is that you need three separate components, a turntable, an amp, and speakers.  It doesn't need to get complicated.

Since you seem very focused on scrimping cash, I'd focus on getting a good turntable.     You mentioned having computer speakers -- well, they suck, but they'll play music, and they have a built in amp.   You can connect the turntable to the computer speakers (there's no reason you need an actual computer involved in this) and play your music.

Later on when you want to spend more on your system, you can upgrade to an amp and better speakers, at which point you'll be glad you spent your initial money on a good turntable.

[sweetcell]

You can connect the turntable to the computer speakers (there's no reason you need an actual computer involved in this) and play your music.

you could technically connect the turntable to the computer speakers using a RCA-to-1/8" adapter, but it'll sound like hell.  frequencies on a record aren't flat - the highs are boosted and the lows are very quiet. this is done to prevent the needle from skipping during loud bass notes.  also, the overall output is very weak.  the phono input on an amp has built-in compensation to make the turntable's output sound normal.  try plugging your turntable into "tape in" or any other input - it won't sound very good, neither will connecting your tape deck to the phono ins.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phono_input#Phono_input

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

You can connect the turntable to the computer speakers (there's no reason you need an actual computer involved in this) and play your music.

you could technically connect the turntable to the computer speakers using a RCA-to-1/8" adapter, but it'll sound like hell.  frequencies on a record aren't flat - the highs are boosted and the lows are very quiet. this is done to prevent the needle from skipping during loud bass notes.  also, the overall output is very weak.  the phono input on an amp has built-in compensation to make the turntable's output sound normal.  try plugging your turntable into "tape in" or any other input - it won't sound very good, neither will connecting your tape deck to the phono ins.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phono_input#Phono_input

well, ya learn something new every day.  But my point was, he is looking for something cheap that works, and that's cheap and would work.    You could add one of these, too.

http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PP999-Phono-Turntable-Pre-Amp/dp/B00025742A