Anyone have any advice on turntables and the other equipment that goes with it? I didn't really get into music until the late 80s and dove right into Digital so I know absolutely nothing.

I am looking to spend $1,500 at the most. I have a NAD T753 Receiver and I'm not even sure how this affects what I need to do or buy.

Hello riffman
I've been looking at turntables also, and have decided to go with the Music Hall MMF-5 or 7. You won't go wrong even with the $300 MMF-2. Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.

I like the look of the MMF 7:



The exposed belt is cool.

I would highly recommend checking out this page for some decent deals:

http://buy.audiogon.com/cgia/fsb.pl?anlgtabl&1&ctg&st1

I actually sold my CD player a few years ago.. I had much less to spend, but I've tweaked an HK Rabco TT into decent shape for very little money.. and I find - especially with old recordings - that I hear more with vinyl than CD.

Now - there are a lot of scientifically minded folk floating around here.. and I realize that CDs have a lower noise floor, etc. than vinyl... but I think it is the low level noise and mild distortion that makes it appealing to me. I've seen hundreds if not thousands of live music shows, and vinyl more accurately reproduces what I've heard there. It may not be 100% correct and crafted... but I find it more "real."

Oh, yeah.. and on that page someone is selling a Basis 1400 w/ an RB300 arm for $1100... that's a bit of a deal for a gorgeous TT.

Thanks for leading me in the right direction folks. I think I want the best of both worlds - cd and vinyl.

I have a Rega P3 that I have used for many years of trouble free enjoyment. Ensure that you get a quality cartridge, and that the tonearm is adequate. Rega made some decent arms, and also some poor arms. Almost all required shims to adjust height, and this is a critical adjustment to proper sound.

As you have read, there is a good amount of technical advice regarding turntables. You can buy inexpensive (sub $100) or expensive (many thousands of dollars) for turntables. Interestingly, most people have compared an inexpensive table to a $300+ cd player and this does not do either medium justice. The most limiting factor of vinyl is in fact the condition of the record. Typically, they are lacking, and this is translated into "noise" for our listening enjoyment...or lack there of.

There are several other models available, depending on your budget. I would suggest you look at all the above suggestions as low to mid end of the spectrum, and include Regal and Thorens. Moving up the food chain, Oracle, and Linn. There are many much more expensive models, but this depends on your budget.

Any suggestion for a turntable on the cheap? I've got some old Prince singles and a bunch of old comedy albums that I'd like to listen to.

btw...the new Purple Rain DVD is awesome...give it a listen on your system.

Spiff,

Here are some budget turntables. But, if you find one you think you might like, be sure to do a Google search for it, cuz they probably can be had cheaper than at the Needle Doctor.

For example, I got the Stanton STR8-30 for $130, shipping included, at Amazon, which is a pretty good price for a direct drive turntable, albeit one without a lot of bells and whistles. I didn't care for the cartridge that comes with the turntable (but it would probably be OK for just some listening to old comedy albums. Shelley Berman, perhaps? Bob Newhart? ), so, I sprang for a Shure M97XE for $72.34 plus shipping through Amazon.

Thanks for the tips. The comedy albums are Cosby from the 60's, early George Carlin, Steve Martin, Howie Mandel, Cheech & Chong...

I thought you said "OLD" comedy albums.

hey...they're old to me. Those Cosby records came out nearly a decdade before I was born.

Oh Shut up!!!!!!!

Jack,

Did that Shure cartridge make a big audible difference? I'm starting my preliminary turntable research right now and want to get a similar bang for the buck like my Axiom speakers.

OY, this is as tough a question as speaker break-in. It is my humble opinion that the Shure cartridge was a considerable step up from the Stanton cartridge that came with the turntable. It is possible that I've experienced the placebo effect, but I don't believe that's the case.

Ajax,

When it comes to turntables, there's no debate that replacing components (e.g. needles, tonearms) or using tweaks (e.g. vibration damping) can noticeably and measurably affect the sound -- but that doesn't mean the placebo effect can't make it sound sweeter than it actually does.

player8,

The Shure M97XE is an excellent cartridge. In a general way, the Shure cartridges tend to track highly modulated grooves (vinyl that is cut "hot," which a lot of pop recordings are) better than Stanton or any other cartridge. The Shure cartridges also produce significantly less IM distortion (in whole percentages!) than any other cartridges when tracking highly modulated grooves.

To counter some of the recommendations above, I'd suggest that even expensive belt-drive turntables (even the Linn) have intrinsically greater flutter than quite inexpensive direct-drive models. Many also produce less rumble than belt-drive designs. Back in the vinyl era, my tests conducted for Sound Canada magazine (both lab tests and listening tests) showed that all belt-drive turntables produce some audible flutter, mostly detectable on sustained piano tones and other solo instruments.

The only turntables with totally inaudible flutter and rumble were direct-drive designs. Of course, many LPs have audible wow and flutter that is traceable to the cutting lathe and open-reel machines used to master the disc. I did own two turntables, one a higher-end Scottish belt-drive with a custom tonearm; the other a massive direct-drive with an integrated arm that isn't as refined. I sold the high-end belt-drive and kept the direct-drive because of its inaudible flutter and rumble.

Regards,

Thanks Alan. So my best bet would to find an affordable (around $100) direct drive turntable and get a quality cartridge like the Shure? How about the tonearm? I've read that this is important as well. Are many supplied arms not adequate for good quality sound?

Hi,

The tonearm bearing friction and mass of tonearms on integrated direct-drive tables like the Stanton, Technics (consider a used one) are adequate for cartridges like the Shure M97, a mid-priced Stanton or Grado. If you get into higher-end top of the line cartridges, you must go to a separate custom (very expensive) tonearm in order to realize the performance potential of these cartridges. For occasional, routine use, the M97 in a direct-drive will be fine. If you go the other route, you are into thousands of dollars. The Shure cartridges also include a viscous-damped stabilizer brush that is very effective at smoothing out warp-induced artifacts.

Given the severe, intrinsic limitations of vinyl playback, I don't think it's worth spending huge amounts on turntable/arm technology, unless you entirely reject modern digital recordings and CD.

Regards,