Good Quality Turntable?

[VideoTechMan]

Would anyone know by chance of a good quality record turntable? Id figure to get the most out of my vinyl collection I would need to get a decent turntable that plays at decent quality....the older one I had the sound from it was always distorted....not sure why but seeing as there were no adjustments to it I would figure to get a better one to handle my vinyl needs. Any help would be appreciated.

VTM

[davideck]

If the distortion is wow or flutter, then a new turntable would be the right choice. But if the distortion sounds like clipping or something other than speed variations, then a new cartridge may be all you need. They are still available, and for the same price, a good quality cartridge may be a better investment than a whole new turntable.

[VideoTechMan]

If the distortion is wow or flutter, then a new turntable would be the right choice. But if the distortion sounds like clipping or something other than speed variations, then a new cartridge may be all you need. They are still available, and for the same price, a good quality cartridge may be a better investment than a whole new turntable.

That may be a possibility.....the old turntable I have is the Technics SL-DD33 which is a direct drive turntable...it runs pretty well still, its just that the sound always sound distorted....when I did a test record from it to Audition, the sound was always clipped (you could tell the sound was distorted even before it got into the computer).

If its the cartridge thats the problem, then that could be a more viable solution than buying a new turntable. Would you mind telling me about what wow and flutter is? Thanks again.

VTM

[nelson133]

If you do decide to get a new turntable, I suggest looking at sites that cater to the DJ crowd. They are about the last significant market for them. I got a Stanton a couple of years ago to convert my old lps and have been very satisfied. Nyah Levi

[davideck]

Wow and Fultter simply refer to errors resulting from turntables (or other mechanically moving transports) that introduce speed errors. Slowly fluctuating speed errors are referred to as Wow. Rapidly fluctuating speed errors are referred to as Flutter. Usually caused by worn belts or idler wheels, I would not expect your direct drive technincs to exhibit these types of errors. I also have a direct drive technics turntable, and it still runs great!

[Hardcoreruss]

Technics 1210

[sapiendut]

I'd choose Denon over a Technics.

I used to exculsively used Technics, but after using Denon, I'll never go back to Technics.

If you can get Dual, it's even better.

Here's the link for the Denon piece:
http://www.denon.ca/html/product_display.asp?id=44

[Blazey]

IMHO - DO NOT get a DJ turntable or cartridge. These are designed to track at a force much greater than a standard turntable and therefore will destroy your vinyl rather quickly. An old stylus will do this as well.

Pioneer made some great turntables in the 70's and these can be had on EBAY.

There is a website http://www.theturntablefactory.com/ which will help you out a lot.

Analog LP's on a good system sound WAY better than CD's. Period.

[dphirschler]

...the old turntable I have is the Technics SL-DD33 which is a direct drive turntable...it runs pretty well still, its just that the sound always sound distorted....when I did a test record from it to Audition, the sound was always clipped (you could tell the sound was distorted even before it got into the computer).

Wait a minute here. Are you plugging the turntable directly into the soundcard? That won't work. I'd recommend connecting it to your stereo receiver through the phono connection and then line out into the PC.


Darryl

[VideoTechMan]

...the old turntable I have is the Technics SL-DD33 which is a direct drive turntable...it runs pretty well still, its just that the sound always sound distorted....when I did a test record from it to Audition, the sound was always clipped (you could tell the sound was distorted even before it got into the computer).

Wait a minute here. Are you plugging the turntable directly into the soundcard? That won't work. I'd recommend connecting it to your stereo receiver through the phono connection and then line out into the PC.


Darryl

Of course not, . Phono-magnetic cartridges have to be amplified before you can hear anything from them. Ceramic cartidge turntables are different. I connect it to my receiver first and then i have it outputted from there to my Yamaha MG 10/2 mixer and run the cable from the mixer to the soundcard on my PC. I have 2 other sources running to the mixer also (for more precise signal monitoring control from each source going to the PC). I think theres a chance that the needle could be worn, causing the distortion so I will give that a shot first. I'd figure if thats the case, then it would eliminate me from having to buy a new turntable.

VTM

[Dj Petro]

I agree about not using a DJ type turntable for the same reason. If you are just going to play your records, then it would be overkill.

I suggest also in seeing if you can get a replacement cartridge and stylus first to see if that corrects your distortion. Most of the time it will.

_

[Towncrier]

I recently had a problem with sound distortion on my vintage 1970's turntable. I tracked it down to a bad connection. The cartridge mounts to a carrier that plugs into the tonearm. If your turntable has this feature, make sure that the contacts in the tonearm are making good contact with the cartridge carrier. Once I bent the contacts out a bit and cleaned them, my distortion problems cleared up.

[Sillyname]

Hope you're still taking suggestions...

Try a belt drive turntable and do not go to any sites that cater to DJs. DJ turntables are mostly direct drive and are made for rapid spin-up but have terrible rumble compared to a belt drive. The belt actually absorbs much of this acoustical mud. If you're getting a new needle get an elliptical, they sit in the groove tighter and really bring out the music. DJs typically use conical needles because of their need to run the record backwards, an elliptical needle wears out and could break if used for these purposes. Really most DJ turntables are made to withstand torture at the expense of not having much fidelity to the original recording.

The ultimate turntable that I've seen used lasers to read the grooves and convert the information digitally. Even though the record was by no means digital, they (ELP) digitize the information they get off of reading its surface. And it does this without using preamps! http://www.elpj.com/

[hootie29]

I bought the RCA turntable at Radio Shack to convert my LP's to mp3's. The sound is good and it also has a built in amp that you can turn on and off. I turn the amp on and connect it directly to my soundcard I have done 300 45's and 175 Lp's and am very satisfied with the quality. It cost 99.99.

hootie29

[Sillyname]

Then there's always this...

http://www.karex.net/sources/product.php3?prod=p_177_01_03_vinyl-killer_e

[jarvizo]

Here's a site for the TRUE vinyl audiophile with a few bucks to spend.

http://www.needledoctor.com/app/site/site.nl/alias./.f

Prices were outta my league so I scoured the thrift stores for a decent turntable & replaced all the worn parts (belt, cartridge, & stylus). Now all
my records sound warm & fuzzy! (not cold like CD's)

[piano632]

All depends on what it's worth to you. There are turntables in every price range from $69 to $35,000. Distorted sound can be any number of reasons (direct drive motor vibrations, cheap cartridge, worn stylus, poor phono amp, worn records, etc.) I third the recommendation not to use a DJ or direct drive turntable, belt-driven ones sound better. You don't say how much you want to spend or how many records you have in your collection.

VPI and Rega are the 2 favorite audiophile turntables of choice, but they are quite expensive with prices around $1,000 and up. $1,000 is VPI's "budget" turntable. Turntables in this price range actually blow away CD players in terms of resolution and fidelity.

P.S. That Vinyl Killer thing mentioned above looks to be quite aptly named. You won't get near my records with that thing!

[VideoTechMan]

I thank everyone for your suggestions.....I do have a small, but sizable record collection of LP's and 45's....I just finished all my 45's last week, now Im working on the LP's. I think once is all said and done, I am going to convert the MP3's at 192kbps, to get the best quality possible instead at the 128.

I went ahead and got a $99 turntable from Samash, they had a nice Stanton model there that was $99, and belt driven. So should work well for me.

VTM