Is getting into vinyl now a good idea?

Hi all,

My system is currently as follows:

Marantz CD-63 SE
Denon TU-215RD
Cyrus One
Mission 760i

I've bought this system second hand over the last 6 months and its my first seperates system. I am happy with ths sound of the system (for now), but recently have been tempted to buy a turntable. Now, for a 16 year old who has never owned any vinyl before, this might seem like an odd thing to do! Nevertheless, having spent increasing amounts of time recently playing other people's vinyl collections including my dad's and a friends, I am more and more tempted.

Is it rational to buy a turntable now? And if so, where should I start looking? Which models should I consider? How much should I spend? I don't want to spend huge amounts, definitely no more than £200 and hopefully less, but I'm open to suggestions!

Thanks in advance

Tom

 

It would seem to me to depend on whether the sort of music you like is readily and cheaply available on vinyl. If the answer is yes, then, yes, I think it's clearly worthwhile. As for what you should be looking for, people much more knowledgeable than I will be along shortly...

 

Tom, yes get into vinyl

I would start looking at offerings from project or rega. The s/h market for TT's is good, you could probably pick up a Rega Planer 3 in your budget.
Does your amp have a phono input? if not you will need to budget for that aswell.

 

I am very much in favour of vinyl because I already have a largish collection, and I think it sounds a lot better than CD, given a good clean record and a good turntable.

If you don't have any vinyl records, it will be a very expensive exercise.

 

Why expensive? Surely you're going to be able to pick up old vinyl cheaper than CDs?

 

Penance - Yes the Cyrus One has a phono stage, which I am told is very good, however I haven't ever tried it.

Tones - Indie, alt rock and folk/folk-rock, so its mostly available on vinyl. I've spent some time recently in some independent record shops looking at 2nd hand vinyl prices and they range from ok to very good value.

 

Depends on whether it's collectable or not...
And new vinyl tends to be more - a reverse of the situation when cd came in. Still, a 180g pressing sounds much better than the cd version

 

1. Yes
2. Planar 2

That was easy

 

for me the difference between good vinyl and good cd is minimal, personally i'd concentrate on one format if i was in tom's position - that format being the one i had most software for. yes there is some cheap vinyl about but to get the best out of your bargain pat boone and the charity shoppe ravers lp you'll probably need to invest in a record cleaner, some funky anti statc sleeves and one of those anti static zap guns. also as has been pointed out, anything remotely contemporary is going to cost you and you'll probably have to wait a while for it to be released if it's a bit unusual.
cheers

julian

 

Depends entirely on how eclectic your music taste is.

If you like: dance music, jazz, reggae, or any music at all made before about 1990, a turntable is the cheapest way to feed a music buying addiction. Records sound great too.

Formats are not that important. Access to music is the most important thing.

-- Ian

 

In which case simply upgrade your PC and internet connection

 

I already have 2MB ADSL...

I want the physical item and sleeves too. All part of the experience for me.

-- Ian

 

Quite ... access to music is the most important thing, but its not the only important thing. Speaking for myself only of course.

Tom,

Go for it. If in a years time, you find you've bought no vinyl or listened to no vinyl, then you can always sell the deck - and if you bought second hand probably get back what you paid for it. I suspect however you will decide to keep it. A Planar 2 or Planar 3 are both sound, no fuss solutions if you can get one 2nd hand in budget. Otherwise for even less a Project Debut, with maybe a little more spent on a better cart than the standard one, would be a good option. These can be picked up dead cheap 2nd hand even on ePay.

 

Hi Tom,

I would say it can be worth getting into vinyl. I would look at a Rega P2 as a good starting point for a new deck. You could also look at the Nad 533, which is based around the Planar 2 & made by Rega. This can be had for less money. These decks can be had for less 2nd hand. These decks are well built & will give you a good sound. Also they will be quite easy to sell on if you upgrade.

There is still a good selection of new vinyl. A lot of albums are still released on vinyl, with prices from £10 upwards. Having said that, you can get new albums, say from Fopp, from £3 upwards. Also 7" singles can be had new from 99p which can be very collectable. Sale of 7" singles have been rising for the last few years.

There are millions of pieces of vinyl our there on the 2nd hand market. From tatty rubbish to mint pearlers and everything in between. Prices vary from free to many £1000s. There are many items that have never seen the light of day on cd. Vinyl is a good way to dabble in old music. Vinyl has a good hands on feel & is more fun to collect. And of course, you can get top notch sound quality from vinyl.


As for selection, you have a good range for indie, Alt rock, folk & folk rock. Charity shows can have some excellent stuff for sale. Some of these places do have a good range. There are plenty of 2nd hands shops around the country and a number will do mail order. Ebay can be an excellent source for buying & selling. Also try older friends and relatives as you may be surprised what people will give away. There is an excellent selection of these styles new. Also there are many labels that re-release old stuff material.

The downsides can be the space that vinyl can take up due to it's size. You do have to be aware of the state of the vinyl. Deep scratches & bad warps are two things to look out for. As with anything 2nd hand, you can pay over the odds for records so it can pay to shop around.

If you do go for it, there are plenty of people on this forum who can give you more help & pointers in buying records or turntables.

First thing to do, is to have a dem with a Rega turntable to see what you think.

SCIDB

 

22 years ago i was 16 years old and vinyl and tape was pretty much all there was. I am listening to my record player right now as i type this and really enjoy the medium, however If i was in your shoes I would stick to CD. Part of the reason why i stick with Vinyl is because it has been a part of my life for so long and so is like an old friend, I've owned some of my records for over 26 years and can still remember the moment when i bought them, and from which ( long gone now ) shop.
There is a lot of s/h Vinyl out there , but unfortunately sorting the wheat from the chaff is getting increasingly difficult, even at specialist s/h record stores. S/h records are nearly always dirty too, so you'll need to factor in some method of cleaning them first. 'new' s/h records never get played before they are cleaned in my house. Just playing a record doesn't clean it properly either, despite what some might say. I've got microscope pictures to prove this.
I would save your money and enhance your CD playback capability with either better equipment, better ancilliaries or more software.

Leave the ever dwindling supply of tatty old records to sad old farts like me who just can't let go of the past.

If you really must check out the black stuff, Vinyl record players to be had at less than £200 that you should condsider would be :
NAD 533 ( Richers sounds had these in cheap recently )
Pro-Ject Debut II or 0.5 or 1.2
s/h Rega Planar 2 or 3 (or P2/P3)
The new Goldring budget deck looks worth a listen too and can be had for About £140, it has a Rega derived Arm.
You might be able to get a decent Systemdek IIX, Thorens ???, or Acoustic Research suspended deck for sub £200 quite easily on e-pay , be careful though there are plenty of old nails knocking about.
There are also loads of good quality Jap Direct drives from the 70's, 80's and 90's at a knock down price. Pioneer, Rotel, Sansui, being names that instantly spring to mind.

HTH.

 

My CD players 3 times that of my turntable in terms of RRP but my turntable probably still sounds better. Vinyl has a magic especialy when done well. Vinyl is very good if you're into classic pop because you can get albums for £1. However more specaliast music is more expensive, I have to pay £5+ for any Smiths, New Order or Joy Divsion album but it still compares well with CD.

Also some times ablums are hard to get hold of on CD so are very expensive where as on LP there are loads of them.

 

I'd agree with sideshow here, if you taste in music is before say 87, then go Vinyl, its simply sounds much better, even if you have a decent CDP you can't extract a great digital remaster very often, they are a few but, the vinyl sounds better, plus the amount of old vinyl kicking about is staggering and the classic's all sound good too.
After 90's then I'd think long and hard.
I also like the experiance of the Physical collection, yep hdd is great for back ground music. However I prefer to have the orginal jewel case/gatefold, its a personal thing.

 

You've changed your tune.

 

I agree with that, I have lots of CD releases of stuff but it never feels the same as the original vinyl version. The sleeves them selves were a work of art, not like the stuff you get on CD now.

 

No James,
I've always advicated Vinyl for before 87 really, and I like a lot of stuff before then, things started to wake up around 91-93 first 20 bit masters were being done properly 'Blues alive' Gary moore sounds pretty good on many of the clients systems as well as mine.
I've also heard bad vinyl recently and its as shite as bad cd's (not as bad as oasis WSMG).
So again if all the variables are right, good TT/decent phono/amps etc then its superb I won't argue, however CD can be stunning too if given the right variables as well.
You know we have a well Tempered ref now (show & demo purposes only)