Vinyl Virgin

Well not exactly, just in the context of my HiFi. I've got my old vinyl collection dating back 40 years to my yoof just gathering dust in a cupboard. It's in a fairly manky state to be honest, but at the same time it would be nice to play them now and again. So, what is the best strategy of cost/risk for getting up and running with a deck? With the state of the vinyl, it would be pointless to spend loads on a spangly Michell reference deck, Koetsu cart and phono stage, so would buying a new Rega P3 or equivalent make more sense than buying an older second hand deck for the same budget with the inherent risks of a fragile technology?
If it turns me into an obsessive, thigh rubbing mint vinyl hunting bore, then it's a burden I will just have to deal with.

 

The new decks certainly sound very, very good... Technology has not stand still and big improvements have been made in turntable the last years. You might look at the Michell Tecnodec, it's VERY good and a step up from a P3.

 

You could look at a Rega P3 or the NAD 533 equvilant. However, if you don't want to spend much money, the Pro-Ject Debut III is an excellent starter deck. The basic version - complete with Ortofon OM5E cartridge costs about £120, IIRC. The Debut/Phono SB is about £170, complete with the above OM5E cart, plus the Pro-ject Phonobox and also the Pro-Ject Speedbox installed underneath it.

 

Was in the same situation a couple of months ago. As I was on a budget and not sure whether to commit funds to what could potentially be a fad brought the following:

Rega Planar 3 from eBay for £82 which was cheap I assume due to the R200 arm and not the 250 or 300.
Graham Slee Gram Amp 2 £150 based on recommendations and reviews.
New Goldring 1042 cartridge £135 (waiting for delivery) again based on recommendations, including Graham Slee.

Very pleased with the results so far and even 'er indoors has said how good the music sounds.

And yes

it's a great burden and fun to boot.

Hope this helps

Paul

 

The new Debut III is suburb I have not heared it yet but my mates planning to get one, they now have proper arms so with a semi decent cartridge and maybe a platter upgrade I reckon they could sound as good a P2 easily if not quite a P3. My Debut II is still going strong after a minor overheaul.

 

Yeah that's the ball park I'm in. I could afford much better, but don't want to commit funds until I'm hooked. Then it can go on the upgrade list and wait it's turn.

 

You are going to have to deal with it - I have to and love it.

I agree with the Michell tecnodec, decent out the box and can be upgraded with power supply and better arm if the bug does really catch you.

P3 - always a good bet

Roksan Radius - very good deck and probably competing with a fully upgraded tecnodec, imo, and comes with a great arm.

2nd hand LP12 - must be in there always excellent and there are some great 2nd hand decks out there (may be mine soon - plug plug).

The thing with the Radius and Technodec, they may be a bit more expensive than the entry level but you may find these are all you ever need - both are excellent - and so you don't need to keep looking for another deck and keep away from upgraditis.

 

Easy for you to say - bet your upgrade gland doesn't empty your wallet while you're asleep.

And keep plugging...

 

Fen Dancer,

have an lp12/akito/Goldring Elite - very happy, bought a Lyra Dorian, even happier. Wanted a new arm - see a thread a posted a while back. Gave up, too expensive.

Bought a spangly new Michell Orbe and Tecnoarm.

I was awake when all this happened but it still emptied my wallet, bank account, dosh stuffed under the mattress.

That upgraditis is a nasty disorder with, sadly, no known cure.

 

Well if you're not sure buy a Project for £120 then if you decide to upgrade you will easily get £80+ for it on ebay.

Also if your current vinyl collection is in poor condition a good tunrtable would be wasted on it anyway.

 

Project or Rega definitely worth looking at . might be worth spending a little bit extra on a cartridge that would do on a better deck as well if you end up going down the upgrade path later on.

the Denon D103 gets a lot of thumbs up, though I've never owned one. However, if you've got a lot of worn vinyl then a line-contact stylus can often get better results than an eliptical as it gets deeper into the groove. I had a Goldring Eroica as my first MC cart on my Gyrodec/RB300 a few years ago and it was a great 'entry-level' MC cart. (I currently use a Roksan Shiraz.)

 

Nice to see more Michell lovers here...

 

Sadly not had any real chance to fully enjoy the new deck yet

But from my first impression the LP12 could be winging its way to the 2nd hand sales.

As for the other decks - the Debut is great for the price, also the new Goldring decks (basically a P2) are also very good and come with excellent carts as well.

 

yeah. mines been upgraded to almost orbe status now too.

 

I have a Pro-ject Perspective for sale with Reson Reca Cart £400 or £450 including Phono SE box

Curtis

 

Just keep these offers flooding in lads.
The wallets starting to creak, so just remove the unwanted zeros from the end of the price...

 

Not so at all. The better your turntable, the better it will perform with poor records. A lot of scratches and marks are on the surface of the groove and, like kennyK has mentioned, a fine line or other fancy tip will read deeper into the groove.

A better turntable and arm with support the cartridge better and allow it to do it's good better.

A better deck will reduce noise & interference that gets into the arm, cartridge and record, giving better clarity, dynamics and resolution.(better music). Also a better motor & bearing unit will give better pitch control and stability.

All this will add to a better sound from records.

True, if the record is deeply scratched, you still will hear it. But light scratches and marks may be pushed to the background of the music and stand out less.

SCIDB

 

Many true words .....could not have said it better.

 

But it would not just be better to replace all the records with the £1000's you would save? Then only discover vinyl wasn't what he wanted after all and then waste £100s on depreciation?

 

Dont forget a decent cleaning brush,if the bugs bites a cleaning machine often helps get the muck out of those charity shop pinky+perky Lp's