NEW Jensen Turntable

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Ryanduty

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I haven't had a turntable for about 15 years or so. I wanted to get back into spinning vinyl so my wife bought me the new Jensen turntable for father's day. I have to admit that I really like this cheap turntable better than the Crosley's out there. It has a great look and a fair representation of sound despite the tiny speakers. My only complaint about this little gem is that the tone arm doesn't stop the platter when the tracks have played through. This was a deliberate design according to the manual (to enable it to play extended tracks). I have over 500 LPs and not a single one has tracks all the way to the center.

I'm not concerned with a "return arm" but would definitely like the stop function to preserve the needle as well as the wax. Is there anyway to add some kind of limit switch to it to get it to function the way I want?

Any ideas (other than buying a different turntable)?

Thanks, Ryan
 
An arm lifter is what you need. I recently read here that Audio Technica ( I believe ) has re-introduced one.
 
I would guess the extended play is a result of the unhung arm style often on the cheap players
 
jensen-wood-turntable-2.png


Yes, Totally serious thread. Don't know what makes you all so douchie (or do you prefer douchey)?

So you guys are the elite? How dare a person not have enough money to buy a $300 turntable, or even think it would be worth it just because the "audiophiles" say so. It's all BS.
 
Ryanduty said:
jensen-wood-turntable-2.png


Yes, Totally serious thread. Don't know what makes you all so douchie (or do you prefer douchey)?

So you guys are the elite? How dare a person not have enough money to buy a $300 turntable, or even think it would be worth it just because the "audiophiles" say so. It's all BS.
Click to expand...

It all comes down to whether you like to keep your records sounding their best for a very long time and not whether you can afford a whatever amount of $.
There are many many turntables out there way under $50 that are going to be gentler on your records than that Jensen with its plastic stylus.


John
 
We're not trying to offend you, but those things truly are junk. I speak from experience as I've had a few units similar to it over the years that use the same parts. The ceramic cartridges they use produce poor sound quality and accelerated record wear. If you heard the difference between that thing and any decent turntable with a magnetic cartridge you would be able to tell a HUGE, HUGE difference. I'm not an "audiophile", and my stereo setups are VERY modest. I only have $150 total in one stereo and $75 or so in my other. That includes the turntable, amp, tuner, tape deck, CD deck and speakers. Everything is used except for one cartridge that I replaced. You can do a LOT better without spending that much money.
 
There isn't a reason to be playing records ith one,of those. We're just trying to help you. If you want shredded records, fine.
 
Ryanduty said:
jensen-wood-turntable-2.png


Yes, Totally serious thread. Don't know what makes you all so douchie (or do you prefer douchey)?

So you guys are the elite? How dare a person not have enough money to buy a $300 turntable, or even think it would be worth it just because the "audiophiles" say so. It's all BS.
Click to expand...

Also, have you heard a $300+ turntable? If so, I respect your opinion that the sound isn't worth it. But I have about $1200 into my headphone setup and think it sound amazingly worth it. That's not saying you have to spend that much, but at least consider something decent.
 
I'd agree that we are trying to help (I'll leave the nice up to opinion :D ), but the choice of words is a bit intimidating here and there.

Because we care about LP's we're trying to warn the OP that his turntable will damage his LP's and therefore is a less than desirable product.
If you were living close by I'd GIVE you a proper turntable in exchange for the one you have now, which I'd carefully dismantle and dispose of. :yes:
 
You don't need to spend $300 on a table, hell my whole system cost me less than $150 with new stylus and all. Thats probably not much more than the MSRP on that tt.
 
Ryanduty said:
jensen-wood-turntable-2.png


Yes, Totally serious thread. Don't know what makes you all so douchie (or do you prefer douchey)?

So you guys are the elite? How dare a person not have enough money to buy a $300 turntable, or even think it would be worth it just because the "audiophiles" say so. It's all BS.
Click to expand...

First off, a new table with problems, take it back. It was great of your wife to get you a fun toy for Fathers Day :) However, if you have a look at alot of the threads around here, you will find that most folks here don't buy new tables. Most buy used or vintage tables. Just to add to your comments, it IS worth spending more if you want to get better sound out. But, I have several tables, vintage, that I spent under 10 dollars for. I actually have not spent over 85.00 for a used or vintage table. I did buy a new one I like alot and it was over 300.00. Sorry for some folks here not being kind, but don't underestimate the value of a nice table, new or old.
 
Ryanduty said:
Is there anyway to add some kind of limit switch to it to get it to function the way I want?

Any ideas (other than buying a different turntable)?
Click to expand...

Hi, Ryan. Welcome to AK, hope you stick around and learn to get to know the place a bit. Sorry you got the kind of reaction you did from all but a few.

In answer to your question, I do not know of any such thing. I know what you are talking about; the tonearm gets to the end of the record and then just lifts up. No need to auto-return or anything. I know what you mean, but I don't know how such could be implemented on your TT.

I wish you the best of luck with it.
 
steelcity said:
The folks on here are very nice and are just trying to help
Click to expand...

Trying to help, yes. However, sometimes people who are genuinely trying to help ignore the question asked and instead answer the question they think the OP should have asked.

OP: Is there some way to modify my tone arm to lift up at the end of the LP?
A: Your TT is crap.

Seriously, that may be true, but it does not answer the question the OP asked. It answers a question the OP did not ask, which is "Is my TT crap?"

I do understand why people see "Your TT is crap" as a legitimate answer, but I do not understand why they are shocked when people don't care for the answer they get.
 
Ryanduty said:
... My only complaint about th[e Jensen turntable] is that the tone arm doesn't stop the platter when the tracks have played through. This was a deliberate design according to the manual (to enable it to play extended tracks). I have over 500 LPs and not a single one has tracks all the way to the center.

I'm not concerned with a "return arm" but would definitely like the stop function to preserve the needle as well as the wax. Is there anyway to add some kind of limit switch to it to get it to function the way I want?

Any ideas (other than buying a different turntable)?

Thanks, Ryan
Click to expand...

Welcome to AK! In my opinion, you'd be best off replacing the turntable with a used semi-automatic or automatic 'table that would lift and return the arm. Adding a shutoff switch to the Jensen could be done, but it would be a challenge to keep the trip force low. Too much side force in the trip mechanism would damage the records, the stylus or both.

As several AK'ers have said -- some less diplomatically than others -- your Jensen turntable does not treat records gently and will wear them out more quickly than a better turntable and cartridge would. Are you willing to consider a used vintage turntable of higher quality? You'd get better sound and your records would last much longer. If you let us know where you live, there might be an AK'er or two nearby who would offer to help you find and set up a good turntable. With a bit of patience, you can get a good turntable for less than $50 at a thrift store, garage sale or off Craigslist. Add a $60 cartridge and an inexpensive phono preamp and you'll have a phono front end that smokes the Jensen for less than $150.
 
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