• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Purchasing first vinyl player

savatage1973 said:
"Beginner" or "entry level" is (IMO) most commonly used (for or toward) those just getting into vinyl or getting back into it after decades of being away from the format. Even if you were into it before, that doesn't mean that it is "it" for you now. If you never have experienced the format, you gotta start somewhere. Usually, it refers to a "minimal" or "entry level" budget to get your feet wet in the medium and still getting an acceptable level of performance/enjoyment. Vinyl may or may not be "it" for you. I appreciate vinyl, and don't mind getting up to change album sides, cleaning records, and storing/cataloguing crates upon crates of lps--a lot of people don't, won't and never will. Even if you "used to", now a days digital is so much more convenient and you can store my entire collection of 3600+ lps on a hard drive or thumb drive with instant random access.

"Most" people, do not jump with both feet (and a second mortgage) into a new hobby that they may or may not like/appreciate. God bless you if you have the resources to do so, and spend your money as you will, but "most" people are not going to dive in headfirst (credit cards a' blazin') to TRY something. You can get a "taste" of the vinyl experience/hassle (depending upon how you look at it) for a couple hundred bucks, or maybe even less. If you "likey, likey" then maybe it is something that you want to commit more time and resources to--if not, you are only out a couple hundred bucks, not tens of thousands.

As for "lack of skill" and "more forgiving piece of equipment"--I'd rather fumble finger around with a $50 cart than trash a $2K cart as my first "experimentation" with vinyl. You use the motorcycle analogy--and I ride--a 2015 CBR1000RR ABS, capable of nearly 200 mph and will snap your neck in ANY gear--should that be ANYONE's first bike???--I sincerely hope not!!!--with over 35 years on street bikes, I wouldn't start here. Buy a used "not so special" something and LEARN.

"Beginner" and "entry level" are NOT derogatory terms--but everything is what it is, and has it's limitations, and a potential path forward for upgrades, should you want to pursue it. I sincerely doubt that your first stereo purchase was from the "high-end" demo room with a complimentary espresso in your hand.
Click to expand...


Very good reply - My first turntable was a Technics SL-1900 - it was a demo and I got it for $100 with an Empire cart - I don't think espresso had been invented back then. I have had several tables, but got out of the whole thing for a while after getting married and buying a house, sold all my gear(and I kick myself in the head everytime I think about it) because apparently we needed the space according to the significant other. Now I'm back into it big time, and the wife puts up with it because she knows she is(mostly) the reason I got rid of it in the first place. So, now I'm piecing things back together - didn't have anything a year ago, now I have 4 receivers, 2 amps 3 cd players, 2 tape decks, 9 pairs of speakers a cheap Sanyo turntable and an EQ. A friend of mine somehow latched onto my old Technics SL-Q2 - said he had it stored in the basement, asked him to dig it out for me - been two weeks now waiting, suppose I should go ver and kick his ass. Anywho - I've always wanted to get a bike, but I've known too many people that have killed themselves on them, so I'm a bit paranoid about it. Besides, my wife would kill me if I did.
 
Being retired with some time on my hands but not quite the disposable income I used to have if for nothing else to kill some time I stop into my local Salvation Army store and browse around. I'v purchased a number of quality items for peanuts and not just audio items, I'm looking for items mfg in the USA, Canada, GB, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, forget the junk from China etc. One of my audio scores was a Kyrocera model 310 CD player in excellent physical and functional condition, I payed $3.99. or $4.99. Over time the staff at GW got to recognize me as one of the regulars and always said hello as I roamed the isles. I got to know the manager and she told me that she wanted to hear from the customers as to what they were interested in buying. Right away I told here to keep any vintage quality audio equipment in the store instead of shipping it to the main distribution center. The reason I told her was that it could likely be damaged and end up being worthless to anyone. Also I told her the way to likely judge its potential value was the weight, construction and country of mfg to check the labels for items made in Germany/USA/Japan etc and anything from China would be of low quality and priced accordingly, like $2.99. She said she was more interested in selling items and not have them sitting on the shelves for weeks or months and she would still price quality items to make them move fast. She hinted that anything I might be interested in she would put aside till my next visit. This is a case of both me and SA winning and you can do it to if your a little creative and forget about Amazon and Best Buy. Oh I forgot, I passed on a older solid heavy steel audio rack with 4 mdf shelves that probably cost $300--$500 when new, it was in excellent shape and priced at $15. I checked with my local AK friends but like me they were all set with high quality audio equipment stands and it was left for a deserving buyer.
 
Alright guys, update time. I grabbed the vinyl player and it looks to be in great shape! The hinges are still kickin', but the dust cover does not stay up by itself which is mildly annoying. I wasn't able to test the player out as the woman I was purchasing it off lived quite far away, so I met her in the middle. Once I got home, I plugged it in to my phono in port and tested it out to discover that there is a buzzing noise when the vinyl player itself is plugged in. No buzzing is present in the phono port when the player is not plugged in. Anyone have any ideas of what this could be/ how it may be solved?

Thanks guys, Alex
 

Attachments

  • IMAG0510.jpg
    IMAG0510.jpg
    24.3 KB · Views: 53
  • IMAG0511.jpg
    IMAG0511.jpg
    34 KB · Views: 53
  • IMAG0512.jpg
    IMAG0512.jpg
    51.5 KB · Views: 52
Does it have a separate ground wire? Suggest you download the owners manual from Vinyl Engine and follow setup instructions.
 
majick47 said:
Does it have a separate ground wire? Suggest you download the owners manual from Vinyl Engine and follow setup instructions.
Click to expand...
It does have an extra wire floating around with one of those metal wrench looking connectors on it. I'll have a look on vinyl engine, thanks!
 
majick47 said:
Sounds like the ground wire to me, pay close attention to the instructions in the owners manual.
Click to expand...
Ok, I've read the manual and found the spot on the receiver to put the ground wire to. But the little wrench connector on the end of the ground wire is too small to fit around the metal ground post on my receiver.. Suggestions?
 
if the "wrench" is plyable, spread the arms apart with a pair of needle nose, fit it around the post, and then squeeze the arms so that it fits tight around the posts
 
Worthy_Wax said:
if the "wrench" is plyable, spread the arms apart with a pair of needle nose, fit it around the post, and then squeeze the arms so that it fits tight around the posts
Click to expand...
Tried that, the wrench is too small to secure itself around the post. I think I'll need something to secure it.
 
Yup, hi*ball has it. You just need the wire to be connected to a ground; that fork end is just for convenience
 
OP Music said:
Alright guys, update time. I grabbed the vinyl player and it looks to be in great shape! The hinges are still kickin', but the dust cover does not stay up by itself which is mildly annoying. I wasn't able to test the player out as the woman I was purchasing it off lived quite far away, so I met her in the middle. Once I got home, I plugged it in to my phono in port and tested it out to discover that there is a buzzing noise when the vinyl player itself is plugged in. No buzzing is present in the phono port when the player is not plugged in. Anyone have any ideas of what this could be/ how it may be solved?

Thanks guys, Alex
Click to expand...

Congratulations on your vintage Yamaha P-450.

I'm sure you're going to enjoy it for plenty of time to come.

I have been using this series of turntable for a few years now, and have figured out how to cure some of the common age related issues that can arise. Nothing big or complicated, but if you have any trouble with it, please be sure to PM me. I'd be happy to help you.

First off, how's the tonearm? Does it move up and down without stickiness?

Also, you'll want to get the whole thing set up as correctly as possible. That includes aligning the cartridge, balancing the tonearm, setting the proper tracking force, and setting the antiskate.

There is an excellent video made by a fellow member in the stickies on the main turntables page. Watch the video a time or two, then let's get yours set up properly. We're here to walk you through it if you need any help or have questions.

Video here: http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=457897

You're going to love that TT. It's a neat one!
 
OP Music said:
Got it working, thank you hi*ball! Thank you to everyone who helped me grab this sexy vintage beast!

Regards, Alex
Click to expand...
Congratulations, Alex nice looking table. It will serve you well. Looks like you got a nice cartridge, should sound very good. In a few days let us know how you like it.
Happy listening
Sturgus
 
Your owners manual is going to be your best friend like a dog, read it through a couple times and if you still not sure give us a holler. Your going to need a few small relatively cheap turntable tools, level, stylus brush, styus cleaning fluid, digital scale to check stylus pressure, carbon fiber brush and a record cleaning system.
 
For the record, if you are patient on the Bay, you can find a nice Technics SL-D1 or SL-D2 for your price or very little more money. I recently scored a nice Technics SL-D1 for $75 BIN, and shipped $115. And it was packaged well, even had a nice uncracked or broken fully functional dust cover and original headshell, and had an Empire 2000/II with a good original stylus. Only work my example needed was cleaning the pitch pots and speed switch with DeOxit. Only took me 4 days to get it. This is a superb performing, basic direct drive with a very good tonearm, and is once set up and right, unfussy. It will give you much of what vinyl playback is capable of set up properly. And is well built and low maintenance.
 
Looks like you've got a Stanton 680 on there, OP. There's many threads on here about the good styli for this cartridge. Without knowing the condition of the current stylus, you should change buy a new one. Or put the Stanton aside, buy a new cartridge, then research what styli will fit your Stanton and (very importantly) suits your tonearm.

I'm guess your turntable has a low mass straight arm, correct? In that case, you will need a high compliance stylus for your Stanton.
 
SSaxdude said:
Looks like you've got a Stanton 680 on there, OP. There's many threads on here about the good styli for this cartridge. Without knowing the condition of the current stylus, you should change buy a new one. Or put the Stanton aside, buy a new cartridge, then research what styli will fit your Stanton and (very importantly) suits your tonearm.

I'm guess your turntable has a low mass straight arm, correct? In that case, you will need a high compliance stylus for your Stanton.
Click to expand...

I have an extra cartridge laying around, should I just take the current cartridge off, put the stylus on the extra and use that?

I know nothing about what type of arm it has besides that it is indeed straight.
 

Attachments

  • IMAG0517.jpg
    IMAG0517.jpg
    26.4 KB · Views: 67
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom