Turntable recommendations!

davys

davys

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David
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Oh Wise Ones of the forum. I prostrate myself at your feet and beg for your benevolence and wisdom.

My son has formally begun looking for his first property, and has let it be known that one of his first purchases will be a turntable and that he would appreciate one for Xmas.

Now the last time I had one of these things was over 25 years ago so I've no idea what's what nowadays. It's purely for listening to albums (or vinyl as its called these days), not for mixing or anything else. Now I've done a bit of research - I know you can use any Bluetooth speakers to hear the sound but that's about it. Do you get a pair of traditional (boxy) audio speakers that run on Bluetooth (so no wires) along with the turntable, rather than these small Bluetooth speakers you see everywhere?

If there's any audiophiles who can recommend a decent turntable set up I'll be very grateful. Like everything else you get what you pay for and these things start from £45. I'm happy to go £150-£250 to get a semi decent set up for him, so will be really happy for any advice offered!

Best wishes,
David
 
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i wonder if you can still get rega planar 2 turntables - i really liked mine back in the 80's - I also had a very basic A60 amplifier in a wooden case which was ultra retro :cool:
i can't remember which speakers i had annoyingly
 
boliston said:
i wonder if you can still get rega planar 2 turntables - i really liked mine back in the 80's - I also had a very basic A60 amplifier in a wooden case which was ultra retro :cool:
i can't remember which speakers i had annoyingly
Click to expand...
just remembered...linn kan - my friend thought i was mad as they were so tiny compared with his massive speakers!
 
Plenty turntables on the go nowadays, and the suggestion of visiting Richer Sounds is a good one if you're near a branch, otherwise try to find a local hifi dealer. Do you know what else he has in the way of an amplifier or speakers, as that will be one of the first things you'll get asked at Richer or any other dealer?
 
boliston said:
just remembered...linn kan - my friend thought i was mad as they were so tiny compared with his massive speakers!
Click to expand...

still got a pair of baby kan's in a cupboard, i used to use them as the front speakers in a surround setup a few years ago but since then i havn't really decided what to do with them
they still sound quite decent and seem to have held there value over the years
not really give them much thought until i read your post :)
 
boliston said:
i wonder if you can still get rega planar 2 turntables - i really liked mine back in the 80's - I also had a very basic A60 amplifier in a wooden case which was ultra retro :cool:
i can't remember which speakers i had annoyingly
Click to expand...

mine was a 3 with an rb300 arm and an ortofon cartridge I have to say it was a nice piece of kit, now moved on to somewhere a few years ago.
 
Rega and pro-ject always tend to be recommended most but at your budget you would struggle. Perhaps look for a tidy vintage player like a lenco, thoren or garrard. As for bluetooth you can get a receiver for under a tenner and add it to any amp so again perhaps look for a vintage amp. 70's amps from Japan from the big names were very good, or if you go 80's 90's look out for brands like marantz, rotel, nad and you would go far wrong. However there are some very good little amps comming out of china that you can pick up for peanuts. Brands like Topping and SMSL. You would need a phono pre amp to use one of them. Some turntables have one built in.
 
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Many thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I now have a better idea what to search for, and I'll organise a visit to my nearest Richer Sounds! thanks again, David
 
Yeah I now what you mean about budget, having looked on the Richer Sounds website I think I'll have to up it to
c.£350. Nice looking Marantz set up on there amongst others but I'll pop into the local shop and have a word with the salesman and see what he recommends.

Thanks again for all the suggestions folks!
 
Not all modern Amps have phono inputs (needed for turntable) so please check.

There is a chinese brand that makes very good low cost active speakers called edifier. They have a bluetooth active on amazon for £85 than you would just need to add a phono pre-amp like the behringer another cheap brand that makes good audio equipment. They do one on amazon for £17. You than have all sides covered, and gives you a budget for the turntable. They could upgrade the other parts if needed in the future.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Edifier-R17...=1446991901&sr=8-1&keywords=edifier+bluetooth

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-P...8&qid=1446992082&sr=8-1&keywords=phono+preamp
 
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At your budget I would seriously advise a second hand setup.

I'm not sure how Bluetooth speakers work but you will need a way of connecting the turntable to the speakers and turntables usually require a phono stage to go to a normal amplifier and then out to speaker so this is something you might want to look into.

As for products a used project deck is hard to beat and they can be bought for c.£100 if you look around.

If you went down the normal amp route I think a Cambridge audio amp or an older Arcam/Royal amp with a built in moving magnet phono stage for around £100 will work well.

Couple this with some Qacoustic speakers and it will be a nice setup :)
 
Also unless you are rock solid sure, fit a new cartridge or get your local hifi shop to fit one. most people sell turntables when the cartridge is tired and it will do no good to your records :-)
 
Does anybody remember which budget turntable in the 80's adjusted the speed by moving a rubber 'band' between 2 plastic wheels? I had one and can't for the life of me remember the manufacturer.
 
Rega Planar turntables required the lifting of the plate glass platter and hooking the rubber band from one drive pulley ratio to the other and then replace the glass platter back on.

Interesting to see what a 35 year old manual turntable now fetches on ebay. Seems that £200 is not out of the question for a good condition Planar 3. That's more than I paid in 1983 for a mint ex demo one. Admittedly £200 was worth considerably more then than it does now.
 
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NAD turntables we made by rega back in the 80s might be worth a look. 70s Japanese tts like Pioneer and trio were pretty good too.
 
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boliston said:
i really liked the "manual" speed change on the rega - the only "control" was the on/off switch!
Click to expand...

I can't remember mine was speed change a different plastic pulley under the glass platter?
 
Rapscallion said:
Does anybody remember which budget turntable in the 80's adjusted the speed by moving a rubber 'band' between 2 plastic wheels? I had one and can't for the life of me remember the manufacturer.
Click to expand...

I had a Revolver Rebel which was like that. The belts used to go slack after a few years and then the motor started making a knocking noise and I couldn't find a replacement so I binned it. Kept the arm though.

Made the mistake of buying a cheap USB turntable but there's no anti-skate so it skips and the balance is off. I keep intending to replace the arm with the Revolver one some day, but I'll probably just end up getting a s/h DJ turnatable as a stop-gap.
 
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