Vinyl for dummies.

 

My mother's late adolescence has extended a bit further than expected and she's been asking me questions about record players, a topic I know next to nothing about. What sort of things should I be thinking about here? Are there economical new models that are strong, or would a used player do just as well? Certain speakers I should be looking for? I'm sure there's a ton of things I don't even know I should be considering so feel free to dumb this way down.

 

This could be a useful thread. I have no idea where to start with speakers.

Find and ask Sid. I have a used 1200 which sure is durable. The knock-off is supposed to be as good as anybody not taking this shit way too seriously is supposed to need, from what I (perhaps mistakenly) understand. I have also been told that they very often go on sale for far less than the current listed price.

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT-LP120-USB-Direct-Drive-Professional-Turntable/dp/B002S1CJ2Q

I have that turntable. It's ok. I mean I only use it to rip LPs.

If I were in the market for a musical home entertainment system right now, I would get one of these.
http://www.target.com/p/crosley-cr66-rochester-5-in-1-entertainment-center-with-auxiliary-input-am-fm-radio-tape-cd-player/-/A-10382955#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=record+player


Keep in mind that my stereo receiver has a "Video/Tape Copy" setting, because CD players weren't out yet when I got it.

Those things are horrible, Ted. If you pay more than $35 for that Crosley, Duff, you are getting ripped off.

Crosley is terrible.

I have had a Technics D202 for 15 years now, and got it used, and its still in great shape.

If you have the time and patience to check garage sales, kijiji, flea markets etc, then you could find some really nice vintage stuff, otherwise that AT Zappo posted would probably do you ok.

Amp and speakers is of course important as well, but it depends on how much $$$ and how much space you have.

How much do you - /your mom - want to spend?

i've got the Audio Technica basic turntable w/o USB connector. might upgrade soon for ripping purposes.

Yeah, not belittling anyone or anything, but I'm not a real stickler for "sound quality" or into shopping around for the good deals on headz-approved gear.  My 30 year old Marantz receiver is proof of that.  
I've heard music on great equipment, and it's been transcendent, but I don't feel the need to have it in my house.

I dunno Duff's mom's standards, but if the record spins around at the right speed and the music comes out of the speakers, it works good enough for me
Unless those all in one things from Target don't do that, then it's probably worth $119.

I've got a Marantz receiver, too. Like 40 years old. No complaints.

this is what I have. real affordable, and sounds amazing.

http://www.harmankardon.com/EN-CA/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?PID=HK%203390

currently blasting this on it

Ma will spend money on things if she's serious about it. Lord knows her television and computer are way more than she needs. The Crosley thing should probably suffice but I'm not sure she'd go for it.

And just to make clear it wasn't just a clever title for a thread, what might one need a receiver for when playing records?

You need to plug the audio-out cables from the table into an amp/receiver in order to amplify the sound and send it to the speakers. Without amplification, the sound from the record is roughly enough the same volume as the sound of the needle going through the grooves (which you can hear, if you listen carefully enough in a quiet environment). In other words, the volume is really fucking low. You gotta pump that shit up. In the olden times, they had those massive phonograph sound-cone dealies; nowadays, we got amps and pre-amps and receivers and shit.

What is a "pre-amp"?

I have a receiver, I've never known what the difference is or if I'd need a pre-amp too, if I ever got a record player.

if your receiver has a phono in, then you won't need a pre amp.

most modern receivers do not though, and this amplifies the signal before it hits the receiver.

spiritofeden wrote:if your receiver has a phono in, then you won't need a pre amp.

most modern receivers do not though, and this amplifies the signal before it hits the receiver.  

Mine has a phono in and it's not even special or anything. And it was originally purchased in the mid-90s, long before the "resurgence of vinyl".

well, you probably wouldn't need one then!

Hey what headphones do you guys use?

akg k240s

I have Shure 2E215's for when I am out and about, and a pair of Sony MDR's for elite at home listening.

I'm not sure where to post about this so I'm just going to throw it in here. Have any of you Chicago bros been to Gramophone Records on Clark?

I went in there a couple years ago on accident and got overwhelmed and left. I live pretty close to it now and I made a quick stop there today on my walk home from work. Has anyone found this place worth browsing? Everything seemed pretty unorganized and the shit I did find seemed over-priced.

Not my genre, but I was just thinking a few days ago about how Reckless, Gramaphone and Dave's are the only two places left on what was once a major record store strip - from Belden up to Wrigley Field, there were like 20 stores.
RPI 2nd Hand Tunes, Dr. Wax, Hi Fi, that place by the chili place on Broadway, Evil Clown, Pravda, Tower, Record Exchange, all the fly by night used cd places. Even the bookstores sold records in the 90s.

Records were fucking cheap as hell back then too, because of the superior compact disc technology, no one wanted them anymore!

Today in class, we're talking about radians and angular motion and the physics professor was like "how many of you have seen a record player" and only one student raised his hand. I'm not sure if that's because it was actually such a dumb question not worth replying to or if everyone here is really that dumb.

Guys over 50 are always like "you're too young to know what I'm talking about but we used to have turntables that we'd play 'records' on" and I'm never really sure what to say.