AudiogoN Forums: Wanting to get into Vinyl

Wanting to get into Vinyl - Need help

I'm a complete neophyte when it comes to turntables and vinyl. Recently I've gotten the itch to take the plunge, but I'm a bit out of my element so I'm looking for suggestions.

My system is Rotel electronics and Vandersteen 2 ce sigs. Nothing grandiose, but I like the sound and it fits my budget. I currently have a Denon DP300F with a Ortofon RED cartridge upgrade on order. The TT won't be in until April so of course this has given me time to look around and read more reviews. Now I'm having second thoughts, and I'm debating changing/canceling my order.

The phono preamp I've decided on is the Musical Fidelity V-LPS MKII. I've also kicked around the NAD PP3i, but the the reviews don't seem as favorable. Any others I should be looking at?

Now for the TT options. The "short list" in my price range seem to be the Rega RP1, Music Hall MMF2.2, Pro-ject Debut III. These three seem pretty indistinguishable from eachother. I guess the Denon DP300F could fit into this catagory as well. I've also seen suggestions for looking at used "vintage" TT's but honestly I wouldn't know what I'm looking for. I don't want something twitchy that I have to lube or whatever people do :) I would consider a more modern used TT if the price is right.

I'm not planning on being a tweaker here. I just want to play music. Can someone help me whittle this pack of TT's down to a choice?

Thanks!

Mustangjeff (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

02-21-12

Responses (1-26 of 26)

Click title to read one, or click date to read all below it.

02-22-12 I would seriously question getting into vinyl if you have no ... Honest1

02-22-12: Mustangjeff
Thanks for your thoughts Honest1. I'll toss out a couple of my reasons for wanting to get into a bit of analog.

I tend to agree with you on the digital aspect. Right now I have my entire CD collection ripped to a PC as WAV files using EAC. Since WAV doesn't support metadata I have painstakingly added each album to the windows media player library database. The PC outputs bit perfect digital which my Rotel AV receiver does the DA conversion. I only went this route after hours of A/B comparison againt my Rotel CD player. It's all very nice and neat, but a bit detached.

So here are my reasons..

1) Poorly masterd/remastered CD's. The loudness war and compression artifacts are becoming annoying and difficult to ignore. I do listen to a fair amount of classic rock, hard rock, and metal. Even older material that was originally recorded on analog is getting the "digitally remastered" treatment.

2) I have a number of great/cheap vinyl sources locally. It should be easy to grow a decent collection on the cheap. Of course I'll probably go broke cleaning them, but what the heck.

3) Although I don't want to have to fidget with a turntable for 15 minutes just to play a record, I do want a more interactive/organic process for playing music when I feel like it.

Right now I fire up the computer, turn on the 54" plasma, and use the air mouse to queue up a bunch of songs. It's very convenient, but a bit sterile. It's not like the old days where put on a piece of vinyl and listened to a whole side at a crack.

4) The unknown.. Who knows.. I may learn that I want/like to tweak :)

I hope this helps to know where I'm coming from.
Mustangjeff (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

02-22-12 Congratulations on your decision! there are many folks here ... Stevecham

02-22-12 Congratulations on your decision! there are many folks here ... Stevecham

02-22-12 I see we can't edit like we used to...sorry for the double p ... Stevecham

02-22-12 Expect to spend far more than you expect to spend. Audiofeil

02-22-12 If you're not really wanting to do any tweaking, i would str ... Jazzerdave

02-22-12 Congrats on wanting to take the vinyl plunge! the rega rp1 i ... Richteer

02-22-12 $$$ aside, stick with your gut. vinyl (well sorted) blows di ... Rockitman

02-22-12 I second the local analog / turntable shop for demoing and s ... Sbrownnw

02-22-12 Here are some knowledgable dealers in the forum with good he ... Syntax

02-22-12 Don't want to burst your bubble but i think you would be bet ... Sibelius

02-22-12 Rega rp1 and mf v-lps mk. ii should be a very nice combinati ... Adam18

02-22-12 You might want to consider the rega rp-1 with a goldring 104 ... Dayglow

02-22-12 While i wholeheartedly believe that vinyl is superior to cd ... Manitunc

02-22-12 I agree with sibelius and audiofeil but it is a fun aspect o ... Truemaineiac

02-22-12 Congrats on getting into vinyl. much like you, i started ou ... Kinger111

02-22-12 The rega rp1 is a better deck than the others you've listed ... Kbarkamian

02-23-12 One other thing.....as others have mentioned, i would defini ... Kinger111

02-23-12 I had a kab-ev1 and it worked very well but i eventually wan ... Truemaineiac

02-23-12 Wanted to clarify my prior message. don't want to discourage ... Sibelius

02-23-12 Sibelius, do you really think the endless upgrade potential ... Kbarkamian

02-24-12 I've been looking at whats available here on audiogon. ther ... Mustangjeff

02-24-12 Kbarkamian: never said the upgrade bug was limited to analo ... Sibelius

02-24-12 Why doesn't everybody own a music hall mm5 for under 500 buc ... Wolf_garcia

02-24-12 For whatever reason, the upgraditis does seem much worse for ... Truemaineiac