Affordable Turntable Options

The biggest problem is getting them shipped safely as many sellers don't have the original packaging nor the knowledge to correctly disassemble the table/arm and pack it properly to avoid damage during shipping.

Worried about shipping?  That would imply buying a vintage TT online from a vendor like Ebay and that poses a whole other problem - trusting that the TT works at factory spec despite what the seller says.  Most selling vintage on line really have no idea.

If your going to go vintage, buy only from Craiglist or a local shop where you actually inspect and hear the TT before you buy it.  Or your going to get burned.

I don't understand people's aversion to buying vintage turntables.

Because they are electro-mechanical devices with may pushing be 40 years old or more.  And just like Granny's car stored a shed for 40 years, you wouldn't expect to be able to start it and drive away? Same with vintage TT's - they will require some degree of maintenance and repair and that will mean opening the unit up. And this is what people have an aversion too, especially newbies just discovering vinyl for the first time.  Most don't even know they need a phono preamp. let alone degreasing a vintage TT's automatics or deoxidizing the speed pots.  Ask a newbie to even identify a potentiometer inside a TT?

Vintage is fine if your technically inclined!  But not everyone is. 

And yes, I have a 40 year old Technics SL-1400 that I picked up practically free from an original owner that I totally restored and now operates as if its fresh out of the box.  But if I couldn't do this and had to take it to a shop, I would have walked away from it.  That money would have best been spent buying new.

Did I infer wrong Dave? Sorry about that brother but not sure what I did other than quoting you.  Something that happens all the time on forums.  So, please correct the record if you meant something else.

But it seems to me that if one is buying a vintage TT and is worried about packaging and shipping, then that implies one is buying sight unseen from an internet site. So I issued another warning - makes sure it works!

It is exactly like pulling Granny's car out of the garage.  The car will need work before it can be driven off.  So will the vintage TT before it can played - at least properly.  I have yet to buy one from CL that did not require it to be opened and repaired.  And I bought quite a few. And it doesn't matter if its a simple belt driven, manual Pioneer PL-12D or a more complex fully automatic Technics SL-1300 or SL-1600 MKI or II.  At the very least with a manual, speed will need to checked, cueing often redamped and outputs checked for continuity.  You and I are up to it.  I just think its fair to let a newbie know what they may be in for.

Finally, for the record, I do not wish to offend any vintage TT fans.  I have one myself.  Its in my virtual system and it is stunning in both looks and performance.  But my investment in this 40 year old machine is a whopping 50 bucks being fortunate enough to know how to restore it myself. 

Nice choice.  U-Turns strike me as great way to get back into vinyl without spending a lot.  And the solid wood plinth makes them much more attractive.

Don't know what your budget is, but I would recommend the Audio Technica AT-120E/B.  Its the only cartridge in its price class with a nude elliptical stylus similar to that in an Ortofon 2M Blue but for a lot less.