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Turntables

I am kicking the idea of trying out vinyl. It’s been a long time since I had a turntable and it took a lot of thought whether I can deal with what always seemed like the snap, crackle & pops of an album. Anyway, I’ve decided to take a plunge after all the buzz how awesome it is. Of course before I make any final decisions, I always turn to the Audiogon community for their expert thoughts, opinions and education. I’m also looking for suggestions for a nice affordable table with tone arm and cartridge. Being the fact this is new to me and I may hate it, I’m looking for suggestions on the best affordable set up I can do for a new or used in the price range of $1000/$1500. I’m sure I can get a better bang for the buck going used. I just don’t know anything about these animals. My system is older but I still enjoy it which consist of a Mark Levinson 23.5 amp, Proceed AVP 2+6 used for 2 channel audio, Audio Acoustics model 9 speakers, Ayre DAC for digital with Transparent Audio Ultra mm2 cables. Any input is greatly appreciated!
128x128luvrockin
luvrockin's avatar
luvrockin OP
208 posts
 
@boxer12 & mechans, my AVP 2 does not have anything labeled phono. It has I customizable inputs from 1-8 but none are labeled phone. In the menus there is an adjustable gain function. I don’t know if that would have anything to do for phono operation.
gotog
118 posts
 
EAT B-Sharp is nice. Comes with a factory installed Ortofon 2M Blue.
johnto
972 posts
 
You could pick up a used VPI table and a low hours cartridge. If you want to try a tt that gets good reviews in a lower price range check the Uturn web page, they also have a reasonable phono preamp.
dramatictenor
183 posts
 
Not sure I agree with the advice to buy new. But either way, you’ll want a reputable dealer who can work on it, and make sure your azimuth and vertical tracking are set up correctly. 

At at one point, it was thought that bet drives were more noise isolating vs that of direct drives. But that was as much the actual engineering as the method of turning the platter. Fine examples of each. Arguably there’s less maintenance with a direct drive, but I wouldn’t know. I got my belt driven table when I was 13 and it’s still producing great sound. 

A moving magnet cartridge ridge will give you a much easier interface to start with. Moving coils introduce new technical issues, but the manufacturers of better cartridges today tend to focus on the coil design. Not sure why that became a fad but it did. 

Good luck.

Oh, a good record cleaner and an anti-static surfactant such as in Groove Glide will do wonders to eliminate much surface noise. As someone who also streams a lot of music, I can’t deal with more than the occasional pop etc. 
boxer12
8,654 posts
 
luvrockin, You'll need a phono stage. The adjustable gain will not give you RIAA. As mechans stated above, you can get a reasonably priced one if you wish.  
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