Turntable noobie...what advice do you have?


As this forum has corrupted me and I have decided to dive down the rabbit hole of LP's.  Usually I stream but I find the tactile experience of records appealing.  I have ordered a Pro-ject RPM-3 Carbon with Sumiko Amethyst cartridge and a Mobile Fidelity StudioPhono preamp. Oh, and a record brush.  I will be plugging them into my Voyager GAN amp and from there powering my LSA 20 Statement speakers.

I know there is always better equipment to get but I feel this gives a good starting point.  I picked up some new records but a half dozen does not a record collection make.  So I do plan on making my focus for the near future getting more and expanding my collection.  I listen to all kind of music so they will be many different genres.  I will be getting new ones but I will undoubtedly get some used ones too.  

Okay, so what all would you recommend for someone just getting into this hobby?  Especially if I am getting any used records, I should probably look at a record cleaner.  What else for equipment or doodads?  What about tricks or tips for increasing my collection?  In my city there is a record store called Music Millennium that I will be checking out and there of course if Barnes and Noble (where I purchased my other ones).  Do you know of places online  I should check out?  Thanks in advance for your advice. 

 

ddonicht

Just to add to my previous response, some make more fuss than there needs to be about collecting and especially the playing of vinyl. With all that is available today, records, turntables, countless cleaning machines, brushes, protractors, etc...it’s actually easier than ever to enjoy and be successful at setting up something that sounds very good. Don’t be intimidated. Once you hear that certain Lp, you will be hooked forever. It is my opinion (JMO) that anyone not involved in true analog is missing out. To only stream your music because of convenience is not being fully engaged in this hobby. People dismiss other formats because they look upon them as old and antiquated. However, there are some lp's that blow away anything digital. Also, if you have a very good cassette deck, you would be surprised how great cassettes can sound. To limit one self to just one format is very boring. 

First of all - welcome to the wonderful world of vinyl.

For record cleaning I recommend going straight to going ultrasonic either diy like me or a full machine.

It’s worth getting a good protractor and also a stylus pressure gauge too

I'm with @lohanimal Welcome to the wonderful world of replaying the Vinyl LP and allowing the Album Side to play throughout .

Jumping across tracks using a remote, will soon be a distant memory 😀.

If you can stretch a LP purchase to include one very well recorded pressing of a Album of choice, this will serve as a good benchmark, and enable the assessment of other acquired recordings.

Buying Used and the need to clean will go hand in glove, but Buying New and cleaning the residuals from manufacture will also offer a noticeable improvement. 

There are lots of experiences to be encountered and much to learn 👨‍🎓, if the regular usage of a TT takes a hold.

Look forward to how your experiences are shared.    

Some used LP's:

Where do you live? Near 07062?

another Audiogon member (4th so far) is going thru over 3,000 lps I will be selling in bulk. $5. each for whatever he wants, a few friends need to drop by, then I call the stores who will come make me an offer. They won't give me more than that, so it's a win-win.

Primarily Jazz, heck of a lot played once or twice, then Classical, some never played, Show Tunes, International, some Rock and Pop, some Rock I beat to hell and back.

Congratulations. Looks like you picked a good place to start. Your interest in the physicality of the process is why someone should get into vinyl at this point in time.

I would make sure you have a couple new clean audiophile disks to start off. That should give you some feel for what you can achieve with your new rig.

For me the most fun is hunting through used record stores. Good advice from @audioguy85 on picking out good used albums. And yes, a good record cleaning machine is a requirement.

Realize that for clean records the turntable is what determines the amount of surface noise you hear. So, if you really like what you are hearing, future upgrades can buy you out of noise an increase fidelity to amazing heights.

 

Enjoy. While I stream most of the time, I have 2,000 albums in pristine condition and are great enjoyment to listen to.