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How can I get back into vinyl very cheaply?

Hi and thanks for taking the time to read my thread. I grew up in the 70's and amassed a relatively large record collection. Moreover my buddies from high school are willing to give me their old Lp's. However I don't have much in disposable income so I am wondering if there is a good TT,arm, cartridge, combo to be had for ~350$ I had a denon direct drive turntable when I was a kid, but reading this site makes my think that a belt drive table would generally be superior. I particularly am wondering what old units I should look for on ebay. There are almost 1000 units for sal on ebay and most of them are in my price range, but I really don't know for which units I should be looking. Finally as I don't even know what VTA is, ease of set up is important. I appreciate all opinions.

PS. My Musical Fidelity pre has a phono stage that is purportedly good but not great for MM and adequate for MC
rgcards
tagyerit
73 posts
 
i recently got my kid a music hall 2.1 and put a grado gold
cart on it, and it sounds very musical. it did not until i removed the cart it came with and put on the grado. she is using a decent phono stage though (good ole fisher 500c w/ original tele's on it).
spent $175 delivered for the 2.1 (barely used from a reputable dealer ). I think the grado was $150, but I have also used grado's $80 cart (blue?) wtih nice results on some older tt's.
johncan
23 posts
 
I have a Bang & Olufsen RX2 with a MMC3 cartridge that I am no longer using. The whole system is in nice shape. If you are interested, email me. It is good for starting out with and well below your price range ($200 below). You really can't tweak it as it is "plug and play" in it simplist form. You can get better sound by moving up to a Music Hall MMF5 or Rega 3 but you will also pay more. The B&O is not an audiophile turntable, but it is better than the other mid-fi turntables it competed against.

John
breeno
16 posts
 
I've got a (nearly new) grado black laying around I'd throw in for free for a soul wanting to get a cheap start into the vinyl sickness.
jwrobinson's avatar
jwrobinson
61 posts
 
Being mostly mechanical, I would tend to steer clear of inexpensive used TTs. That does not mean you can't find a good one but.....

For some of us, buying a more exotic (expensive) used TT is the only way to afford something better. However, there are a number of inexpensive new TTs out there. Check out Audio Advisor.

I would personally stay away from fully automatic and go with a manual.

My own TT is a VPI Jr that has performed flawlessly
for more than 12 years. I've only had to replace the belt.

Jim
peter_s
1,313 posts
 
This is a bit of a tangent, but when it comes to expanding a record collection, I recently put an ad in the paper saying I'd buy peoples used records. The local used store around these parts gives about 50 cents a record, and I exceed their offering by just a bit. You can really come into some esoteric collections that way, as well as the usual junk! And it's CHEAP!
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