What do i need to get started?

krustydoyle

Well folks,

I have a large vinyl collection but nothing to play them on.
I want to invest in a deck but I don't know what else I need for a decent set up?

Any advice and recommendations on equipment is badly needed please.

Thanks

godfrey

Assuming you care about music and your collection, be careful not to buy some cheapo USB-type deck.

Have a look around for a single Technics SL1200 in good condition. Dump whatever cartridge & stylus is with it - they'llbe knackered.

Get a new cartridge & stylus, and set it up carefully. I'm sure there are detailed instructions on the net somewhere. The setup of the cartridge in combination with the tone arm is very critical to good sound and also to not damiging your records or the stylus. Not just the weight applied at the stylus, but the other forces which prevent undue horizontal pressure while still keeping the stylus in the centre of the grooves.

Hope this is helpful to you ~

g

franktheplank

If it's just for listening and not mixing, I'd recommend the:

http://www.project-audio.com/main.php?prod=debut

I think they're about £230 (shop around) new but i recall picking one up second hand for a good bit cheaper.

Once you have your turntable you're gonna need an amp and speakers. You can go crazy with spending on this stuff but there's a lot of good 2nd hand gear about at the moment. I reckon you could get a decent amp and speaker set for around 200 euros or perhaps even less if you come across a good bargain.

Some amps will be set up to accept the signal from a turntable others will need a pre-amp box. If you need one you should get something good quality 2nd hand for fairly reasonable money.

krustydoyle

Thanks for the help lads. theres a record shop selling technics in Carlow so ill check them out.. Where would I find the 2nd hand amps and speakers? don't mean to be a scald but im a complete novice. thanks

franktheplank

krustydoyle wrote: »

Thanks for the help lads. theres a record shop selling technics in Carlow so ill check them out.. Where would I find the 2nd hand amps and speakers? don't mean to be a scald but im a complete novice. thanks

Adverts, ebay or Donedeal would be where I'd start. There's an awful lot of this stuff on ebay.co.uk and they'll often be happy to post it if you PM them first. I'm a bit of a gear nut (more the studio side of things) so if you see anything feel free to ask and I'll be happy to give a bit of advice.

Off the top of my head Mission, Monitor Audio, Tannoy and B&W should have speakers to suit that would be high quality and fairly reasonably priced.

As regards amps Arcam, Cambridge audio and nad are a few names that spring to mind for home listening. In general stay away from the high street store stuff, the Sonys, Panasonics etc.

TroutMask

+1 for Project as an entry level audiophile deck. Used Technics can have damaged bearings on the tonearm and the only cure for that is replacement of the entire tonearm - make sure you check the arm out on an SL 1200. TBH, unless you're a DJ, the SL 1200 is not really the best choice for home listening. The platter, drive & electronics are good, but the tonearm is meh. For DJ'ing it is great though.

For a good vinyl experience you will need the following:
a nice turntable - stable platter;
a good tonearm - should be light, track well, be balanced and have an anti-skate that works properly - it should not resonate or do weird stuff;
a good cartridge and stylus (see note 1 below);
a phono preamp (see note 2 below) ;
a regular integrated amp and speakers - or separates, if that's the way you roll;
and last but not least, a fluid record cleaning machine.

Note 1: there are 2 types MM (Moving Magnet), and MC (Moving Coil).
The first type, MM, is more common, it's more inexpensive and a decent MM is more than capable of delivering stellar performance. When I say decent I mean medium priced Shure, Ortofon, Grado - **not** the Stanton 500. Only DJs and broadcast people buy Stanton 500 - they pretty much suck - but have attributes that appeal to DJs.
The second type, MC, actually has a tiny coil glued to the stylus actuator arm
and so you cannot replace the stylus yourself. This means that you have to send it off to a service centre (at considerable expense) to have the stylus 'retipped' when it wears out. The MC is a different experience to the MM - Denon DL 104 is the lowest you go with this - and they go all the way up to 5 and 6 figure sums. The styli don't wear out that often, so barring accidents, they last a while.

Note 2: All phono cartridges need a preamp, sometimes this is built in to the back of integrated amplifiers (like NAD, Denon etc. ). If your stereo has a button that says 'Phono' - then you're good. These are almost always MM phono inputs - the MC cartridge has a very low output and requires and extra stage called either a 'Head Amp' or a 'Step Up' transformer. If you're on a budget, then this is just one more reason not to go MC. In general, preamps matter a lot, and most HiFi's that have a built-in phono-pre throw it in as an afterthought. I always use an external one and it sounds a lot better.


MM vs MC
MM carts are fine and some are excellent, e.g., the Shure V15 MkIII. Better a decent MM than a poor MC. The only payoff with MC is that they can sound a lot better when correctly set up: stunning airy highs, detailed midrange, and authoritative lows. I use both and flip-flop back and forth between the 2 types. MCs are more work for sure - and a bit of a hunt for good stages to put them through.

franktheplank

Here's a few bits you might be interested in:

http://www.adverts.ie/home-audio/nad-c-320bee-tannoy-mercury-m2/2547900


http://www.adverts.ie/home-audio/mission-m32i-speakers/2315841


http://www.adverts.ie/home-audio/decompile/2415621


http://www.adverts.ie/home-audio/arcam-ae-speakers-yamaha-sony-hi-fi/2445687


http://www.adverts.ie/home-audio/nad-amp-sony-cd-player-technics-speakers/2401843


http://www.adverts.ie/home-audio/nad-c320-jpw/2196359


http://www.adverts.ie/home-audio/mission-780-speakers/2403398

maccored

have a chat to the lads in SoulTrader on Dublin St in Carlow. They'd know what you'd need (and probably have it in stock somewhere)

krustydoyle wrote: »

Thanks for the help lads. theres a record shop selling technics in Carlow so ill check them out.. Where would I find the 2nd hand amps and speakers? don't mean to be a scald but im a complete novice. thanks