Record (vinyl) turntable. I'm needing your advice.

[MontyVeda]

Well I don't listen to music at home much any more. I used to only listen in the car but my new vehicle doesn't have a CD player and I don't have one round the house. I do have a Foxl bluetooth speaker which I use if we have people round but other than that, I'm starting from scratch really. Hoping to get the old and newer vinyl records spinning PDQ.

When it comes to buying vinyl, both new and 2nd hand... I can't fault discogs.

It's like Ebay, with independent sellers from all over the world and I've only had to deal with one complete arse selling on Discogs out of well over fifty purchases to date. I listen to a lot of niche music, the sort where you tend to buy their latest LP direct from the artists' website, or their bandcamp page and have recently discovered that i can always find a better deal on discogs, eg. getting a brand new sealed LP that would/should be around £30 (inc P&P) for under £20 (inc P&P). I guess the dealers get better deals than us buyers do.

Every time I wonder into HMV and look at their vinyl, I'm always staggered by their prices, and on the rare occasion they do have something i want, i know i'll get it far cheaper on Discogs

 

[raleighnut]

A pal of mine was a photographer and one of the magazines he was assigned to covered hi fi (at the moderate end of things). He wasn't himself that interested but recounts an article where they'd covered the stereos owned by three professional musicians: a jazz guy, a rock session musician and a classical player. The article then went on to choose upgraded sets ups for each tailored to their music genres.

The interesting thing was they'd all had quite poor systems, even though they could all hear and appreciate the upgraded set ups. The implication was they were appreciating the actual music and weren't particularly troubled by quality of reproduction, despite all them presumably having a good ear.

Another explanation could be that if they spent a lot of time playing instruments for a living, maybe they didn't actually spend very much time listening to recorded music so weren't that fussed.

i think it is far more likely that they simply hadn't heard what a good system is capable of, most people have no idea hence the popularity of 'all in one' stack systems (music centres repackaged) and the number of people who think Bang and Olafson are 'high end' (the most expensive music centres in the world)
Funny thing is most 'high end' amplifiers and speakers are made here in the UK with companies like QUAD, Linn, Sugden, Naim. Bowers & Wilkins, Mission/Cyrus, Leak, Radford, Kef and many more based here although IAG (International Audio Group) who now own QUAD and Mission farm production out to China . Some good stuff is made in America (Don't mention Bose to me) and in Europe and a lot of quality 'sources' are made in Japan (CD players, Cartridges and Cassette players/Open Reel Recorders) but they've never quite mastered amplifiers although i started with a Pioneer (SA540) that was OK most of their stuff sounds 'spitty' and 'thin' in comparison with the tonal balance of a quality amp.

 

[GuyBoden]

An inexpensive 300Watt Class D amp and good quality wide range 400Watt speakers is all I need. I plug what'ever I need into it, Blueray, Stingray, CDs, Irish electronic uilleann pipes and my old scratched BBC sound effects records of tweeting birds of the British isles .

My QUAD 303's are only 45 watts per channel, admitedly I use 2 of them (bi-amped so that each drive unit has its own channel) but they gp plenty loud enough,

But, my multipurpose 400watt speakers and 300watt "D class" amp will come in handy when I'm asked to play my free Jazz rendition of "Danny Boy" on Irish electronic uilleann pipes at Wembley stadium. I've been told by my online "Influencer" that you need, multiple options, to make it big, in today's ever changing world.

 

[mistyoptic]

But, my multipurpose 400watt speakers and 300watt "D class" amp will come in handy when I'm asked to play my free Jazz rendition of "Danny Boy" on Irish electronic uilleann pipes at Wembley stadium. I've been told by my online "Influencer" that you need, multiple options, to make it big, in today's ever changing world.

Should we all get your autograph now, before you’re famous?

 

[GuyBoden]

Should we all get your autograph now, before you’re famous?

My autograph will only be available at an exorbitant price via my future "Crowd Funding" website, but there will be only a limited edition of three billion downloads available (maybe more depending on demand).

 

[swee'pea99]

A pal of mine was a photographer and one of the magazines he was assigned to covered hi fi (at the moderate end of things). He wasn't himself that interested but recounts an article where they'd covered the stereos owned by three professional musicians: a jazz guy, a rock session musician and a classical player. The article then went on to choose upgraded sets ups for each tailored to their music genres.

The interesting thing was they'd all had quite poor systems, even though they could all hear and appreciate the upgraded set ups. The implication was they were appreciating the actual music and weren't particularly troubled by quality of reproduction, despite all them presumably having a good ear.

I recall teasing a friend of a friend who was seriously into classical music - she was a violinist by trade if I remember rightly - saying 'how come all you music buffs have such crappy hi-fis?', to which she responded: 'Because we care about the music, not the machinery.'

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I recall teasing a friend of a friend who was seriously into classical music - she was a violinist by trade if I remember rightly - saying 'how come all you music buffs have such crappy hi-fis?', to which she responded: 'Because we care about the music, not the machinery.'

Something that's often forgotten, I agree. The number of times I used to hear (when keen) something like 'come and listen to my new amp' and suchlike, with the music quite incidental.

 

[raleighnut]

But, my multipurpose 400watt speakers and 300watt "D class" amp will come in handy when I'm asked to play my free Jazz rendition of "Danny Boy" on Irish electronic uilleann pipes at Wembley stadium. I've been told by my online "Influencer" that you need, multiple options, to make it big, in today's ever changing world.

Ah but will the '300w Class D' Amplifier still be repairable after 55 years like my QUAD 303 is, there's no 'sucking of teeth' and being told 'You can't get the bits anymore' with QUAD equipment or looking for repair shops. You simply pop it in it's box and post it back to Huntingdon where the service dept. is located.

Anyway we're getting away from the point of this thread..........................i'd still recommend the Rega but with maybe an upgrade to the cartridge, the turntable comes with a Rega badged Audio Technica but with about 3 times the price tag that AT sells them for and the arm is more than capable of doing justice to a far better one. You also need to factor in a proper support to put it on, either a dedicated TT table on concrete flooring or a wall support if the floor is joists and planks.

 

[FishFright]

I recall teasing a friend of a friend who was seriously into classical music - she was a violinist by trade if I remember rightly - saying 'how come all you music buffs have such crappy hi-fis?', to which she responded: 'Because we care about the music, not the machinery.'

My hifi buff friend is an ex professional violin player and has a system that costs many thousands, Why ? Because she loves music and it sounds so much better on her setups .

 

[Cycleops]

View: https://youtu.be/DvswW6M7bMo

 

[raleighnut]

View: https://youtu.be/DvswW6M7bMo

Very funny for a comedy sketch but the thought that any HiFi shop would behave like that is stupidn, the salesmen a (and Women) were paid on commission (when the shops existed) and I've always found them very helpful as most are enthusiasts themselves.

Sadly they are few and far these days, for instance in Leicester there were 7 or 8 quality dealers and what is lefr now.....Richer Sounds

 

[Cycleops]

Of course you wouldn't get that kind of attitude in hi-fi shops of yore just like you were unlikely to wget a builder going into a hardware store and asking for 'Fork 'andles'

But there was always an undertone of superior knowledge amongst the assistants and you always imagined that they were thinking as in the sketch, which is why it's so funny.

I imagine that salespeople in car showrooms are likewise enthusiasts.

 

[Profpointy]

Of course you wouldn't get that kind of attitude in hi-fi shops of yore just like you were unlikely to wget a builder going into a hardware store and asking for 'Fork 'andles'

But there was always an undertone of superior knowledge amongst the assistants and you always imagined that they were thinking as in the sketch, which is why it's so funny.

I imagine that salespeople in car showrooms are likewise enthusiasts.

Cycle shops aren't wholly immune to that sort of thing either

 

[raleighnut]

I imagine that salespeople in car showrooms are likewise enthusiasts.

Yeah but you can't go into a Car Showroom and say " I'd like this engine, that gearbox and this rear axle but could you fit it in this car body but with these seats and that dash" and him to say "Well I think this engine would work better"
Now a hundred years ago you could, you'd buy a rolling chassis from say Bentley or Rolls Royce (amongst others) with your choice of engine and gearbox and take it to a Coach Builder and specify what style of body you wanted (2 door, 4 door, open top, phaeton or saloon) and even what type of seats in whatever material and colour and which timber was used in the dash etc.

 

[Smokin Joe]

I imagine that salespeople in car showrooms are likewise enthusiasts.

In my experience the salesmen in car showrooms know feck all about cars other than what's in the brochure. But they know how to skin you with expensive finance and non essential add ons.