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Thinking of buying a record player- Is this a good idea??

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    Thinking of buying a record player- Is this a good idea??

    Toying with the idea of buying a record player and buying a few of my very favorite cds on vinyl. Why i want to do this im not sure? Just seems a bit more special in this day an age of downloading music. Convince me this is a good idea, or not.

    #2
    Only if you have a decent hifi and buy a decent turntable. Think Rega P1 for example ("budget" turntable for less than £200). Otherwise there's little point.

    I used to have a Planar 3 (similar to their P3 - 24) which was lovely.
    Last edited by charlesr; 24-07-2009, 10:52.

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      #3
      Originally posted by charlesr View Post
      Only if you have a decent hifi and buy a decent turntable. Think Rega P1 for example ("budget" turntable for less than ?200). Otherwise there's little point.

      I used to have a Planar 3 (similar to their P3 - 24) which was lovely.
      second.
      anything rega will be solid and sound good. They are also fairly easy to setup if your not used to doing it. I had one on my main system before I upgraded to an LP12 but I kept the rega for a second setup in another room.

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        #4
        Record Players can sound brilliant - audiophiles love them, but the gap between low-end players and high-end is big. I agree with charlesr, you need to invest properly, not worth it for low priced ones. A cheap CD player will sound better than cheap turntables.
        Also, bear in mind that modern music is mastered for CD (or increasingly compressed digital audio) and so may not benefit.

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          #5
          Originally posted by charlesr View Post
          Only if you have a decent hifi and buy a decent turntable. Think Rega P1 for example ("budget" turntable for less than ?200). Otherwise there's little point.

          I used to have a Planar 3 (similar to their P3 - 24) which was lovely.
          no decent hi-fi yet, im still uming and 'arring over hi-fi when i asked about them six months ago. Hmm didnt think it would be that costly. Might have a rethink then thanks anyway.

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            #6
            Pro-Jekt make fantastic ~£200 turntables, and Dual I think, anything less than that and its not worth bothering with and you might as well stick to CD's.

            Decent Hifi costs money sadly.

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              #7
              I have no idea why anyone without an existing record collection would consider this.

              If you have a load of vinyl (as I do), then great, but apart from the glow of nostalgia, buying modern music (i.e anything produced in the last 5-10 years) on vinyl is surely a waste of time and money.

              Here's the reasoning:

              * Modern pressings are better than they used to be, but vinyl can, sometimes lack detail.
              * As we all know, placing a needle on a record wears both the needle and the record, which was fine for the time but now? Deterioating media formats FTW!! (Though, personally I love a bit of crackle on he start of a well played record).
              * The sleeves will have been designed for CD thus not have the sort of incidental detail and dense wordage that some of the old 12-inch vinyl covers did, which is a shame because poring over an album cover and the inner slip whilst a record plays can be quite a joy.
              * Lifting and then placing the needle to skip an unpopular track is a pain in the ass. As is turning the record over at the end of one side! Don't underestimate this...

              Good luck to you if wish to go down that route, but IMHO it's not a good use of money.

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                #8
                Think about what a turntable has to do. It transfers sound from a piece of plastic to a needle on the end of a long arm and then amplifies it. Anything that interferes will kill the sound, e.g. rumbling of motor, vibrations from speakers if the table isn't insulated (thus often being made of expensive dense stuff), poor earthing etc. In comparison you can see why CD players can still sound ok if cheap.

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                  #9
                  I had this debate when choosing my hifi stuff about a year ago and just settled with CD in the end. Going into Vinyl now is too much of a hassle, plus it would have cost me even more money. bleh.

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                    #10
                    I've got a stack of vinyl and a Dual turntable with a Cambridge Phono Stage (phono amp). It sounds amazing but I'm getting rid of it as it doesn't fit in with my sleek new unit etc. Minimalism for the win these days.

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                      #11
                      Perhaps it is better to buy a quality CD player and amp and radio set up.

                      Rather than use the money to buy record player and say 30 LPS for example.

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by SuperDanX View Post
                        Toying with the idea of buying a record player and buying a few of my very favorite cds on vinyl. Why i want to do this im not sure? Just seems a bit more special in this day an age of downloading music. Convince me this is a good idea, or not.
                        Contrary to what most people are saying, I think it's a good idea! I've done it and haven't spent too much money and it's a nice little ritual to listen to a record. I've also got a load of old stuff for next to nothing used that I've just owned in some digital form or another.

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                          #13
                          valken is on it there. there is ritual in playing records. you also get to appreciate the lost art of album construction. Opening with a bang but too big as the leave track two flagging and doing enough over side one to make you want to turn over. Then side two has to be as good as one so it doesnt feel like a let down but is shouldnt over shadow the first.
                          i find there are quite a few new albums that are packed with filler. 12 tracks, 4 singles and 8 guff filler. which is even more common now more people are only buying individual tracks.

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                            #14
                            Do it even if you get a shod player, records are much fun. I use one half on an entry level soundlab deck set and its more than good enough.

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                              #15
                              AND there's a whole physicality to having a twelve inch LP in your hand that is completely lost in these fallow days of buying music online, and downloading to a shiny piece of plastic. Everyone ought to have a big pile of vinyl in the corner of their bedroom. You can pick up outstanding classic albums for next to nothing, and if you're into reggae / old school hip-hop / northern soul -- it's essential.

                              And if you're not into them, you should be!

                              Also have a look at vintage turntables, I picked up a Technics SL-1700 from the mid seventies for very little off eBay a while ago. One big indestructible solid block of metal, with a direct drive platter, that simply looks incredible and with a replacement cartridge is as good as new. This thing's gonna outlive me.

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