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Record players and vinyl

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Any suggestions on a cheap but decent record player? Also, where do you buy new records online atm?
 
I just got myself a turntable and pre-amp as a belated 40th birthday present. I went for a Rega Planar 2 with matching Rega pre-amp but the main difference between the P2 and P1 is a glass platter. Same tonearm and cartridge I think.
In terms of buying vinyl I’ve mainly used Assai. As it’s near my work if we ever go back to the office my disposable income might take a battering!
 
I just got myself a turntable and pre-amp as a belated 40th birthday present. I went for a Rega Planar 2 with matching Rega pre-amp but the main difference between the P2 and P1 is a glass platter. Same tonearm and cartridge I think.
In terms of buying vinyl I’ve mainly used Assai. As it’s near my work if we ever go back to the office my disposable income might take a battering!

What did the turntable and amp set you back? Assai is just round from my office too, I have not been in my office since March!
 
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The P2 was £399 and the Rega ore-amp was £199. The P1 is quite a bit cheaper at £249 and you can get a cheap n cheerful preamp for about £100.
There is also a P1 plus that’s £329 but has a built in preamp.
Other brands I’d also looked at were Audiotechnica and Project but my mate recommended the Rega.
 
I’ve got a Project turntable, nothing fancy but quite happy with it.

don’t buy records online that often prefer a walk round the various shops in Edinburgh
 
I’ve got a Project turntable, nothing fancy but quite happy with it.

don’t buy records online that often prefer a walk round the various shops in Edinburgh

Aye with lockdown that isnae an option at the moment sadly.
 
The Rega turntables have always been highly regarded by the Hi-Fi press and listeners alike. Project have a vast range of turntables to chose from. I have a basic little Project Elemental USB that plugs in to my laptop. My other 'Sunday' turntable is a Linn. There are also bluetooth enabled turntables on the market now.
 
I get my vinyl from this company. It's really an old fashioned Record Exchange. Quality rated. I have bought quite a few hard to find LPs here M.
Discogs.

BIG G
 
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Depends on what your buying but can’t go wrong with Juno Records. Also Discogs market place has pretty much every record you might want.

turntable wise, you can get a cheap one, the speakers/amp and needle are more important when it comes to sound.
 
Try bandcamp.com
 
I just invested in a new turntable as the kids and my wife’s grandad had knackered the old one. Also ended up buying a new amp/tuner.

The turntable is Audio Technica AtLp 140. I got it because it is close to the old classic technics decks I used to DJ with 30 odd years ago. Probably more expensive than I really needed but I got $500 from the state as a ‘thank you’ for working with dying Covid patients so wanted to buy something I wouldn’t normally splash out on.

The amp is a Sony STRDH190. It has Bluetooth so I can link it to my Spotify etc and the FM tuner is good as well. It was fairly cheap $120 as it had been ‘out the box’ but is normally only $150. Does the job.

Now I need to decide if the Tannoy speakers I got from John Lewis about 25 years ago need upgraded. Or the speaker cable I got from Richer Sounds on Chambers Street at the same time. Is that place still there? Richer Sounds not John Lewis.
 
I get my vinyl from this company. It's really an old fashioned Record Exchange. Quality rated. I have bought quite a few hard to find LPs here M.
Discogs.

BIG G

Cheers G, will check it out tonight, try to buy a few classics on HMV online last night but they wouldnae take my payment!
 
Now I need to decide if the Tannoy speakers I got from John Lewis about 25 years ago need upgraded. Or the speaker cable I got from Richer Sounds on Chambers Street at the same time. Is that place still there? Richer Sounds not John Lewis.

It is, I bought my telly there last year, still going strong.
 
I am using a project turntable just now and can recommend it - much better than my last two - as for records I buy from all over the place on-line, but you could look on Discogs, everything from 50p to thousands of pounds on there.
 
Have a look at whathifi or something on-line for the best quality speakers and amp that you can get for your budget. They do things like best speakers for under £XX and similar.
 
Christ all i have is my phone , Spotify premium , a Bose Speaker , Bose noise cancelling headphones and a car stereo that plays Spotify . Reading this i cant decide if i'm modern or old fashioned :43:
 
Nothing too fancy for me, just bought a second hand Aiwa turntable from Ebay.Works fine for me.My amp is Cambridge as is my CD' player,cant remember off hand what my tape deck is.Got them all from that place in Chamber St.Sound Control?My last record was bought in Sainsbury's best of Slade. Sainsbury's is quite good because they like to do specials like coloured vinyl. Got a gold coloured New Boots and Panties. Get quite a lot of vinyl out of charity shops,my second last LP was Deerhoof out Fopp. Not too sniffy to use Amazon.Also have a turntable with a USB connection that I got out of Aldi,works well through an app called Audacity.
 
Nothing too fancy for me, just bought a second hand Aiwa turntable from Ebay.Works fine for me.My amp is Cambridge as is my CD' player,cant remember off hand what my tape deck is.Got them all from that place in Chamber St.Sound Control?My last record was bought in Sainsbury's best of Slade. Sainsbury's is quite good because they like to do specials like coloured vinyl. Got a gold coloured New Boots and Panties. Get quite a lot of vinyl out of charity shops,my second last LP was Deerhoof out Fopp. Not too sniffy to use Amazon.Also have a turntable with a USB connection that I got out of Aldi,works well through an app called Audacity.
Moaty this is a music thread mate , clothes is for another day
 
Christ all i have is my phone , Spotify premium , a Bose Speaker , Bose noise cancelling headphones and a car stereo that plays Spotify . Reading this i cant decide if i'm modern or old fashioned :43:

Me too, this is for my laddie. I cannae believe what folk pay for a record player!!!!
 
Depends on what your buying but can’t go wrong with Juno Records. Also Discogs market place has pretty much every record you might want.

turntable wise, you can get a cheap one, the speakers/amp and needle are more important when it comes to sound.

Good point here about the speakers as they are probably the single most important part of any system in terms of sound quality. But in saying that no point in spending a fortune on speakers unless you’ve got the space for them and understanding neighbours [emoji2]
 
Good point here about the speakers as they are probably the single most important part of any system in terms of sound quality. But in saying that no point in spending a fortune on speakers unless you’ve got the space for them and understanding neighbours [emoji2]
Speakers are important but they are the end of the chain. If your sources i.e Turntable, CD player or whatever sound like a bag of nails no speakers or amplifier will improve the sound of them. A higher powered amplifier should in theory handle louder volumes more comfortably than a lowered powered one. Think of a Trabant and a Ferrari! Which would you rather be driving at 70mph?
 
Speakers are important but they are the end of the chain. If your sources i.e Turntable, CD player or whatever sound like a bag of nails no speakers or amplifier will improve the sound of them. A higher powered amplifier should in theory handle louder volumes more comfortably than a lowered powered one. Think of a Trabant and a Ferrari! Which would you rather be driving at 70mph?
I can't drive.
 
I can't drive.
Well never mind you'll be getting a bus pass shortly.:giggley:
 
I have been on this planet for 58 years and I have yet to hear a record player sounding like a bag of nails.
 
I have been on this planet for 58 years and I have yet to hear a record player sounding like a bag of nails.
 
Speakers are important but they are the end of the chain. If your sources i.e Turntable, CD player or whatever sound like a bag of nails no speakers or amplifier will improve the sound of them. A higher powered amplifier should in theory handle louder volumes more comfortably than a lowered powered one. Think of a Trabant and a Ferrari! Which would you rather be driving at 70mph?

Can a Trabant even reach 70mph though?
I’d probably say that in today’s world of digital and solid state electronics the difference between budget and high-end components has shrunk providing that its all impedance and output level matched. Don’t get me started on cabling!
 
Me too, this is for my laddie. I cannae believe what folk pay for a record player!!!!
Wait til you see what the records cost - after digging mine out of the back of a cupboard last year I went into Fopp and couldn't believe the prices. 20 odd quid for an LP! Suppose there's been a bit of inflation in the c20 years since I last bought any but still
 

Can a Trabant even reach 70mph though?
I’d probably say that in today’s world of digital and solid state electronics the difference between budget and high-end components has shrunk providing that its all impedance and output level matched. Don’t get me started on cabling!
Yes a Trabant can indeed reach 70mph but you and the Trabant must be situated on the West Coast of Scotland in a Force 10 with the wind at the tail of the said vehicle while descending a hill. Ah, impedance and output levels must match.... tell that to the manufacturers as the output of CD players is too high. I tend to use my attenuators to good effect.
 
Wait til you see what the records cost - after digging mine out of the back of a cupboard last year I went into Fopp and couldn't believe the prices. 20 odd quid for an LP! Suppose there's been a bit of inflation in the c20 years since I last bought any but still
You are probably referring to the top quality 180gram LP's that do cost about £20.00. The LP's that were available in the 80's were of poor quality, thin almost like flexi discs. This and the the emergence of CD where the makers proclaimed perfect sound when it certainly wasn't made record sales plummet. People went and bought CD's because they believed the hype and paid a premium for the CD's too. Iirc they were about £15 then! So when you think about it £20 in this day and age isn't that bad.
 
I went for this Sony Bluetooth approach, so I can get it on my wireless speakers and headphones - it works great, had to replace the stylus once - that was my fault though - and a spare OEM part was dead easy to come by and not expensive.

For records I go to Amazon first (I know...) but then as G said discogs.com is awesome for those hard to find records!
 
Well never mind you'll be getting a bus pass shortly.:giggley:
At least I lived through Turnbill's Tornadoes.
 
At least I lived through Turnbill's Tornadoes.
And was a punk.
 
At least I lived through Turnbill's Tornadoes.
You and me both.
 
And was a punk.
You and me both for that one too.:giggley:
 
Yes a Trabant can indeed reach 70mph but you and the Trabant must be situated on the West Coast of Scotland in a Force 10 with the wind at the tail of the said vehicle while descending a hill. Ah, impedance and output levels must match.... tell that to the manufacturers as the output of CD players is too high. I tend to use my attenuators to good effect.

Yep that’ll be dynamic range compression. The “loudness wars” of the 90s have a lot to answer for Is dynamic range compression destroying music?
This is also why adverts on TV always sound so loud even if you don’t touch the volume!
 
You and me both for that one too.:giggley:
And your calling me an old *&*^?
 
And your calling me an old *&*^?
Bit ageist there son.
I’d never see you as such.

You are just a *&*^ as far as I’m concerned.
 
As a wee update, I got a new copy of Legend by Bob Marley for £18 online from a record shop down south, and a funky soul double album for a tenner in Tesco! Hope its no one of the Ktel copies of yesteryear! :3:
 
As a wee update, I got a new copy of Legend by Bob Marley for £18 online from a record shop down south, and a funky soul double album for a tenner in Tesco! Hope its no one of the Ktel copies of yesteryear! :3:
Hes a student, right?
 
Hes a student, right?

Yes.
 

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