A friend asks about buying his first turntable. I've decided to spell it out here as a permanent contribution to audio buyers. (Can a person "live" without a turntable, and just get by with digital music. Certainly, but I'm not going to address those questions here. I have several turntables myself and would not give up playing vinyl for anything.)
Many people have first heard records played on an all-in-one player, possibly their own. With very rare exceptions, such as systems made by B&O, these are not very good. To get something really good, you generally have to buy a few separate parts, though a specialty store may be able to sell you everything at once and perform all the assembly required. The parts required are:
1) Phono cartridge. The best cartridges are generally either moving magnet or moving coil. Cheaper systems use ceramic cartridges which are not very good. There are also a few exotics like strain gauge that are barely worth mentioning except to audio fanatics (and yes, I have a few myself, in my collection of exotic stuff).
Moving-magnet cartridges are generally cheaper (though some still get very expensive) and more popular. They generally have a warm sound that is pleasant, but sometimes seems lacking in detail. Moving-coil cartridges are more expensive (but the least expensive ones are not that much more costly than above-average moving-magnets and still highly respected) and generally only used by the most dedicated audiophiles. At best, they can have a neutral sound that is highly detailed. Critics may say they have too much highs. I myself used moving-magnet cartridges for the first 10 years of my own record playing practice, then switched to moving coils, which I like better. One of the least expensive but still highly respected moving coil cartridges is the Denon 103 ($300 brand new). Dynavector also makes highly respected low cost moving coils, which often have high output. I have used Dynavector's most expensive (but lowest output) cartridges since the 1980's (now $1300, my first was a donation). There are hundreds of other brands, and technical variations too complicated to describe in a short article. I can't really advise on moving magnets, but Grado is a well known brand, and makes cartridges available (refurbished) for as little as $50. Technically Grado calls their design moving iron which has some advantages over a conventional moving magnet. Rega, Shure, Stanton, and ADC are a few of the vast number of respected brands.
As with most everything in audio, some phono cartridges, especially moving coils, get astronomically expensive ($20,000 and up). But there are reasonable alternatives as I have suggested which work quite well down to $50, and often the ones that are not-quite-astronomically expensive are available used at much lower prices, and may still work as good as new. Buying used may be part of your audio strategy (it has nearly always been for me, and though I made many mistakes, but I could not have scaled the audio heights any other way). The stylus on a phono cartridge can wear out, however the best used properly will last 2000 hours of usage or more. I have never noticed wear on any of my cartridges. The cartridge internal damping has failed (after 30 years) but the stylus did not wear out, at least in part, because I really haven't played records THAT much in the past 30 years--though I'm playing them now more than in the 1980's.
2) Tonearm
The tonearm is the device which supports the phono cartridge above the record surface.
Most often, the tonearm is part of the turntable system, but many of the best units are equipped to mount other tonearms, and most often the best tonearms are sold separately, and mounted to the best turntables, which often don't come with tonearms.
One of my systems, a Linn Sondek LP12 Valhalla with Ittok tonearm, came as a package with the Ittok tonearm also sold by Linn (made in the 1980's by some Japanese contract manufacturer). Theoretically, I could mount many other tonearms onto the Linn armboard, but I haven't bothered. Instead, I have defied Linn guidelines and traditions by modifying my Ittok arm, coating it with Hockey Tape to provide internal damping. Other famous tonearm manufacturers, like SME, use sophisticated damping systems. I would love to have a recent SME tonearm, which are quite expensive (up to $10k) but what I can afford to do is modify my Ittok, which is still a highly respected arm (but also, following Linn's approach, completely and absolutely undamped, which I don't think is a good idea).
I did buy a separate tonearm for one of my turntables, a Jelco, but I haven't assembled it yet, and I've used separate arms with mixed results in the past. I would say it's the way to go, but I haven't fully gotten there myself.
Quite common on older Rega turntables, and others, are the Rega RB250 and RB300 tonearms. They are quite good, but not as good as the best. One of my friends has a modified RB250.
Some tonearms are linear tracking. This is not a bad idea, but may suffer in the implementation, and they tend not to be as reliable as simpler pivoted arms. I once loved my best linear tracker but haven't repaired it since it's second breakdown.
3) Turntable
As stated, the Turntable usually includes the Tonearm, described above. The rest of the turntable is the spinning platter suspended by some kind of plinth which sits atop a rack, table, or shelf.
Inexpensive but still excellent turntables have been sold by Rega and Music Hall for decades, and now they have a number of competitors such as Project. Famous old but still available brands include Linn, Denon, Pioneer, and Thorens. Linns can get very costly when equipped with all the options, which are only recommended for Linn fanatics.
For quit awhile, there had been a bias towards Belt Drives, including the Linn and Rega and many others. However, it now appears that Direct Drive can be made to work just as well, as can the earlier Idler Wheel turntables. Generally speaking, 50's-70's idler wheel turntables such as consumer Garrard, Dual, and Benjamin Miracord suffered only from a slight rumble, which can be cured using much heavier bases, and then they become perfectly competitive with recent belt drive systems, and some people now prefer them. Brand new idler wheel turntables of inestimable quality are now available for $30K and up. Some audiophiles feel now that idler wheels, at one time cast off as junk, are the ultimate best design, but this is one of a large number of audio cults. I myself purchased an idler wheel Lenco for future modification but haven't gotten around to setting it up with new custom base and arm. My own feeling is there is some truth towards the reverence toward idler drive, but I don't yet have a working one myself, being satisfied with either direct drive or belt drive for many years now, and there never has been anything wrong with a top quality direct drive. What this means is you have many choices among the fashionable and one-time unfashionable in the used market. In the new market, belt drive is the most common at lower prices, and there are a few direct drives such as Pioneer tables for just a bit more.
Ancient idler wheel turntables can sometimes be had as cheaply as free, but may require some basic mechanical work, if you are up to that. Garrards and Lencos are especially highly regarded. Fully refurbished and upgraded professional Garrards may sell for astronomical prices.
Your safest used turntable is a simple belt drive, such as the cheapest Rega models. There's almost nothing to go wrong with it, and what there is can be replaced cheaply. I've never owned one myself, however, and I've often gotten myself into trouble with more complicated used turntables, and so often wished I had.
4) Phono Preamplifier
Every record playing system requires a Phono Preamplfier, but most often it is a circuit in some other piece of equipment, such as a Preamplifier or Integrated Amplifier or Receiver. Quite often nowadays, however, Preamplifiers don't necessarily include the Phone Preamplifier, you must buy one separately. Even if your Receiver already has a phono preamplifier, a separate one might be better. Most moving coil cartridges require extra amplification which most Receivers and many Preamps won't provide, you have to check for that feature.
Separate phono preamplifiers can cost as little as $29, but those aren't very good. Starting as little as $100, however, they can start getting quite good. Prices go all the way up to astronomical, for which the units may be better or not.
I think the small Emotiva Phono Preamplifier XPS-1 for $209 is quite good, and relatively cheap in this category, but the full sized Emotiva XSP-1 Preamplifier (including Phono) for $1249 is even better. In the past I've used tube preamplifiers, but except for extremely expensive hybrid models, they are too noisy for moving coil cartridges. Though I myself have designed and built tube audio preamplifiers, I do not feel tubes have any special magic in audio anymore, but they do have a cult following, and there are people who like the way particular units sound.
The Emotiva preamps use IC op amps. I do not believe this is a problem because they use some of the best opamps, which are now as good as anything, I believe. But many audiophiles believe tube or discrete transistor circuits are better, and so there is a market for these units from reasonably priced used models to astronomically priced new ones.
5) Preamplifier
The Preamplifier might be a separate unit, but it is often part of another unit such as an Integrated Amplifier or Receiver. This is the unit that most often has a volume control and selector switch. At one time it needed to have amplification, but often that isn't needed anymore, making the name "Preamplifier" a misnomer. I use the Emotiva XSP-1, which includes the phono preamplifier.
6) Power Amplifier
The Power Amplifier is the part of the system that provides actual power to the speakers. It is sometimes part of a Receiver. My first audio systems were based around a receiver, a now vintage Marantz 2270. After using that unit in the 1970's, I moved on to "separates," a separate preamplifier and power amplifier, and I've owned over a dozen power amplifiers since then. There is endless audiophile obsession over different power amplifiers, and yet, in most cases, very little actual difference among them, except when you may need extreme amounts of power.
Hafler was a classic brand of power amplifier of top quality for not very much money. I've owned far more expensive amplifiers myself, and yet I now use a Hafler because it is good sounding and reliable. Parasound, Emotiva, and ATI also make reliable yet relatively inexpensive amplifiers, and there are many other such brands. Expensive amplifiers made by Pass Laboratories and Mark Levinson are fine and reliable, but you probably don't need them.
7) Speakers (or Headphones)
This is where it gets most interesting, because it can hardly be summarized at all. There are many different speaker and headphone technologies, sizes, implementations, and prices, and they all have their adherents.
If you are just starting out, you are almost certain to buy box speakers which have two or more drivers in a box. These can be very good, and different variations exist up to astronomical prices.
But there are also planar speakers which many feel are even better. Planar speakers can be ribbon, planar magnetic, or electrostatic. I myself switched to electrostatic speakers 10 years ago, and I feel they are the ultimate best technology. But I could be wrong; many people feel otherwise.
Likewise, headphones can be cone, planar magnetic, or electrostatic, and I prefer the electrostatic ones, which are generally the most expensive too.
8) Assembly
Generally, you will buy a turntable with arm and cartridge already set up by a seller, especially if it is a store. Otherwise, assembly can be a tricky and complicated business, but one with which most record loving audiophiles ultimately become quite familiar, especially if they have a separate tonearm and turntable.
Hooking the rest of the stuff up is basic audiophile work and shouldn't be that hard.
Many people have first heard records played on an all-in-one player, possibly their own. With very rare exceptions, such as systems made by B&O, these are not very good. To get something really good, you generally have to buy a few separate parts, though a specialty store may be able to sell you everything at once and perform all the assembly required. The parts required are:
1) Phono cartridge. The best cartridges are generally either moving magnet or moving coil. Cheaper systems use ceramic cartridges which are not very good. There are also a few exotics like strain gauge that are barely worth mentioning except to audio fanatics (and yes, I have a few myself, in my collection of exotic stuff).
Moving-magnet cartridges are generally cheaper (though some still get very expensive) and more popular. They generally have a warm sound that is pleasant, but sometimes seems lacking in detail. Moving-coil cartridges are more expensive (but the least expensive ones are not that much more costly than above-average moving-magnets and still highly respected) and generally only used by the most dedicated audiophiles. At best, they can have a neutral sound that is highly detailed. Critics may say they have too much highs. I myself used moving-magnet cartridges for the first 10 years of my own record playing practice, then switched to moving coils, which I like better. One of the least expensive but still highly respected moving coil cartridges is the Denon 103 ($300 brand new). Dynavector also makes highly respected low cost moving coils, which often have high output. I have used Dynavector's most expensive (but lowest output) cartridges since the 1980's (now $1300, my first was a donation). There are hundreds of other brands, and technical variations too complicated to describe in a short article. I can't really advise on moving magnets, but Grado is a well known brand, and makes cartridges available (refurbished) for as little as $50. Technically Grado calls their design moving iron which has some advantages over a conventional moving magnet. Rega, Shure, Stanton, and ADC are a few of the vast number of respected brands.
As with most everything in audio, some phono cartridges, especially moving coils, get astronomically expensive ($20,000 and up). But there are reasonable alternatives as I have suggested which work quite well down to $50, and often the ones that are not-quite-astronomically expensive are available used at much lower prices, and may still work as good as new. Buying used may be part of your audio strategy (it has nearly always been for me, and though I made many mistakes, but I could not have scaled the audio heights any other way). The stylus on a phono cartridge can wear out, however the best used properly will last 2000 hours of usage or more. I have never noticed wear on any of my cartridges. The cartridge internal damping has failed (after 30 years) but the stylus did not wear out, at least in part, because I really haven't played records THAT much in the past 30 years--though I'm playing them now more than in the 1980's.
2) Tonearm
The tonearm is the device which supports the phono cartridge above the record surface.
Most often, the tonearm is part of the turntable system, but many of the best units are equipped to mount other tonearms, and most often the best tonearms are sold separately, and mounted to the best turntables, which often don't come with tonearms.
One of my systems, a Linn Sondek LP12 Valhalla with Ittok tonearm, came as a package with the Ittok tonearm also sold by Linn (made in the 1980's by some Japanese contract manufacturer). Theoretically, I could mount many other tonearms onto the Linn armboard, but I haven't bothered. Instead, I have defied Linn guidelines and traditions by modifying my Ittok arm, coating it with Hockey Tape to provide internal damping. Other famous tonearm manufacturers, like SME, use sophisticated damping systems. I would love to have a recent SME tonearm, which are quite expensive (up to $10k) but what I can afford to do is modify my Ittok, which is still a highly respected arm (but also, following Linn's approach, completely and absolutely undamped, which I don't think is a good idea).
I did buy a separate tonearm for one of my turntables, a Jelco, but I haven't assembled it yet, and I've used separate arms with mixed results in the past. I would say it's the way to go, but I haven't fully gotten there myself.
Quite common on older Rega turntables, and others, are the Rega RB250 and RB300 tonearms. They are quite good, but not as good as the best. One of my friends has a modified RB250.
Some tonearms are linear tracking. This is not a bad idea, but may suffer in the implementation, and they tend not to be as reliable as simpler pivoted arms. I once loved my best linear tracker but haven't repaired it since it's second breakdown.
3) Turntable
As stated, the Turntable usually includes the Tonearm, described above. The rest of the turntable is the spinning platter suspended by some kind of plinth which sits atop a rack, table, or shelf.
Inexpensive but still excellent turntables have been sold by Rega and Music Hall for decades, and now they have a number of competitors such as Project. Famous old but still available brands include Linn, Denon, Pioneer, and Thorens. Linns can get very costly when equipped with all the options, which are only recommended for Linn fanatics.
For quit awhile, there had been a bias towards Belt Drives, including the Linn and Rega and many others. However, it now appears that Direct Drive can be made to work just as well, as can the earlier Idler Wheel turntables. Generally speaking, 50's-70's idler wheel turntables such as consumer Garrard, Dual, and Benjamin Miracord suffered only from a slight rumble, which can be cured using much heavier bases, and then they become perfectly competitive with recent belt drive systems, and some people now prefer them. Brand new idler wheel turntables of inestimable quality are now available for $30K and up. Some audiophiles feel now that idler wheels, at one time cast off as junk, are the ultimate best design, but this is one of a large number of audio cults. I myself purchased an idler wheel Lenco for future modification but haven't gotten around to setting it up with new custom base and arm. My own feeling is there is some truth towards the reverence toward idler drive, but I don't yet have a working one myself, being satisfied with either direct drive or belt drive for many years now, and there never has been anything wrong with a top quality direct drive. What this means is you have many choices among the fashionable and one-time unfashionable in the used market. In the new market, belt drive is the most common at lower prices, and there are a few direct drives such as Pioneer tables for just a bit more.
Ancient idler wheel turntables can sometimes be had as cheaply as free, but may require some basic mechanical work, if you are up to that. Garrards and Lencos are especially highly regarded. Fully refurbished and upgraded professional Garrards may sell for astronomical prices.
Your safest used turntable is a simple belt drive, such as the cheapest Rega models. There's almost nothing to go wrong with it, and what there is can be replaced cheaply. I've never owned one myself, however, and I've often gotten myself into trouble with more complicated used turntables, and so often wished I had.
4) Phono Preamplifier
Every record playing system requires a Phono Preamplfier, but most often it is a circuit in some other piece of equipment, such as a Preamplifier or Integrated Amplifier or Receiver. Quite often nowadays, however, Preamplifiers don't necessarily include the Phone Preamplifier, you must buy one separately. Even if your Receiver already has a phono preamplifier, a separate one might be better. Most moving coil cartridges require extra amplification which most Receivers and many Preamps won't provide, you have to check for that feature.
Separate phono preamplifiers can cost as little as $29, but those aren't very good. Starting as little as $100, however, they can start getting quite good. Prices go all the way up to astronomical, for which the units may be better or not.
I think the small Emotiva Phono Preamplifier XPS-1 for $209 is quite good, and relatively cheap in this category, but the full sized Emotiva XSP-1 Preamplifier (including Phono) for $1249 is even better. In the past I've used tube preamplifiers, but except for extremely expensive hybrid models, they are too noisy for moving coil cartridges. Though I myself have designed and built tube audio preamplifiers, I do not feel tubes have any special magic in audio anymore, but they do have a cult following, and there are people who like the way particular units sound.
The Emotiva preamps use IC op amps. I do not believe this is a problem because they use some of the best opamps, which are now as good as anything, I believe. But many audiophiles believe tube or discrete transistor circuits are better, and so there is a market for these units from reasonably priced used models to astronomically priced new ones.
5) Preamplifier
The Preamplifier might be a separate unit, but it is often part of another unit such as an Integrated Amplifier or Receiver. This is the unit that most often has a volume control and selector switch. At one time it needed to have amplification, but often that isn't needed anymore, making the name "Preamplifier" a misnomer. I use the Emotiva XSP-1, which includes the phono preamplifier.
6) Power Amplifier
The Power Amplifier is the part of the system that provides actual power to the speakers. It is sometimes part of a Receiver. My first audio systems were based around a receiver, a now vintage Marantz 2270. After using that unit in the 1970's, I moved on to "separates," a separate preamplifier and power amplifier, and I've owned over a dozen power amplifiers since then. There is endless audiophile obsession over different power amplifiers, and yet, in most cases, very little actual difference among them, except when you may need extreme amounts of power.
Hafler was a classic brand of power amplifier of top quality for not very much money. I've owned far more expensive amplifiers myself, and yet I now use a Hafler because it is good sounding and reliable. Parasound, Emotiva, and ATI also make reliable yet relatively inexpensive amplifiers, and there are many other such brands. Expensive amplifiers made by Pass Laboratories and Mark Levinson are fine and reliable, but you probably don't need them.
7) Speakers (or Headphones)
This is where it gets most interesting, because it can hardly be summarized at all. There are many different speaker and headphone technologies, sizes, implementations, and prices, and they all have their adherents.
If you are just starting out, you are almost certain to buy box speakers which have two or more drivers in a box. These can be very good, and different variations exist up to astronomical prices.
But there are also planar speakers which many feel are even better. Planar speakers can be ribbon, planar magnetic, or electrostatic. I myself switched to electrostatic speakers 10 years ago, and I feel they are the ultimate best technology. But I could be wrong; many people feel otherwise.
Likewise, headphones can be cone, planar magnetic, or electrostatic, and I prefer the electrostatic ones, which are generally the most expensive too.
8) Assembly
Generally, you will buy a turntable with arm and cartridge already set up by a seller, especially if it is a store. Otherwise, assembly can be a tricky and complicated business, but one with which most record loving audiophiles ultimately become quite familiar, especially if they have a separate tonearm and turntable.
Hooking the rest of the stuff up is basic audiophile work and shouldn't be that hard.
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