I’m coming into this area as a practical and philosophical result of:

  1. me wanting to own my music
  2. CDs are barely being made
    2.1. If they are - they’re not being shipped to my corner of the world
  3. Torrenting often failed me in terms of variety.

However - I am absolutely ignorant about equipment, maintainance, and know-hows of the audiophile world.

  • Brkdncr
    12·
    4 天前

    Vinyl isn’t a cheap hobby.

    • You need a decent record player.
    • Used is fine.
    • It should feel heavy.
    • The arm should not be designed straight unless you’re a scratch dj.
    • It should use a standard head shell so that replacing the needle is simple.
    • “Direct drive” motors are nice but not essential.
    • Automatic stylus return is essential.
    • Technics brsnd “1200” series players will be overpriced but a lot of others are out there. I have a pair but use a Gemini brand player for listening.
    • Pitch control isn’t essential.
    • You should calibrate the counter weights and other settings to avoid excessive wear on your records.
    • You need to place the player on a solid surface that is not near speakers.
    • You need a line level converter and you must attach the ground.
    • You need a record cleaning brush.
    • You need space for the records. Lots of space.
    • Don’t leave records in a car or somewhere that gets hot or they will warp.
    • daggermoon
      3·
      3 天前

      Many respectable (even high end) turntables have a straight tone arm.

      • Brkdncr
        1·
        3 天前

        It causes additional wear. Looks modern though.

    • El BartoEnglish
      3·
      4 天前

      You need to place the player on a solid surface that is not near speakers.

      What’s this about?

      • daggermoon
        3·
        3 天前

        vibrations from the speakers can cause unpleasant noise and distortion or even cause the record to skip.

      • Kolossos
        4·
        4 天前

        Most likely so that the vibrations from the speakers does not interfere with the records playback. As the needle should touch the LP as lightly a possible.

        • El BartoEnglish
          1·
          4 天前

          Oh okay. I grew up with vinyls. I never noticed anything of that sort, though I admit that the turntable wasn’t too close to the speakers. I’ve my clumsy 10-year-old ass did bump a few times into the player, causing it to skip. It was just part of life back then.

      • Brkdncr
        3·
        4 天前

        Speakers vibrate. You don’t want vibrations getting to the needle or you get feedback.

        You also don’t want the player moving around as it can cause the needle to jump.

        • El BartoEnglish
          1·
          4 天前

          Ok, thanks. I thought it was something else.

    • ReginaPhalangeOP
      21·
      4 天前

      What do you think about audio technica AT-LP70X model? It looks fine for audiophile beginners.

      • Brkdncr
        3·
        4 天前

        yeah that’s probably fine, i don’t have any experience with it myself though. AT is known to be decent and deserves credit for staying in vinyl business even when everyone else was exiting it.

        I personally would check out the local 2nd-hand stores, pawn shops, and estate sales for a week or two 1st to see if there’s anything laying around though. I paid $75 for my old gemini from a vintage/antique shop 5 years ago and I think all it needed was a new cart and soldering of some new line-out leads. Anything Technics will be overpriced but i regularly come across gear from the 70’s and 80’s that probably work great. I suppose i should buy them up, fix them, and get them into people’s homes.

      • daggermoon
        1·
        3 天前

        Yeah it’s fine. I started out with an LP60 and I had no complaints.