Hi Forum, I need some help deciding what would be a good record player to purchase. What does your set-up look like?
My first record player purchase was the Crosley CR6249A-TA Keepsake Portable USB Turntable
http://www.amazon.com/Crosley-CR6249A-TA-Keepsake-Portable-Turntable/dp/B008AFYZ1M/ref=sr_1_13?s=aht&srs=2529210011&ie=UTF8&qid=1384121925&sr=1-13&keywords=crosley (http://www.amazon.com/Crosley-CR6249A-TA-Keepsake-Portable-Turntable/dp/B008AFYZ1M/ref=sr_1_13?s=aht&srs=2529210011&ie=UTF8&qid=1384121925&sr=1-13&keywords=crosley)
It did it's job and made things very simple. It lasted from February 2012- September 2013 before it stopped taking power.
Any recommendations? I will also need to purchase speakers. Hoping to spend somewhere between 200- 300 (obviously the cheaper, the better).
Thanks for your help!
I've had this one since July, and I love it:
http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT-LP120-USB-Direct-Drive-Professional-Turntable/dp/B002S1CJ2Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384122558&sr=8-1&keywords=audio+technica+lp120 (http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT-LP120-USB-Direct-Drive-Professional-Turntable/dp/B002S1CJ2Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384122558&sr=8-1&keywords=audio+technica+lp120)
Not a bad recommendation by EC. Here's another one to consider:
http://uturnaudio.com/ (http://uturnaudio.com/)
For a small integrated amp, I'd consider this:
http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/amplifiers/products/a100 (http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/amplifiers/products/a100)
You could also go cheaper by going used/vintage on the amp.
I also recommend used/vintage speakers. Something like Dynaco A-25's or Kef, but I'm a fan of their smooth midrange. Depends what kind of music you listen to. Check Craigslist, ebay, and your local pawn shops and Goodwills!
Let us know how they are live.
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If you are starting from scratch you will need a turntable, a receiver, and a phono preamp. You will need a phono preamp to connect the the turntable to the receiver. Older receivers will possibly have a phono jack, newer models will likely not. If you have, or get a receiver with a phono jack then it is not necessary to get the preamp.
When putting together my setup I didn't have a ton of money to spend so I really wanted to get the most bang for my buck while keeping everything under $500 or so.
I would suggest checking craigslist for a turntable. Technics is a good place to start...I got a lower end one (SL-BD22) for $65 that works well. The Techinics 1200 is widely considered the best turntable, those run about $500 on craigslist from what I've seen.
I didn't know anything about preamps when I was starting out. They can range from $20 to $1000 and everywhere in between. I did a fair amount of research and got this nice phono preamp that costs $50:
http://www.amazon.com/ART-II-Preamplifier-Outputs-Switchable/dp/B000AJR482 (http://www.amazon.com/ART-II-Preamplifier-Outputs-Switchable/dp/B000AJR482)
Again, it's not the greatest preamp out there, but it's very affordable and overall a great value.
If you need a receiver you can check craigslist again. Marantz and Denon are 2 good choices to look for. I got my receiver on www.tech.woot.com (http://www.tech.woot.com). They don't always have receivers on there but if you check often they will pop up regularly. I grabbed this one along with 5 Boston Acoustics speakers and a subwoofer for $275 shipped. http://tech.woot.com/offers/denon-5-1ch-a-v-home-theater-system-4 (http://tech.woot.com/offers/denon-5-1ch-a-v-home-theater-system-4)
It took me about 4 months, about $400, and a good amount of research to put all of these pieces together, but I am very happy with the sounds I get when playing vinyl.