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dukeofmadnessmotors t1_itdujnz wrote

The hierarchy of what will affect your sound the most is

Quality of media (in this case vinyl albums)

Speakers

Cartridge

Turntable

Amplifier

within reason, of course. Thousand dollar speakers won't do much if your other equipment is ridiculously cheap or if the record is damaged.

The more you spend on a component generally means higher quality, less noise, less distortion, etc. You should read a variety of reviews, while keeping in mind that most professional reviews will never say a piece of equipment is bad or overpriced, you kind of have to read between the lines to figure that out. User reviews tend to be overly positive because of course purchasers like to believe that they selected the right component. But do your research before you buy.

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blues-brother90 t1_itdg1ya wrote

If you're gonna buy new vinyl, then something around $200 will do the job. Also keep in mind that your record player is part of a system where the amp is the key to have a good sound.

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LitelPipol OP t1_itdhdmy wrote

Yeah I know it's very important to have a good amp system but don't quite understand what's the difference between a cheap record player or an expensive one

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captain_joe6 t1_itdihgn wrote

It’s pretty much the same as anything else: you’re paying for more and better precision, more vibration damping, more aesthetics, more exotic materials, that kind of thing.

In this case, putting an AT-LP60 against a, say, a Pro-Ject Debut, the Debut has the more solid body, the more solid platter, a carbon tonearm, comes with a better cartridge, and moves the power supply off-board to the wall. All of those improvements move it into a different echelon of performance, which will cause you fewer headaches over time.

It’s relatively easy to get something to play a record, but it takes some finesse to play a record well, and that costs some money.

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Kayback2 t1_itdioqv wrote

The quality of the pickup will differ. A cheap one won't necessarily have the quality of the expensive ones, using a steel needle Vs a diamond needle or the like. There's also the problem of cheaper units having arms that aren't balanced properly. And incorrectly balanced arm can wear your vinyl, which is a problem if you're playing "originals". If you're playing some mass produced modern stuff that you can replace you may not care.

My cheapy unit has a "heavy" head putting around 7grams of weight on the records.

That may not be an issue for you.

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oconnellc t1_itgangh wrote

You'll be shocked at how good modern amplifiers are. The amp will not be the key to your system unless it is very cheap. Speakers and even room treatments will have a much higher impact

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tonetonitony t1_itdlmce wrote

Cheap record players usually sound decent. The problem is they gradually destroy your records. That’s why you want to buy a recommended model and not whatever is on sale at Target. If you do some research, though, you can pick up a really killer vintage turntable for a great price.

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Birdapotamus t1_ite86xh wrote

A cheap table can ruin records due to cheap needles and poor tracking. When the price gets up around $300 is about when you start getting some quality. A plastic shell, platter, or tone arm are all big no-no's. If you are serious about vinyl look for a Technics SL-1200. New will be about a grand and used still fetch a pretty high price. They are built like tanks and have fantastic sound with an easily adjustable weight tuning system and needle swap. This is why they have been the DJ standard for 50 years.

If you are a serious listener avoid picture disk vinyl, those are only good for display and collecting. Colored vinyl is fine, picture vinyl uses a thin layer of clear plastic for the grooves. The plastic layer starts out with subpar quality and rapidly get worse.

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VosKing t1_itge6vy wrote

Buy an average priced one.. vinyl is compressed music which is of low quality. People who pay thousands on record players are comical.

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scoopbins t1_itdrxc1 wrote

Buy a second hand technics 1210 or 1200 and a decent cartridge

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wordyshipmate82 t1_itg6hvk wrote

If you have a record store nearby, go there and talk to them, they will be honest and not try to sell you something absurd, but yeah, for a couple hundred, you can get something that meets your needs for sure.

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TylerHeyOk t1_itdmyuk wrote

Get the audiotechnica lp-60x. Good starter. Love mine

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AbreakaTech001 t1_itdj6sr wrote

I got one of those $100 6-in-1 wooden Victrola nostalgia boxes from Walmart about seven years ago and it's always been perfect. I'm not an audiophile by any means so a sound snob probably wouldn't like it, but I've run records, tapes and CDs on it every day for nearly a decade with no issues.

What kind of music do you listen to? In my experience, records produced after the 70's have a noticeable downgrade in general quality. Every new record I've ever bought skips right out of the store. Records older than the 70's seem to do fine, though. As much as I love records, I wouldn't recommend them to anyone listening to music from the 80's, 90's or later. Get a tape/CD player.

Never get a portable record player. It's a waste of money and it'll ruin your records.

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