Need a turntable for my dad, nothing terribly expensive...thoughts?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by McGuy, Nov 21, 2018.

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  1. McGuy

    McGuy All Mc, all the time... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago
    I see that Music Direct has some pretty good deals on the Pro-Ject Debut III and the Music Hall 2.2. I'm trying to say under $400 or so since he's just going to use it for the albums he already has and he's not really that into music. Figured it might be a nice gift for the holidays. I personally have a VPI Prime Scout and a U-Turn Orbit Plus - and I was thinking the U-turn but in my mind, I feel that a pro-ject or music hall are better machines, I could be very wrong. Any opinions on these or others?
     
  2. SoundDoctor

    SoundDoctor Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    $200 Debut III. Can't get any better for the price.
     
  3. classicrocker

    classicrocker Life is good!

    Location:
    Worcester, MA, USA
    If want something easy to use and low maintenance the owners on this forum seem to like the higher end AudioTechnicas. Basically plug and play once the cartridge is setup.
     
  4. clhboa

    clhboa Forum Resident

    $200 for the Debut III is a pretty good deal. Mine was $299. However about a year ago I had a 2M Blue installed on mine that greatly improved it's sound (as well as having the arm tweaked a bit). Sounds pretty nice in my secondary system. Nothing fancy but it should meet your Dad's needs.
     
    McGuy likes this.
  5. Aereoplain

    Aereoplain Forum Resident

    Location:
    NC
    Can’t go wrong with any you mentioned. It will be a great gift that he will enjoy.
    You already know the U turn, nothing wrong with that. What you want is simplicity and
    and support if there is an issue.
     
    H8SLKC and longdist01 like this.
  6. McGuy

    McGuy All Mc, all the time... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago
    thanks all. the goal is out of the box play. he won't be able to tweak anything. of course, i first need to find out if his pioneer receiver has a phono output... it's fairly new, so it's a toss up.
     
  7. csgreene

    csgreene Forum Resident

    Location:
    Idaho, USA
    From what I read, I think one of these lower cost 1200 wannabes would be your best choice, I'd look at something like that AT120. All these other tables are completely manual and, I believe, require a lot more hands on involvement. Pioneer has a pretty reasonably priced table as do a few of the other old names. And aren't most at least semi-automatic if not fully automatic? If he doesn't have other gear and you get a table with the pre-amp built in, all he needs is a pair of active speakers.
     
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  8. SpeedMorris

    SpeedMorris Forum Resident

    Location:
    Iowa
    That is definitely a fine deal. I imagine a lot would depend on Dad's system and condition of his records. Obviously, you get a nicer arm, cart and plinth with the 2.2. If cosmetics are a factor, the 2.2 wins big. A black leather mat on either would add a richer look, especially to the 2.2. The $199 price would make the mat and maybe a cable upgrade hurt less. (If I were Pops- and I am a 65-year old Pops- I'd like the 2.2 with a deerhide mat.;))

    If you/he have a concern about heavy fingers, you might look at the Fluance RT-81 because of the automatic stop feature. I've read that letting it run in for 24 hours stabilizes the speed.
     
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  9. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    I'd go Audio-Technica and AT LP-120 USB or higher. More practical for a casual user, and comes with a good AT 95e cartridge to boot.
     
    The FRiNgE and csgreene like this.
  10. The FRiNgE

    The FRiNgE Forum Resident

    Some of the current intro- turntables are known for anti-skate problems, groove skipping, and other strange symptoms (such as line hum rebellion)
    My suggestion... go on eBay or the local thrift and go super-frugal with a belt drive Pioneer, Sony, Technics, Onkyo, or Hitachi (yes, Hitachi made some good quality belt drives) Buy a new belt (measure it and purchase on eBay) There are some direct drive models for about $100.00, clean used on eBay. These turntables from the 80's 90's are trouble free, and seldom exhibit strange incurable symptoms from another quantum realm. You then have some extra $$ to invest in a phono pre, and/or robust mm cartridge.
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2018
    Cronverc, BrentB and nosliw like this.
  11. SpeedMorris

    SpeedMorris Forum Resident

    Location:
    Iowa
    The AT120 is manual, too, however. Oddly, Vinyl TV on YouTube says his Fluance belt drive keeps speed better than his 120 (and he prefers the sound of the Fluance). Ian of HiViNyws on YouTube found bearing and anti-skate problems with the 120 in his budget table shootout. I also thought the lowly Pro-Ject Primary sounded clearly better in the samples he played in his vid.

    The Pro-Ject and MH tables could conceivably have the noisy motor issue that some experience, but McGuy appears to be in Chicago where Music Direct is, and you get 60 days to run them through the paces. I'd just avoid the Debut Carbon, as that seems to be the prime culprit for issues.
     
  12. Cyclone Ranger

    Cyclone Ranger New old stock

    Location:
    Best Coast USA
    U-Turn with a good cart. Like a 2M Blue or Nagaoka mp110.
    .
     
    beowulf, H8SLKC and SoundDoctor like this.
  13. tvstrategies

    tvstrategies Turtles, all the way down.

    Why get a crappy modern TT when you can buy a better vintage machine like a 1970s Dual or a Thorens? Put a Ortofon or Grado cartridge on and you’re golden
     
  14. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    Get the U-Turn. It's better built than the budget Pro-Jects and you'll get real customer support should any problems arise.
     
  15. It depends on what kind of records that your dad is going to play. There are some super deals at Amazon for the Audio Technica AT-LP120-USB. It plays 33, 45 and 78 rpm records, plus has a wide-range speed pitch control to play those records which weren't cut at the correct speed.. It comes with an AT95e cartridge. It has a switchable pre-amp, so as long as an amp/receiver has an auxiliary input it will plug and play. With the USB output, it can be hooked up to a computer to make needle drops or use the computer's soundcard to play through the computer's speakers. It is a true plug and play, right out of the box and you can have it playing in less than 10 minutes.
    An upgrade, and also a little more expensive, is the AT-LP5. It is also direct drive, but only plays 33 and 45 rpm fixed speeds, with no pitch adjustment. It also has a built-in switchable pre-amp and a USB output. It comes, pre-mounted with AT95EX next generation of moving magnet cartridges in the VM family.
    Either AT turntable will blow the pants off of a U-Turn turntable, any day.
    The U-Turns have been known to have issues, few features and little adjustability. This is why a U-Turn Orbit turntable which I was given is in my turntable graveyard sitting on a shelf in one of my storage sheds.
    Some of the superior AT features:
    1). No belts to change or replace
    2). Removable universal headshell, so you can mount different cartridges in different headshells and just swap them out
    3). Instant speed change by just pushing a button or turning a knob
    4). An adjustable working anti-skate(yes they work and are effective as I have 2 AT-120LP's, so I know from hands-on experience)
    5). Standard cue-lift
    6). The AT-LP120 has adjustable tone arm height, so if you put a thicker mat on, you can raise up the tone arm to keep the geometry correct.

    Watch out for the Audio Technica turntable nay-sayers. Often they will rave about how good AT cartridges are but then they badmouth the turntables. Many different turntables are made in China and come out of, maybe, 2 different factories. These are the same factories that many of the U.S. turntable manufacturers source their motors from. I just got a new AT cartridge and guess where it was made? China.
     
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  16. astro8585

    astro8585 Forum Resident

    Location:
    27301
    My vote goes to the MH 2.2. I have two of them. At $299 (used to be ~$450 before the 2.3 arrived) think it's a great value and worth the bit extra.
     
  17. bever70

    bever70 Let No-one Live Rent Free in Your Head!

    Location:
    Belgium
    For someone who isn't really into music I would at least get a semi-automatic. No offence but most people like this don't want to be bothered to wait for the last note to be played so they can rush to the tt and lift the arm. They might play a record but do something else in the meantime which also implies that on some occasions the record might keep on spinning at the end of a side for a while before the arm gets lifted....imho. In this situation a direct drive would also be a plus vs. a belt drive, less hassle....
     
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  18. Purplerocks

    Purplerocks Forum Resident

    Location:
    IN
    As the OP states that his dad is “not really that into music” I’d say the turntable should be as user friendly as possible, over audiophile standards, so a semi auto would be essential imo.
     
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  19. cdash99

    cdash99 Senior Member

    Location:
    Mass
    Great point. I have a Debut III, for which I purchased a Q-up in case I step out when the side ends. For my backup system I purchased the semi automatic entry level Denon TT for this very reason.
     
    McGuy likes this.
  20. KT88

    KT88 Senior Member

    If he's "not really that into music", then I'd consider something else for him. ;)
    -Bill
     
  21. Lebowski

    Lebowski Hey, careful man, there's a beverage here!

    Location:
    Greater Boston
    Give him yours and get yourself an upgrade. :D
     
  22. McGuy

    McGuy All Mc, all the time... Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago
    Hah! I think giving him a VPI Prime Scout would give him a heart attack! And I'm at the point where I don't see upgrading from the VPI even though I know there are better TTs out there...
     
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  23. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    The good AT carts are made in Japan. Apples to Oranges.
     
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  24. Dougr33

    Dougr33 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Twin Cities, MN
    very strong +1
     
  25. Guitarded

    Guitarded Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana
    I would suggest getting him a semi-auto at the very least. Something along the lines of a Marantz 6110 / 6100 should be easy enough to get for your budget.
     
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