Can a cheap turntable damage records (MY 1ST POST!)

They have the rega P1 for $395 and free shipping!

 

No offense taken. The input is actually much appreciated. I admit, it does sound a bit lazy. In my mind, (which naturally can still be changed) I've pretty much decided on the Project 3. I've arrived at this choice mainly out of financial considerations (it's the cheapest model) and a belief that the 3 tables I'm considering and largely the same (at least to the eyes and ears of a new convert such as myself). Being that I know exactly what I want, it's tought to resist just clicking the mouse and waiting a week.

 

I bought two of my sons entry level turntables and set them both up with a bunch of records I had doubles of. I wanted to do a needle drop of a very old album to make a CD for my father in law, so I used one of their cheapie tables as it was way easier to hook up to my computer. I just cleaned the album, dropped the needle and ran with it.

The needle drop turned out so good, I thought I would do a couple of old albums that I do not have on CD, so I could put them on my i-pod. Before doing so, I wanted to make sure the thing would not chew up my good records, so I took a look at it... No adjustments of ANY kind, tonearm was the cheapest looking piece of plastic garbage you can imagine. I attempted to measure tracking force, but my Shure gauge only goes to 3 grams and it BURIED that.

Long story short, I would not play one of my valuable records on a player like that...

 

Seen this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MIK9WcSDtU&feature=related

 

wut.

i guess they subscribe to the DJ school of good tracking: MORE WEIGHT. i can't say i blame you for not letting your good records touch it.

 

Yea, flawless marketing! It's what sold me on the Project.

 

ever been in a club? it's not cool or cool sounding to hear a needle jump off a record. is it good for a record? no.

 

OK Grasshopper, if you are going to get into this vinyl or audio thing, you need to be PATIENT. You came a long way in a couple of days, but it is just a couple of days. For some reason, people get emotional when it comes to turntables. Read through various forums on the topic of turntables and you will see what I mean. You say you know what you want, but you still have no direct experience with any of these tables. If you live and breathe music, find the B & M places and spend a day auditioning some turntables. That is the only way you will know for sure that a turntable is for you.

Though TTs may look similar, things like different tonearms, plinths, motors, and carts will affect the presentation, in some cases subtly, and other cases not so subtly. While I have heard the Debut III and thought it sounded pretty good, if it were me, I would audition it if there were a local dealer who had one to demo, or even compare it to its competition.

 

And it's a hell of a lot of fun. Kind of like going to a guitar shop and playing some guitars. Sure, there may be lots that are out of your price range, but playing and experiencing them will give you a great idea about what's out there and what you will like, even among what you can afford.

 

Good point about musical instruments. Anyhow, some of the guys who run these audio stores know a lot about audio, so it is potentially a good resource, though not always an unbiased one.

 

LOL. I guess you're right. After all, financial limitations are forcing me to wait a solid month before I can make the purchase. May as well use the time wisely.

 

In the relatively short time I've been collecting vinyl, I've managed to acquire a decent collection (and likely should have spent this money on a GOOD turntable). Anyway, I highly value many of these records, some have become like gold to me. Should I just disconnect this crappy turntable and wait patiently for my "real" turntable. The thought of doing damage to some of these out of print records makes me cringe.

 

Yes, you should do that. Put it on craigslist and see what happens. And look around. You might find something like this. (no affiliation - I just found that in a search, and am fond of Technics direct drive turntables)

 

Wow, that's a deal!

Can you believe this? I went to start playing CDs again and my crappy CD player died.

Earlier, someone expressed surprise that I found the crappy turntable to an improvement over CDs. The reason may be because my digital set-up was apallingly bad. I've always used one of those all-in-one stereo systems that retail at Wal-Mart for like $80. When the CD player stopped working, I started sending a CD walkman through the AUX jack (I realize that by posting this here I'm making people cringe). My CD walkman just officially stopped working. Great, either risk damaging my records or spend a week with no music.

 

Got an antenna? That receiver probably has a pretty good FM radio. You can find CD players for next to nothing at thrift stores and on craigslist. Check your local salvation army or other thrift store.

 

Philadelphia radio playlists are AWFUL. They'll pick about 20 played out songs and play them over and over and over. On the plus side, I've discovered NPR and a radio station out of Temple University that specializes in Classical and Jazz with my new receiver!

Good call regarding CD players on Craigs List. I'll have to check that out.

I just realized I can likely send my MP3 player through the reciever using the same wires I used for my CD Walkman. I have connections for a CD Player, Tape Deck, Sattelite Radio, then connections for a DVD Player and Video. Can I send my MP3 player through ANY connection or should I stick with the connection for a CD player?

 

WRTI

 

Oh, wow. You guys get that in Milwaukee? I thought it was just local. Radio worth listening to! I never made it a point to actually listen to radio until I found this station.

 

No, don't get it in Milwaukee (though who knows, maybe they have a streaming version)

I grew up in South Jersey. WRTI was my first introduction to jazz back in the early 80s.

 

I'm a fairly new convert to jazz. My little guitar obsession led me to guys led Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, and Joe Pass. That sort of opened my mind up to jazz in general and I've been hearing A LOT of it through WRTI.

 

Other greats of jazz guitar include Grant Green (my avatar), Tal Farlow, Barney Kessel, and Pat Metheny.

Here is a link to a nice performance of Farlow and Kessel, probably from European TV in the 70s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFps6V5o8y4&feature=player_embedded#

 

Farlow and Kessel are the 2 guys on that list I've never heard of. I'll check that link out.

I've actually been meaning to check out Grant Green.

 

That clip was quite tasty. Tal's fingers are like ten inches long. What a monster.

 

You should go to your nearest store and get Grant's Idle Moments...right now!

 

Def on my shortlist of albums to buy.