Best turntable $500

a used technics 1200?

 

Excellent advice. I picked up the Pro-Ject Debut III (Rolling Stones edition) last year for $249, probably one of the last orders actually fulfilled by a now-defunct audio purveyor. Soon thereafter, I added a Pro-Ject phono box which was $79 on Amazon. I may not be the most discerning of audio enthusiasts in these pages but I know what I like and I am absolutely enamored with the performance and sound I'm getting out of this TT. I have no upgrade itch to scratch with the exception of perhaps an acrylic platter and eventually, a new cartridge (it came stock with an Ortofon Red, I believe, and I have zero complaints so might as well keep it until replacement is required). Easy set-up as well per the instructions.

As such, there appear to be some excellent open-box deals on the Music Direct site which might be the way to go to ensure you have some $$$ leftover for other items you need to get your vinyl experience rolling which I hope you enjoy. Don't get hung up on whether vinyl sounds better than digital, it is simply another way to enjoy music that sounds wonderful in its own right, just as other formats can sound terrific as well. It is all good!

(Although vinyl done right sounds so sweet! )

 

wow lots of good info here- thanks everyone. And thanks for being honest and not sugar coating what to expect from the budget I gave. I will take all the info along with what I have been looking at. All good points, suggestions made. True the last thing I would want to do is rush into it and be disappointed ( I do tend to rush into things sometimes) but I don't want to on this if I decide. Maybe take a day trip to a store and possibly up the budget and read, read , read and learn more.

One good thing though, I mentioned this before I think in another thread- but I am ahead of the curve in the vinyl department, I recently acquired a few hundred Vinyl albums all original from the 70's to mid 80's in excellent condition, that really haven't been played in about 30 + years. Also a couple of cases of 45's. So if I decide to make the jump at least I have a good starting point to test things out before I decide to actually buy any vinyl. Looking at all the records and reading about other peoples love for it is what really peaked my interest.

 

Great deal! Unfortunately these deals are becoming few and far between. Here is a list of my tables and what I paid:

Kenwood KD-2055 $30.00 (currently have an offer for $125)
Technics SL-1200 MK-I $5.99 (yes 5 dollars and 99 cents at Salvation Army about 6 years ago)
Sony PS-X50 $110.00 (prob the best of the bunch)
Marantz 6100 $12.00 (still needs a belt and some general maintenance)
Project/One DR-770 $0.00 (inherited from ex-brother in law) (a great table I see go for under $100 on a regular basis)
SOTA Comet $599 (the worst of the bunch)
Marantz 6300 $175 (the second worst of the bunch)
Harman-Kardan ST7 with Rabco $29.99 (I would rather have back the $29.99)
another SL-1200 MK1- $50.00 (couldn't pass this up!)
another PS-X50 $70.00 (bought for parts, but ended up fixing it up to full operation)

I doubt anything new under 500 would match any of these. Except for the Sota, 6300, and the HK. But like I stated these deals are becoming rare these days. Look for the DR-770!

 

Make sure you get a good cleaning system for those albums. I recently took some records out of storage that were boxed up for 15+ years and even those were quite dusty and some needed serious cleaning. I also think record cleaning is one of the areas where people new to this tend to skimp. I realize you are on a tight budget but you can get started with a Spin Clean or start saving some $ for a manual RCM ($200ish).

 

OT is right! Even an Orbitrac by Allsop is a good choice as an entry cleaning system.

Clean Records are essential to prolonging your LP enjoyment.

 

Get yourself a decent record cleaner. Those old records will be filthy (possible have mold as well). Pick up one of the Record Doctor vacuum type cleaners (or similar). Keep your records and your stylus clean to prevent excessive wear of both the record and the stylus. You will be amazed how much better your records will sound when properly cleaned. Clean your stylus with a stylus brush after each record. Brush from back to front ONLY.

 

if you're sitting on that many records this is a no brainer. get a tt. if you have a hi fi store anywhere near you go get some advice.

in my opinion, you can get in the game for 500 bucks. just use the phono pre on your existing amp. that means you just need a turntable and cartridge to get started. you can ALWAYS upgrade as you go...that's what most of us do. good luck!

 

you bet- if I go into this it will be full force ( just my personality) cleaning included of course.The vinyl was stored inside the house inside album cases, so all is good there. took a bunch out of the jackets and they look pretty clean already so thats good. the person who owned these always took care of his stuff. Some are still in their shrink wrap with original price sticker on them. Fun to see how much stuff cost back then.

Also after doing some more research it seems I am up to increasing my budget. Again this something Don't want to rush into. want to narrow down options and take it from there. still trying to read through the multiple threads on this site and other places. info overload for sure.

 

The records that I took out of storage "looked clean" too but they weren't. That's despite them being in sealed boxes and outer sleeves. Most of the dust on vinyl tends to be embedded in the grooves, and you can't see it with the naked eye. Even new albums can be quite dirty, depending on what plant they were pressed at. My point is, don't trust "looks clean".

 

How about this brand new. Includes cartridge, lots of adjustable features if you wish to improve on this choice. Lots of rave reviews, you also get a warranty and company support over the phone.

RT85 Reference Turntable with Ortofon 2M Blue Cartridge and Acrylic Platter - Piano Black | Fluance | Fluance

 

You are taking the right approach.

 

Except, don't buy any TT with the Red, always spend the difference and U/G to the Blue.

 

funny I was just reading about this on this site- seems like a nice player- will review more
Fluance RT85 Turntable

 

you are correct. Its something I would do regardless. I'm kind of a neat freak anyways-especially when it comes to AV gear.

 

Unfortunately they can't keep them in stock. Because they have been so popular from the start, I see a price increase as soon as they can keep up with the demand.

 

My normal advice with this type of thread is to advise extreme caution. With this information though, you might as well jump in. No real advice on a turntable other than to say local vintage if your location works for that.

 

Bottom line -- play them first. There may be upside here too --- maybe the original owner took care of them, cleaned them and they play fine with maybe only touch up needed! No reason to assume the worst, don't assume anything till you try them. They you might be able to get buy with simple cleaning methods to start until you decide how much you want to spend on cleaning.... and whether an expensive RCM fits your needs.

But play them first!

PS - don't make the LP cleaning overly complex. Before you know it you'll be spending 3x what your TT costs on an RCM, and having to order out for expensive lotions and potions that cost too much when you can make perfectly good solutions at home yourself. Cleaning records is not rocket science.

 

FWIW, I will be the first to admit that I am more anal than most people about cleaning. I've been through a lot of cleaning methods and have finally arrived at something I consider good enough.

Part of the reason for this is that while I got into vinyl originally during the 90s I left the format for over a decade before coming back to it maybe 6 years ago. During that time I exclusively listened to CDs and digital music. So my tolerance for bad pressings, dusty records, sub-VG+ vinyl, etc at this point might be a lot lower than most people. There are some plants where I won't even buy records pressed by them anymore, because their rate of defects is so high.

Even with NOS sealed records, which I buy from time to time, I often find them intolerable to play before cleaning because the paper sleeves break down over time and deposit dust in the grooves. I bought a sealed NOS jazz record from the 70s last week and it was like that. The record looked amazing because it was sealed for decades but I could see the paper sleeve dust and knew it would bother me. So I cleaned that record on my RCM before playing it.

I have a friend that has over 7,000 records and comes from a DJ background. I've tried to get him to upgrade to an RCM but he likes the Spin Clean and uses it religiously now. A lot of his records are dirty from DJ use and he used to not care about cleaning until he started using the Spin Clean more.

Back in the 90s I used an RCA Discwasher and old t-shirts to clean my records. Can't imagine doing that now.

 

I don't get why Red gets so good reviews. It's a horrible tracker. Blue is completely different beast.

 

Since I've had tons of experience with them, I would highly recommend the AT-LP120-USB. It's hard to beat them and you'll have some money left over to put towards a cartridge upgrade. If all you need is the 33/45 speeds and the records you play were cut at the correct speed, the AT-LP5 would be another excellent choice. One advantage these TT have over the more expensive "high-tech" TT's is that they use interchangeable universal headshells, so swapping to a more appropriate cartridge to play different types of records makes it a snap. If a TT looks cheap and/or something that was branded Fisher-Price, it usually is.

 

thanks. Interchangeable cartridge? I guess something else to look at. a lot of factors from what I have been reading. direct vs belt. auto vs manual shut off etc. more stuff to learn

 

An idea.
Name the 3 closest Craigslist Cities that you are willing to drive to.

Sit back and follow the links that are bound to show up in this Thread over the next 72 hours.

 

And it's a great option. The PL-518 is even better.

 

Fluance tables also have detachable headshells. My inclination would be to try an RT85, as the platter and cart upgrades from the 82 are stupid cheap- $300+ worth for $200. Then, if the 85 were to be a keeper, grab another headshell from Fluance for $20 and bang on a cheap cart for the not so nice records, thus saving the 2M Blue for the good ones.