Best working turntable under or at 250 dollars?

I already have 70 vinyl records in my collection, and I still buy more. I just need something a bit more budget friendly, and some of these really do look nice.

 

Unfortunately nothing in vinyl playback is budget friendly. $150/year for Qobuz high-res subscription seems to be better application for the money you have. When you start buying a dozen or more LPs per month, you won't feel bad about spending $1000 for a turntable to play them. Other things will also be required too to enjoy vinyl sound - like record cleaning machine. If you are not ready for that yet, Qobuz 24/192 FLAC stream will offer better sound quality than any LP unless you put $5000 or more into turntable/cartridge/pre-amplifier.

 

5000? No way! Really?

 

I would say it depends where you are located and what's available at any given time. In my area with a few months of lead time, $250 would buy a decent vintage deck, possibly with some money left over for a decent cartridge. Then again there are several shops and record stores that sell used turntables in my area. Not the case everywhere.

 

At your price point, stick with what you've got or reconsider the used market for a considerable jump up.

 

I would say that's a bit of hyperbole.

Vinyl playback does cost more than people think and often involves a significant investment over time. Not just the hardware, but records themselves are expensive and add up fast.

Many people upgrade various parts of their system slowly, over time, choosing what they can afford to upgrade each year until they get everything they want. It's a process for a lot of people, not throwing down thousands of dollars in one day.

Now, as far as the hi-rez streaming option, that's a whole 'nother can of worms. I kinda think it's a bit of a con, since few recordings are natively hi-rez.

 

A lotta different opinions here - I may go with this one for now.

 

Likely made in the same OEM factory as Fluance.

 

Yes. That is the cost of vinyl playback setup, if you want to compete with modern digital records. This is actually not much of money. Many people who are seriously into LP world and have thousands of records, often spend 10 times more than that.

 

My assessment is based on running prices at USAudioMart and Audiogon. You may be lucky with local deal, but need to know what are you actually buying. Creator of this thread is not in that category yet.

 

Well I just need a record player. I have a cassette deck, speaker, and receiver so I’m good there.

 

A bit of research and "knowing what you are buying" is required for any used purchase, whether in person or online. I've seen plenty of people get burned with used online purchases, because they kept the item beyond the return window and didn't know how to inspect or test for problems.

For used, I typically recommend people go to a local shop that repairs audio equipment and offers some kind of guarantee. They can always take pictures and post prices here, and members will attempt to help out. Manuals for lots of stuff are on Vinyl Engine. Shouldn't be that hard to test.

 

And as far as feeding it goes, look at vintage/used vinyl.
That advice may not be solid if your tastes lay outside of vinyl' s heyday.
Titles from the late 80's on can be pricey...if you can find them.
And for cleaning, if you can't afford a Spin Clean, nothing wrong with a sink cleaning with some Dawn.
Many vintage records were done that way.

 

From you nickname, I guess you are into hard & heavy music? Well, you need to find a place to hear original UK pressing of Judas Priest record, played on $4000 turntable using $2000 cartridge, $10000 amplifier and $15000 speakers. That will give you an idea how LP should sound.

 

I love a lot of 60s - 90s rock, jazz, and metal records (including your profile picture) so that won’t be too hard. They are very cheap for vinyl. The other day I picked up a copy of U2’s Boy from 1983. A repress, but old and in very good condition for 8 bucks. I swear that stuff sounds better than the new pressings. It’s quite odd. One would think the newer ones are better but they often can have IGD, being pressed off center, and a lot of other things.

 

I don’t wanna cuz then my stereo will sound like crap! Lol. My stereo is very budget friendly. Long live Judas Priest, they’re awesome.

 

Geez dude!
Don't scare him from the hobby.
Let him find his own way, in his own time.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Crosley-2-Speed-Belt-Driven-Turntable-Switchable/dp/B07JQ51DB6

 

Is the ATN91 a good replacement for the standard ATN3600L? I’ve heard the 3600L gives out more distortion, and I kinda hear it.

 

It is also a very unrealistic budget for the average person into a hobby like this.

Think more like $500-1,000 per component, if you are talking all new. That might be on the high side for some people, so feel free to adjust to $300-500 per component.

Most of the systems people I know have or people I see on social media fall into this category.

 

It's almost the same stylus. Don't worry about trying to upgrade the LP60. Get something better. Anything discussed in this thread including the Ya Horng OEM stuff, an old deck from the 70s or 80s, etc. is better than the LP60.

 

Ya know, the cruisers have ruined Crosley for me but my family may actually use one of these.

 

For jazz Qobuz has plenty of what feel like straight tape transfers of 1950-1970s records. Encoded into 24/96 or 24/192 they sound as close to original studio master as possible. Most are much better than almost if not all LP releases of the same material.

 

Looks like another Ya Horng OEM job. Monoprice and some of the other companies in this thread have TTs made by the same OEM in their lines.