Passive Speakers on a Budget

That’s exactly what I expected
Sometimes it’s like I’m the only one on this forum who’s not bothered by the looks of DJ turntables haha

 

ohh, please not ... these are all Han Pin turntables, made in Shenzhen/China.
Yes, also the Pioneers, which equal the Audio Technica LP 120. All the same ... and all companies buy here.
The Quality is pretty lousy, maybe after returning two you get one that works
Take the arm in your fingers and gently move ... the bearings are just loose. From the start!
Just bought a TT with a friend, a 40 year old Thorens is way better than that.

The Automatic ones are worse, they are built at YaHong (or YaoHong)

The only one recommendable is a Technics 1200/1210, made in Japan

 

They are all the same size, the plinth is a bit different maybe, but the platter is standard.
They have a subchassis, means the platter and arm are floating, so even if you knock the table the needle won’t hop
Also speakers don’t bother them with their bass

The grounding cable (attached) should be connected to the amplifier, it prevents hum (can be loud)

Milmies TT is very nice looking, but for the price Schlabuckel has the best offer and he also has refurbished it personally

 

Seriously the cheapest cable is a mistake.
Strong recommendation of inAkustik for 8 Euros, will be quite a difference
We are talking about 30 Euros difference or so - and the turntable saved you a lot of money

Although I don’t stream you should consider, LPs are a ripoff nowadays (and CDs very cheap)

 

When this is all over and set up and works ...

... then you start thinking (a project) about real speakers.

Italy was and is, as you mentioned, not the best for amplifiers and other electronics.
But they have a tradition of making some of the best loudspeakers on this planet.

Google Sonus Faber Guarnieri Homage and Stradivari Homage - this is the epitome. Ever.

Their speakers until about 2004 are amongst the most beautiful ones ever - in sound, looks and value keeping.
And the good thing - you already have the amp and turntable for that!

One day ...

 

Can't find the TD146 do you have a link?

 

I don't know if I actually will have that much spare, I need to do a little math. Instead of 5€ per meter, is there something like 3€ per meter? It can be a compromise

 

I might try hunting for those once lockdown is over. They look very fab. One day...

 

Thorens TD 146, neue Nadel am Ortofon VMS 20, überholt und gewartet | eBay

 

Don’t make a 30 Euro mistake with cables

a really good speaker cable cost from 200 onwards ...

 

That costs less than the one from Milmie, is it better anyway? My max for the two pair of cables are 40-50€

 

The Audio Society of Minnesota Conducts Cable Comparison Tests

"As a group, those who owned expensive (not bulk) cabling favored the cheap bulk wire (A) over the most expensive cable (B)."

 

That one would be my favorite in price/value ... and it’s a 146, better than a 165
5m cable would be enough for both speakers I assume, so you are at 40 Dollars plus freight

i agree to Harby with the idiotic cable hype

but a bit better helps a lot, standard cables as used in new sets are horror

 

So the 146 is way better than the 165, and also it costs less, so it's all pros? 40€ for cables is totally ok, I'll need some links if you have those... Thanks again

 

The Hanpin SuperOEM TT’s are fine starter turntables.
We’re not talking about high end here.

 

With a Thorens 146 we are at least talking middle class, if not better

 

Just search inAkustik speaker cables Europe starting with lowest price
Go for silver plated min 2,5sqmm

Busy and outside ...

 

No problem, thanks already for the help. I'll start asking questions to the seller about the Thorens 146 since I don't understand his German description (I only know basic German). After that I'll start hunting for the cables

 

Yes, so are those Hanpin DJ-5500 derived turntables.
I’ll try to explain why that is:

I'm sorry for you that you've been unlucky and needed to send one back a few times.
I’ve had multiple Hanpins (about 10 to 15 units, mostly DJ-5500) in the past and never had to send one back, never heard about that being a requirement before.
I only had loose horizontal bearings on one Pioneer PLX-1000, which was easily adjusted.

The ATLP120 does not equal the PLX-1000, the ATLP140 and ATLP1240 are its equivalent (all based on the Hanpin DJ-5500 stock model; the ATLP120 isn't).

When it comes to sound quality, the PLX-1000 sounds better than a 1200M5G made in Japan.
I know that because I actually did a blind listening test between those two, did you do that too?

When it comes to lifespan, they're fine too. Had a few for multiple years.
And I gave a Reloop RP-2000 (a lower end Hanpin, same as the ATLP120) to my dad who wanted to spin his old stuff again; it’s about 12 years old now and still works fine.

However, I do expect that this is the only point at which older equivalent turntables are better at; basically all mass produced consumer products nowadays have a significantly shorter lifespan.

 

Those are good cables, but I doubt if they make an audible difference in a midrange system.
If I were @the_redgrin I would start with the cheapest available and upgrade later on when cables start to play a bigger part in the signal chain.

You can try using google translate by copying the description text (https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=translate&sl=de&tl=en).
I think there's also a google translate mobile app that lets you use the smartphone camera to "read" it and translate it on the fly.

 

Thorens TD 146, neue Nadel am Ortofon VMS 20, überholt und gewartet | eBay

New link, the auction ended

sorry to Oelewapper, but this is much better, subchassis, modern Thorens arm (yeah, that’s no SME yet)
And a quite good Cartridge, which will wipe the floor with the standard Audio Technica (brrr)

 

In the text - he is a collector and this one works flawless.
The cartridge has a new needle. TT is serviced, hood is polished but some scratches stayed.
Comes with a bigger power supply.
He can offer cartridge upgrades at a price (not required I think)

These old machines are nearly indestructible...

Find out if the connecting cable is RCA (should be) or DIN

 

I sent a question to the so he sent me a translation. Would have been no problem anyway since my mother knows german very well. Thanks anyway

 

DIN or RCA then. Good, still he didn't tell me about the shipping.

 

Yes that looks decent, the VMS cartridge is quite old though, so the availability of fresh styli could be an issue.