I've been thinking about buying a turntable for the last few months and after looking at the choices available on the market here in Iceland I've narrowed it down to two turntables that are in the right price range for me. I'm still trying to choose which one is better for me.
One of the turntables is a Denon turntable (this one) with a preamp and a automated tone-arm system. The price for this one is about 240 US$ over here.
The other turntable is a Numark USB turntable that has of course a built-in preamp and a USB output. The price of this turntable here is about 310 US$.

My plans for using the turntable are to get some stuff on vinyl that I KNOW sounds better on vinyl than on CD (like Prince's 1978-1988 albums) or just any interesting stuff that I can get at a good price at my local record store. I can also play some of my parents' collection or my brother's collection since none of them are using their record players anymore. I just want to be able to play this stuff thru my stereo and I also want to transfer some of the vinyl to my computer and burn it to CD.

I do have a good sound card though (a Soundblaster Audigy notebook PCMCIA card with 24 bit/192 khz sound quality) so the USB output is not a necessity. I'm just wondering which turntable is a better buy, i.e. whether I'm getting a better turntable for the extra 70 dollars or if I'm better off buying the Denon player.

Any help in this area would be very much appreciated.
[Edited 4/25/08 14:11pm]

where is Finess when you need him.

Well, this is a pretty easy choice. Go for the USB one. If you are looking to convert your vinyl, that's the way to go. The other one you could hook up to your computer, but then you'll need a mixer and a line out to your computer...you'll also need good software that can take out pops and do some easy chops (I can forsee a future thread (How do I convert my vinyl )

I'm willing to bet that the USB comes with great software for what you want to do. I'd go with that!

USB!!

I would seriously look at a Technics SL1200MKII if you can find one.

Both of these turntables are belt driven. I'd look for a direct drive turntable as opposed to a belt driven turntable. The belt driven ones won't give you as steady of a revolution of the platter as a direct drive will.

Even if you find a used Techincs 1200, it will be worth it. They're rock solid, and pretty much the industry standard for DJ's for the last 20+years.

PEJ said:

Right here, I for one have never messed with the USB turntable, so im not quite sure on how that would work out unless you plan on dropping your vinyl to your computer and making lossless copies of them.

But personally im a Technics 1200 fan,they are durable and will last you a lifetime. only thing that gets a lil expensive is a good needle.but other than that I say a 1200 would do the trick.
[Edited 4/25/08 19:16pm]

IAintTheOne said:

I'm a TECHNICS fan!!!!

IAintTheOne said:

I my 1200.



Personally, I'm happy with the Stanton 500. It's a decent cartridge for the money, and -- like the 1200 turntable -- an industry standard.

BTW, anyone interested in a $10,000 needle?

Thanks for all the advice. When I finally went to the electronics store they didn't have the USB turntable and I ended up buying a different kind of turntable from the same manufacturer, a Numark portable turntable. Soon after, I went to my local record store and bought some essential vinyl: Prince, Dirty Mind, Purple Rain and Parade. And I also bought another classic vinyl record, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. I will be on the look-out for good copies of 1999 and SOTT in the future since they didn't have them in stock at the record store. The ones I did get were in excellent condition though. Hardly any scratches or pops that I could hear.

Here's a picture of the turntable in action:


And some of the records I bought:

PEJ said:

up your... nevermind.
[Edited 6/7/08 0:01am]

Sweet!

I am going to get a USB turntable soon.

I'm wearing a Technics tshirt RIGHT NOW!

Cinnie said:

Uhmmmm...

Why?

Take it off...

Don't?

Muse2NOPharaoh said:

What?