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Vinyl is so much richer and punchier - unfortunately it's not convenient for me to use any more so it's been boxed up for years.
- Selectable internal stereo phono preamplifier and USB connection to your Mac or Windows computer
- Direct-drive, high-torque motor; includes professional cartridge and headshell
- Selectable 33-1/3, 45, and 78 rpm speeds; +/-10 percent or +/-20 percent pitch adjust; high-accuracy quartz-controlled pitch lock
- S-shaped tone arm assembly with adjustable counterweight, antiskate adjustment, tone-arm height adjustment and lock
- Includes USB cable and Mac- and PC-compatible Audacity software,Switchable built-in pre-amplifier with line-level RCA output cables
Ouch. Realistic. Tandy? I didn't know they were still going.
I couldn't make out what it was. They do the job for a bit and they're cheap enough. You'll have to start using the gains instead of the fader soon. I had a little two fader thing of theirs once, cheap as chips. You could fit in a jacket pocket. I'd say you're fighting a losing battle with the fader though, been there before with the sprays. I use a Numark when I can be arsed and the fader on that's been ok for years. Good little mixer really.
A mate had a Harrison mixer built for him and the faders on that can all be replaced or moved. Good idea for when they get knackered.
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i recently picked up a record palyer with speakers and a built in amplifier thingy $30 at the local trash n treasure markets
and guess what??????????????????????????????????????????????????????
it works like a dream
and 2 top it off the nice man even gave me a spare needle 4 later on mailto:www.iDon'tThinkSo.com.Uranus | |
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The first laptop I ever had (in 1989) was a Tandy TRS-80 - AKA a "Trash 80." Tiny 8-line display, type only, and you couldn't format anything.
When I left the job that issued it to me, they didn't even want it back.
We don’t mourn artists because we knew them. We mourn them because they helped us know ourselves. | |
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THAT one?
Had to google it. By St. Boogar and all the saints at the backside door of Purgatory! | |
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That's the one!
Look how much memory is available - 5113 bytes. Not GB, not MB, not even KB. Just plain old "bytes." And the thing weighed...like...five pounds. Imagine lugging it through an airport (which I often did).
Amazing how far we've come since the days of TRS-80s and cellphones the size of bricks. We don’t mourn artists because we knew them. We mourn them because they helped us know ourselves. | |
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Just for the record (sorry!), I have a Rega Planar 2 dating from 1989 and that was a well regarded player in it's day. I had the official wall bracket drilled into my wall to avoid vibrations, plugged into my trusty Rotel RA810A amp and run through small JPW Sonata speakers. It rocked and I still have everything to this day..albeit unused.
The sound comparison between the vinyl of, say, Dirty Mind and the CD is like night and day. I did a comparison one time and was amazed. Sadly I don't have SOTT on vinyl.
If you make the effort to get a turntable you won't be disappointed (apart from the pops and crackles but you won't hear them during noisy passages).
The Pro-ject turntables are based on the Rega design and might even use the RB200 tonearms that are considered minor classics for price/performance. Good luck with your search! "I'm much too hot to be cool" | |
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the project debut was mentioned in todays metro newspaper, i think it said £299.99 and it mentioned richer sounds so they must be doing it, but check online places like superfi (good for cheap hifi - read the reviews or demo somewhere local and buy cheaper online) and amazon
if you want to demo try somewhere like sevenoaks | |
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Thank you for the reply. | |
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According to reviews i used to read on those turntables that you hook up to your computer you might as well prepare to use them for a coaster because the needles are terrible. Like u stated it's best to either use a turntable. If you have a receiver without phono jacks you will need a phono pre amp. You can get an inexpensive 3.5 line jack to run from your comptuer to your receiver or phono pre amp to rip your vinyl once you choose Audacity or whatever vinyl recording program you want. I use Spin It Again. Don't laugh at my funk
This funk is a serious joint | |
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I figured as much. It's a $100 unit...but I got it on clearance online, and I had Rewards coupons from BestBuy so I only wound up spending like $20 for it.
I'm going to save my pennies and get a good one....soon I hope. By St. Boogar and all the saints at the backside door of Purgatory! | |
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Cool. I almost got caught up in buying one too a few years ago but i learned that USB turntables are not the way to go. Don't laugh at my funk
This funk is a serious joint | |
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Really? Why? | |
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Record Players New York Times: 4/12
Turntable Kitchen- Website
You should probably ask youself how would you use a turntable before you plunge a lot of money into a system.
=============== [Edited 11/25/12 11:18am] | |
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I found this one on Amazon for $215
I'm thinking that I foound myself a Christmas present. By St. Boogar and all the saints at the backside door of Purgatory! | ||
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This seems to be okay. Most of the ION USB turntables i've seen are not good at all. The needle is very thin and produces a scruffy sound. Don't laugh at my funk
This funk is a serious joint | ||
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That's precisely how I'd describe the results of my 1 or 2 successful rips with my Ion. By St. Boogar and all the saints at the backside door of Purgatory! | ||
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1. You don't need an expensive turntable to start.
2. You don't need an expensive cartridge to start.
3. Make sure your amp/reciever has a phono line-in. If it does...
4. Buy a cheap/moderately prices new turntable, one at the low end of your budget. It should come with a cartridge/needle. Or...
5. Go out and do some thriftstore or garage saling. Buy a turntable that you know works. Preferable one that will not require a $100 cartridge/needle replacement to start using. However, DO replace your cartridge/needle. Could be as low as $10 (US).
6. Set it up and have fun.
Even though most people don't realize it, there are more turntable options availabe now than ever before. Unfortunately, the fact that most people don't know has largely driven them, and the people who purchase them, into two groups.
A. Audiophiles/DJs who spend LARGE sums of money on their turntable setups. For DJs, it's required that they spend at least enough to have something similar to what they'll be using in clubs so they don't look like an idiot at a gig. For audiophiles it's usually about being as geeky and snobbish as possible so they can look down their nose at you and scoff at your lack of knowledge/expensive equipment. Some of these people spend, literally, tens of thousands of dollars (and sometimes even more) on a turntable/sound system setup. Does it sound different? Duh! Of course it does! Is it necessary? Hells no! And for me it very quickly reaches a point where the fun of just throwing on some records during dinner and some wine with friends is no longer fun.
B. People who don't care about any of that and just want to play some records. People who have inherited a stack of vinyl and aren't sure what to do with it (happening a lot, actually). People who have rediscovered the joy of holding them and looking at their cover art. People who want to reminisce and remember "the good old days". People who still have their records from back in the day. And people who are just discovering them. Whithout meaning any insult, this is you.
Falling into both of those categories may or may not be people who believe the sound quality is best on vinyl. For the moment, that's neither here nor there.
The truth is that there are pieces of vinyl in this world approaching the number of ants living on it. There is A LOT. Far more vinyl has been pressed in the last 100 years (and continues to be pressed) than cds. And with the internet you can get cheap vinyl from all over the world. Sooo...
Don't stress about it. Because if you do it will make your head spin.
Get an inexpensive player, make sure it has a new cartridge/needle, get some vinyl - cheap or otherwise - and just have a good time. Figure out if it's really something you want to invest a lot of time and money into before it becomes stressful and the fun factor disappears.
Yes, it's true that it won't be as good for your records, but only marginally so. Yes, it's true that the sound won't be as prestine, but I don't believe that's what you're caring about at the moment, nor should it be. A heavy base does make a difference. The material your tone arm and needle are made out of does make difference. But a one pound, 100% plastic turntable STILL plays records. A lot of the knowledge and advice people have given is absolutely true, it just doesn't matter if all you want to do is play some records and have a good time.
The one thing I totally agree about is finding something with a dust hood/cover. If you don't buy something with a hood/cover, be sure to always put your records away when you're done playing them.
Apologies to everyone for the long post. I just think listening to music should be as close to pure fun and enjoyment as possible and any turntable conversation seems to quickly turn into anything but that. I guess it's a personal pet peeve.
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For the record (hah, puns!), I have a coffin with two Technics SL-1200MK2 (which replaced my old Technics SL-1200s, and I still like them more than all the other Technics) and a Behringer DDM4000 mixer. That setup is currently running through my home stereo system (technical details spared). It was once used professionally, now it's just FOR FUN. I used to own a Clearaudio Ovation that I bought used from a friend when he upgraded to something even more ridiculous. I loved it, because the sound was nice AND it had a 78 rpm setting. But it started doing this thing where it wasn't keeping steady pitch (changing speed so it sounded slightly warbly). I took it to a "repair guy" and ended up selling it to him, still broken, for what I had paid for it. I've also owned any number of inexpensive to moderately high priced turntables over the last 30 years (all of them played records just fine, btw). Right now I've got a funky old Zenith that I bought at a garage sale just to play those old classical 78s (which you can buy for ridiculously cheap).
Edit: Snubbish? Snubbish you say?
[Edited 11/25/12 20:32pm] | |
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Audio-Technica AT-LP120-USB Direct-Drive Professional Turntable (USB & Analog)
I haven't used it, but I've heard much better things about it than ALL of the cheap, made to rip to mp3 turntables that have flooded the market. Audio-Technica aren't high end, but they aren't crap, either. 194 revies on Amazon and 170 of them are 4 and 5 star. That's a VERY good ratio. | |
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Canned air and/or a little squirt of silicon lubricant, because it doesn't conduct electricity. | |
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What about C: People that want quality sound, not so they can look down their noses at anyone but because they wanna hear what there is to hear properly.
I bought my decks after learning to mix on a mates 1210s. I wasn't gonna buy anything less when I got my own. Same sort of thing with the rest of it. First bits of music I ever heard were through a decent system. I couldn't put up with worse than what I'd got accustomed to. I've had different amps and speakers etc. but never went too overboard. It depends on what you want it for as already said.
When you get up into the 1000s per unit it really does get silly and as you pointed out, there really isn't any need. Not for the home anyway. It should be about enjoying it, not burning your pockets for the sake of it.
Another vote for something with a dust cover here and if I'm not mixing, I clean everything I spin before and after with a proper cloth or brush. Keep vinyl stored properly too. Never leave em where cats can start flicking through your covers making selections of their own while you're busy mixing away. They ruin the covers forever and leave remnants of cardboard all over the floor for you to sweep away, along with your tears.
I still reckon once the crackles start on the faders it's time for them to go. Those sprays work alright for a while but they just prolonged the agony for me.
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Well, there's two different sides to the sound quality conversation...
First, the argument that vinyl sounds better, period. As I said before, not going to get into that one. It's circular and pointless. Either you're willing to look at the technical specs and try to understand what you're hearing on vinyl verses what you hear on a compressed cd, or you're not. Beyond that, it just comes down to a subjective "what sounds best" to each persons ears, which is something that can't really be argued. But the truth is that, if you have an opinion on this subject, it's going to extend to whatever price range the equipment came from. A record on a cheap system still sounds like a record. Does it sound different if you spend more money? Yes, incrimentally at all levels. However...
The sound quality conversation immediately leads us into exactly what I was trying to steer the new turntable buyer away from. I agree with what you're saying. I've spent more than what I consider reasonable myself (although if taken care of the stuff will last forever). But a new turntable enthusiast doesn't know what they want to hear. They don't know what sounds proper. So, in my opinion, for a the new or casual turntable user the fun of just playing records should be the paramount concern. In that regard, and again, in my opinion, spending a few hundred dollars (minimum) on a turntable, a few hundred dollars (minimum) on an amp/reciever and a few hundred dollars on speakers (minimum) is still too much. Not to mention the plunking down for an expensive cartridge.
Now, I understand, truly, what the sound difference is between that level, going below that level and going above that level. I'm still of the opinion that, to start, it's better to go towards the low end until you decide that you really want to "invest" in mid to high end equipment, let alone audiophile levels.
As an example, my Mom plays Christmas records on one of those reproduction retro all-in-one wooden phonographs (with the radio, tape player and cd player included, speakers on the side). The record player is honestly 100% plastic and has, without a doubt, the cheapest quality cartridge available. But the records we play at Christmas, which range from those first bought in the 40s by my Grandmother to the one Annie Lennox released a couple years ago, ALL sound great. We still get the joy of looking at the sleeves, reliving the memories of playing them in the past AND turning my niece and nephews on to vinyl. I think that thing cost $149 about five years ago, an amount that has easily been returned to us in happiness ten fold. | |
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I agree with replacing once you have crackles, but sometimes the finances don't allow that. I had a Realistic mixer with the crackling crossfade, the canned air and silicon lubricant added quite a bit of life to it. Sometimes it won't help at all, though.
Shoooot! There are TONE ARMS available that cost as much as an inexpensive car. Bases that are going for tens of thousands of dollars. The Benz LP cartridge is five grand. The Goldmund Reference II, of which there will only ever be 25 made, goes for $300,000.00 | |
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This is the best list of insanely priced turntables that I could find ($18,000.00 to $300,000.00). Keep in mind that those are base prices for particular models. Some of them cost more (or less) depending on the tone arm and cartridge you select.
I actually really like the look of a few of those, particularl the OneDof. But I wouldn't pay $150,000.00 for a turntable if I owned my own mint. | |
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No arguments from me with any of that.
I would advise a newcomer to at least listen to a 'few hundred' a piece set up though.
Makes me feel old. A lot of people are growing up in a world where vinyl's not even thought about. Music=downloads, folders, files, Mp3s, Flacs, etc. etc.
Those sprays can speed up the faders. One got as loose as an old woman on me, still got knackered in the end.
I don't think even if I had the money for the crazy stuff I could bring myself to buy it. Imagine you've spent ridiculous amounts and the missus 'just' knocks into it, or you sit down for some old classic and through your silly money system you hear pops, clicks and scratches for £300,000.
I've seen stuff like those before, interesting but bananas. I remember being at a show once and a fella was trying to sell me stands for thousands. Yeah, aucoustic stands for my amp etc. Ridiculous.
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That does look tasty. I know it's the stuff of nightmares but somewhere in the world someone could be playing bloody Kylie or something on one of those.
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actually a CD has a bigger dynamic range than a record. a record's sound is more compressed as a result
if you took the same money and spent it on a cd setup compared to vinyl, and both were properly calibrated, and played from the same amp and speaker setup for comparisson, you would have a better sound with the cd
on a budget system, which most people will have, you will get considerably better results from a cd than a record. it's only the pops and clicks and rumble and hiss that give away a record compared to a cd when the setup is calibrated properly | |
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I fall into the category of the person with a stack of vinyl that wants to reminisce AND wants it to sound good. My ION sounds like CRAP, and honestly, puts me off to wanting to invest the time needed to reload the program(s) into my laptop to (hopefully) make it work right.
Considering that my buddy just dished out $300 for a watch, spending about that much on a turntable seems "right" to me.
By St. Boogar and all the saints at the backside door of Purgatory! | |
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What issues are you having with your ION specifically?
With ION turntables if you have good pair of speakers you can achieve a good sound out of it, include a computer EQ software and you are pretty much set. If you have a great pair of speakers you can make most sucky turntable sound good. I think you and I have the same model, even so stay away from turntable (USB or otherwise) that have a ceramic needle, always go with diamond. If you have one with ceramic needle you can replace it with a diamond... there's a guy on Ebay NeedleDaddy -who sells cartridge/needles for every turntable ever made vintage and new.
I would also recommend downloading Audacity; use their software instead of what ION gave you. Cool thing is you can listen to your records without having to download them and you can clean up records, and edit... make breaks in between album tracks.
Another recommendation checkout Audioengine A5 Speakers, you can test them out for 30 days and if you don't like them, they can be returned. I bought a pair for my daughter for Christmas, good bang for your buck speakers. I would also recommend in purchasing good cables, you don't have to break the bank but yes, they do make a difference.
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[Edited 11/26/12 10:04am] | |
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One thing i need to do. I know mine are a good 20 years old. Damn i know those Audioengine speakers must be the shit like Bose speakers for the price. It's time for me to invest in a new pair of those as well but i can't swing 400 hundred. [Edited 11/26/12 7:33am] Don't laugh at my funk
This funk is a serious joint | |
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Good cable does wonders, I like Mogami and Mediabrige. Defiantly opposite ends of the cost spectrum but budget minded Mediabrige cables are solid. Both brands are over at Amazon.
Oh, those A5's are bang-in! They came yesterday and I tested them out on my computer, my stereo set, USB ION Profile Pro, and Audio-Technica AT-LP120 turntables, unbelievable. As I said, a crappy turntable can be improved greatly with a good pair of speakers. Hell, if Brett hadn't told me what she wanted, I'd keep these for my damn self.
======================= [Edited 11/26/12 8:24am] | |
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