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I am here because of you. Thanks (?). I'm in. I'm going to hit some thrift shops tomorrow and hopefully find a steal. Debating on whether I'm going to gently caress around with vintage speakers or just pick up a pair of Andrew Jones from Best Buy and be done with it. I'm also low on space so cabinet suggestions welcomed.
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Jan 4, 2014 09:46
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In my experience, Craigslist is probably gonna be a better bet as far as what's available and relative price. I'm not saying that you won't ever get really lucky with a thrift store find but everything I've ever seen has been common-rear end low-end stuff at stupid markup. You just need a little bit of patience and a little bit of luck. As far as speakers go, the basic design hasn't really ever changed so good contemporary stuff isn't a bad option at all. I feel like using a powered sub kind of defeats the purpose of a vintage receiver so you'll want something that can handle bass competently (with adequate respect paid to your living/space situation, of course). Some Andrew Jones floorstanders or decently-sized bookshelf dealies will probably be fine. That said, since speakers haven't really evolved much, Craigslist often has a lot of fantastic vintage options available for relatively little money. The internet is definitely your friend here so just google any interesting stuff and see what any pre-existing AudioKarma threads have to say about it. Definitely keep an eye out for anything Pioneer HPM, assuming the woofer cones are original. As for a cabinet/table- it really depends entirely on your other decor.
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Jan 4, 2014 10:22
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As far as thrift stores go, the smaller local ones tend to fair better. Church run shops are even better if the church has a large congregation. I'm also in the market for a cabinet, I'm not even sure where to look since I'm in Germany. Basically need something that can hold 30-50 records that has a door I can secure (anti-baby measures) then space for a receiver and TT. I've been looking at IKEA stuff online and there might be options there.
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Jan 4, 2014 14:26
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This looks like a good deal if it's in good playing shape. http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/ele/4210534445.html Kenwood KA-7100 integrated amp $80, 60W/ch rms. Being an integrated amp, it doesn't have a radio tuner like a receiver and this model doesn't have pre-amp outputs like the other Kenwood receiver posted. It seems to be a well regarded model and looks good although it may need a cleaning...outside and in. If the controls are scratchy that can be fixed easily enough with electronic contact cleaner and can be used to get the price down.
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Jan 4, 2014 17:51
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 Just picked this up for $130. It's in immaculate condition, though it needs setting up. The guy I bought it from set up a system in his basement just for me to check it out on. He picked up this album to test the turntable and threw it in for free.  It was a good Craigslist experience.
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Jan 6, 2014 17:32
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Well, I just recently got my first turntable, a Pioneer 990, based on reviews I'd seen online. I'm probably on one of the shittier setups any of you will ever see. I've got the RCA audio cables from my tv and my turntable both connected using two sets of female-female splitters to a 3.5mm-RCA cable connected to the PC input on a Sony MHC-EC909iP system. I know I'm not getting the most out of it, but until I can afford better, it sounds ok, mostly because I've got the bass enhancement turned all the way off. My next goal is a receiver. Not sure what I'll get, but it'll be a lot better than what I have now.
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Jan 7, 2014 09:32
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Turntables have their own specific set of gain and EQ standards that are applied only when run through a phono pre-amp, either inside a receiver or standalone. Not only would that set up be quiet as all hell, I'm surprised you can listen to it all. Isn't it all tinny upper range?
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Jan 7, 2014 11:16
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Not to mention that I've heard that the capacitance on "standard" RCA cables is high enough that it can noticeably degrade a naked phono signal (although that's probably the least of your concerns here). *No idea if that's actually a legitimate claim or audiophool idiocy, since I've never had to plug an extra RCA cable into one of my tables or replace one of the originals yet, but apparently the common suggestion is to use component video cables instead, as the capacitance is supposedly much lower.* Seriously though, for all of the online research you supposedly did, how the hell did you miss Basic Turntable Operation 101? In more than 2 years of posting in the vinyl threads on SA and countless rookie mistakes, I've never seen somebody completely neglect to use a pre-amp or phono stage of some kind. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 13:24 on Jan 7, 2014 |
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Jan 7, 2014 13:22
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Another point: when your TV is playing, it's basically back feeding signal into coil of the cartridge on your turntable. I'm curious if the needle is wiggling to the TV dialog, but not willing to destroy mine to see.
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Jan 7, 2014 16:03
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I'm about to move my speakers around a bit and I'm getting a roll of speaker wire and some pin connectors for my Bose 301 Mk iv's. As for plugging the wire back into my HK670, will these pin-style plugs work well for these push/spring/clamp outputs on the receiver?   I know I can just stick the raw wire in there, but I want to use plugs.
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Jan 8, 2014 00:16
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DammitJanet posted:I know I can just stick the raw wire in there, but I want to use plugs. I'd be afraid that the metal housings on those plugs could touch and short out. Unless you're connecting and disconnecting your speakers constantly, plugs don't serve any purpose at all. Raw wire will give you the best connection, because it deforms slightly when inserted and tightened down.
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Jan 8, 2014 00:21
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I've used those pin plugs before. They work OK but you're going have two wrap at least every other plug in electrical tape or the bodies will short together. Tinning the very tips of your speaker wire together does the same thing.
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Jan 8, 2014 00:22
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Yep those pin plugs are basically pointless. I just take the bare wire and let some hot solder flow into the end. Hardens them right up and no fraying ever again.
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Jan 8, 2014 00:53
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Ron Burgundy posted:Turntables have their own specific set of gain and EQ standards that are applied only when run through a phono pre-amp, either inside a receiver or standalone. Not only would that set up be quiet as all hell, I'm surprised you can listen to it all. Isn't it all tinny upper range? Electric Bugaloo posted:Not to mention that I've heard that the capacitance on "standard" RCA cables is high enough that it can noticeably degrade a naked phono signal (although that's probably the least of your concerns here). My research showed that it had a preamp built in, and didn't require an external one. It sounds pretty good, not quiet at all, as, when I put a record on, it's actually louder than the audio output of the TV through the system. While my hearing isn't highly trained, the records I've played through my system definitely sound better than my digital copies played through my iPod connected via line-in. I have component cables I can connect in place of one set of rca cables, although it won't be definitive, as the component cables are 6 feet, and the rca cables are 1.5' [quote="eddiewalker" post="424131727"] Another point: when your TV is playing, it's basically back feeding signal into coil of the cartridge on your turntable. I'm curious if the needle is wiggling to the TV dialog, but not willing to destroy mine to see. [/quote] That's a concern I hadn't heard before. I may start disconnecting my turntable when not in use.
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Jan 8, 2014 07:29
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kizudarake posted:That's a concern I hadn't heard before. I may start disconnecting my turntable when not in use. If your turntable has a preamp built in, I assume it's something like one of those "digital ready" "iPod compatible" turntables. You're not going to hurt the cartridge doing what you're doing because the TT's internal preamp is in the way, but it's still not a proper setup. Get a source selector switch. They're cheap.
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Jan 8, 2014 07:34
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Can someone help me troubleshoot this? The right channel coming out of my turntable is slightly hotter. It's painfully obvious with headphones. I've tried different two preamps, cables (except the TT pigtail) and several records. Everything is skewed to the right. I was pulling my hair out, so I threw the un-amped signal directly from the TT into a scope.  Equal levels should be a vertical line, but its off by maybe 20%. Ideas? Shure m97x in a Debut III. Aligned to the best of my knowledge with the protractor that came with the Shure cart. edit: I put the original Ortofon cartridge back on and the levels are equal. I guess I'm sending this thing back to Shure. eddiewalker fucked around with this message at 21:48 on Jan 8, 2014 |
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Jan 8, 2014 21:16
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kizudarake posted:My research showed that it had a preamp built in, and didn't require an external one. It sounds pretty good, not quiet at all, as, when I put a record on, it's actually louder than the audio output of the TV through the system. While my hearing isn't highly trained, the records I've played through my system definitely sound better than my digital copies played through my iPod connected via line-in. I have component cables I can connect in place of one set of rca cables, although it won't be definitive, as the component cables are 6 feet, and the rca cables are 1.5' Duly noted and I stand corrected. In that case, you don't need to worry about cable capacitance or using component cables or whatever. If it's coming out of a preamp then the signal is gonna be line-level and waaay stronger than a naked phono signal. In any case, the quality difference between 1 foot and 6 feet is gonna be nil. That said, if you stick with the hobby then you can bank on replacing that table in the (relatively) near future. For one thing- the cartridge isn't replaceable, though the needle is, so there's no possibility of upgrading what is undoubtedly a "meh" cartridge at best. More important is that the tonearm doesn't have a counterweight. Its tracking force is spring-loaded and probably set (makes sense, since it'll only be able to work with one cartridge). Such setups are pretty common in cheap turntables but they can wear your records out faster over time. The ones in the Crosleys you find at Target/Urban Outfitters can legit ruin your LPs in a short while.
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Jan 9, 2014 08:06
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Yeah, apologies. When I saw the Pioneer name, I admittedly thought of something older.
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Jan 9, 2014 09:08
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It's cool. I don't generally play my stuff that often, right now, and everything, just about, that I have was literally less than 5 bucks at a used record store, except for my pumpkins reissues, so it serves its' purpose until I can afford something better, at which point I'll upgrade. I had a feeling, based on the retro stylings of the crosley turntables that they were probably pretty lovely.
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Jan 9, 2014 09:31
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Picked up this really tiny and cool integrated amp and tuner by Aiwa a few days ago. Nice and simple with a good sound, paired up nice with this Yamaha P-750 I picked up for 5 bucks. Dustcover on the Yamaha is currently get polished and will look a lot better once I'm done with it. I really wish I could find a bunch of these Aiwa units to sell at the record shop. Would be a perfect unit for someone starting out, I see a lot of customers get overwhelmed by all the knobs and connections on some receivers/amps. The vintage knob has a nice write up on the Aiwa My Pace series. http://www.thevintageknob.org/aiwa-Aiwa_22.html   
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Jan 9, 2014 23:28
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Does anyone have any knowledge about the JVC JR-S81? Local guy wants $60 for one, and says it's in good condition all around. I can't find a single one on eBay, so I don't know what they're going for. I've read the HiFiEngine section on it and looked through the manual. Not much on AK about them either. Basically, if it sounds good with no crackly knobs and all inputs and speaker outs work, is it worth $60?
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Jan 9, 2014 23:45
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$60 is plenty fair, especially if it's in good shape. Only 35 watts/ch but that's plenty. JVC doesn't get a lot of attention, but they've made a lot of quality gear in the 70s and early 80s.
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Jan 9, 2014 23:50
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Thanks. Apparently, Orion Blue Book says pawn shop value is $25, for whatever that's worth. Power-wise, I'm only pushing a pair of Klipsch KG1.5s, so that 35wpc should be plenty.
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Jan 9, 2014 23:59
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Yeah, it's hard to go by any prices you see online because it varies by region. Plus, vintage gear is exploding in popularity right now and driving prices up. Hard to rely on data that might be several years old. Also that $25 figure is probably what you'd get selling it to a pawn shop. The shop still needs to make a profit on it, so they'd obviously jack up the price for retail.
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Jan 10, 2014 00:10
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eddiewalker posted:
Sounds like it's definitely a problem with the cart then. Is the cantilever bent at all? Kind of pointless to troubleshoot further if you're sending it back anyway
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Jan 10, 2014 00:14
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BANME.sh posted:Sounds like it's definitely a problem with the cart then. Is the cantilever bent at all? Everything looked fine externally. Both channels sounded fine once I compensated with the balance. Old stand-up records were the closest thing I had to a mono source. I was really excited to troubleshoot with one of my "Upstairs At United Record Pressing" albums because they list 1khz/10khz/100hz tone as the first three tracks, but I guess those didn't make it on the transfer from tape to lacquer. Kind of oddly disappointed, really. The guy at Shure didn't hesitate to offer a new cart.
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Jan 10, 2014 00:28
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I replaced the needle on my M97xe with a JICO SAS for Xmas and am pleased with it. My needle was ok when I got it, though.
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Jan 10, 2014 00:58
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Hey dudes- if y'all had to choose between a Pioneer SX-780 or SX-690 receiver what would you go with? For reference, the 780's 45 WPC and has some minor surface dings while the 690 is 30 WPC but is basically pristine looking and has been supposedly professionally looked at in its recent history. I'm basically looking for something that'll make a nice small room/office system.
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Jan 11, 2014 01:51
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I'd get the one that is in better condition on the inside.
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Jan 11, 2014 15:17
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Recapped my Luxman 5L15: All of the caps had emptied themselves over the years, the board is full of dried electrolyte. I'm waiting for a couple of bulbs to come in the mail before I can put it all together. The VU meters don't work now though, and the only schematic I can find online is of the amplifier parts only 
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Jan 11, 2014 15:50
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Picked up a JVC JR-S81 for $60. Plugged my recently acquired Sansui 1050 in and ran it through my Klipsch KG 1.5s and felt like a grown up.  The dog is hearing Watermelon Man for the first time on good equipment and vinyl. HenryJLittlefinger fucked around with this message at 01:02 on Jan 14, 2014 |
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Jan 12, 2014 06:51
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 Picked up this guy today for $5. Sansui Six. Sounds great, just need to give it a bath in deoxit and regular cleaner. It's dusty as all hell. But luckily for me the pots haven't completely lost their lubricity, so it's listenable. I'm impressed.
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Jan 12, 2014 08:46
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While we're all posting pictures, this is a Nikko 6065 that I picked up last fall for $0 because it was "dead". I assumed it just needed a new fuse, but it turns out this unit uses breakers instead. I flipped the breakers and it lit up. It had been stored in a garage for years, so it was covered in grime, paint, was missing feet, and the faceplate glass was broken. And several bulbs were burned out. After a full restoration:  The only permanent damage is the scratch on the tuner area, where you can see blue light shining through. Probably from when the glass originally broke. BANME.sh fucked around with this message at 21:17 on Jan 12, 2014 |
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Jan 12, 2014 21:12
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Very nice, I'm loving that smooth blue glow.
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Jan 12, 2014 21:18
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That's a nice looking unit, good job.
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Jan 12, 2014 23:02
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So I'm still relatively new to record players, and I need to get me a new cartridge/stylus, but I've never done it before. Will basically anything fit in to what I've got? For instance, if I was to buy the ortofon 2mred linked in the OP, could I just plug it straight into my old headshell and play away? It's surprisingly hard to find concrete information because it seems all the sites refer to the different parts by interchangeable terms, so I'm not exactly sure which part I need to pay attention to. I have an old Kenwood KD-1500 if that helps, with what looks like the stock cart/stylus.
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Jan 16, 2014 08:39
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Yes this is an industry standard mount known as a half-inch mount, and will fit the 2M and the vast majority of popular carts. It is one of the 2 standard cartridge mounts, the other being p-mount (T4P).
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Jan 16, 2014 10:21
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HenryJLittlefinger posted:
I got a Garrard turntable at a garage sale for $20 that has a similar design: a metal plate sitting in a wooden frame. The turntable hardware is supposed to be isolated from the wooden base by springs, but they're so loose that the platter and everything wobbles all over the place. I have sort of corrected this by tightening the mounting screws (that are surrounded by the springs), but whole thing still seems way too susceptible to picking up vibrations from around the room. Should I bother trying to replace the springs with stiffer ones? I'm not sure if this turntable is worth the cost and effort. The automatic mechanism is also really off kilter: it drops the needle about an inch into the record, and rarely picks it up automatically at the end as it should. (I've played with all the adjustment screws, and can't get it right. I think this is also related to a spring getting soft.) Sometimes it get stuck and skips about an inch from the inside of the record. (I blame this on the anti-skate adjustment, which I think is also busted.) Overall, it seems like a typically mechanically suspect English piece of poo poo. It sure looks cool, though. It also has this crazy tonearm design that is supposed to always keep the cartridge at the proper tangent to the grooves, eliminating inner groove distortion. I like that idea. ryangs fucked around with this message at 17:53 on Jan 16, 2014 |
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Jan 16, 2014 17:46
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screaden posted:So I'm still relatively new to record players, and I need to get me a new cartridge/stylus, but I've never done it before. Will basically anything fit in to what I've got? For instance, if I was to buy the ortofon 2mred linked in the OP, could I just plug it straight into my old headshell and play away? It's surprisingly hard to find concrete information because it seems all the sites refer to the different parts by interchangeable terms, so I'm not exactly sure which part I need to pay attention to. You may want to look at this guide ryangs posted:I got a Garrard turntable at a garage sale for $20 that has a similar design: a metal plate sitting in a wooden frame. The turntable hardware is supposed to be isolated from the wooden base by springs, but they're so loose that the platter and everything wobbles all over the place. I have sort of corrected this by tightening the mounting screws (that are surrounded by the springs), but whole thing still seems way too susceptible to picking up vibrations from around the room. That Garrard and other similar tables are what's called "suspension" turntables. The springs are supposed to be bouncy so that they can absorb vibrations. By tightening the springs you are essentially allowing more vibrations to penetrate into the platter, and thus the needle. Think of it like tightening the suspension on your car  You want it to bounce a little. Springs don't really get soft and loose over time unless they are stretched, but in this case, they are compressed. If anything, they'd get more stiff over the years. As for the automatic mechanism, what is the size lever set to? BANME.sh fucked around with this message at 18:08 on Jan 16, 2014 |
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Jan 16, 2014 18:02
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BANME.sh posted:You may want to look at this guide That's what I figured, with the springs, but they're SO RIDICULOUSLY BOUNCY that the platter shakes all over the place if someone so much as walks past. That's why I'm thinking the springs have gotten too soft. The size lever is set to 12" on the auto mechanism. I should look underneath and see what mechanism the size lever moves and make sure it's all working properly. Like I said, the screw that is supposed to adjust the starting point (it tightens or loosens a spring) isn't doing the trick.
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Jan 16, 2014 19:20
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