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I picked up an old PYE ESC-800 turntable for $1 because the platter was grinding on 33rpm (also a broken counterweight but I think I can jury-rig that). I've popped it open, and I think there is meant to be a washer or something around the spindle that the platter should ride on, but it's missing/perished so the whole platter sits a few mm lower than it ought to and the rim rubs on the speed selector when its raised into the 33rpm position. I'm not actually sure what the platter rests on, but I think it's just sitting on the retention (and earthing?) clip in black. I can't find anything about this machine online other than a couple of youtube vids from the same guy like this Very rough image attached. Is this any kind of standard assembly? Would putting a washer/spacer in (as indicated in green) to lift things up a couple mm and provide a surface for the turntable to rest on be reasonable, or is there an objectively correct fix for this sort of thing? 
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Feb 12, 2023 20:42
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Is there a C-clip in there? With my “no turntable knowledge” I’d say it’s likely that it got lost because I do have knowledge about pinging c-clips across the room
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Feb 12, 2023 20:53
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Nah, not that I can see. That function is sort of served by the black thing, as it fits into the indent in the spindle and prevents it from lifting out, but once you unscrew the black bit it just slides away - no sort of friction/tension that I'd expect from a C or E clip.
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Feb 12, 2023 21:04
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Is there a decent DAC around 50 bucks? I picked up several 3rd Gen apple TVs to airplay through some of my older systems. I already have Schiit Modi and a SMSL SU-9, I just want something on the cheaper side since it's mainly for background music while I clean house and stuff.
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Feb 13, 2023 01:06
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TooLShack posted:Is there a decent DAC around 50 bucks? I picked up several 3rd Gen apple TVs to airplay through some of my older systems. I already have Schiit Modi and a SMSL SU-9, I just want something on the cheaper side since it's mainly for background music while I clean house and stuff. Probably something like a Fosi Audio unit for that price point. https://www.amazon.com/Fosi-Audio-Headphone-Digital-Analog/dp/B07VDQQY95/
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Feb 13, 2023 01:37
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ok what in gods name is this thing that's an old Kenwood receiver with an integrated drum machine in it for some godforsaken reason. it also has guitar in  i wonder who this was marketed to. i almost want to pick it up for shits and giggles
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Feb 16, 2023 22:11
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It's the drummer from Big Black
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Feb 17, 2023 04:08
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Feels Villeneuve posted:i wonder who this was marketed to. i almost want to pick it up for shits and giggles A middle aged person with kids whose spouse said there's no room in this house to keep your guitar amps and drum machine but you can keep your guitar I guess.
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Feb 18, 2023 21:07
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I have an Audio-Technica LP60X I got for my birthday a year ago and I’ve been using it with some basic-rear end Edifier R1280T speakers I bought from Best Buy. It sounds fine enough to me, and I mostly just listen to anime OST vinyls or emo music on it. However, a friend talked me into buying some Sennheiser 560S headphones, for which I need an amp to run off the turntable. I was in order directed to the Schiit Magni+. I don’t know a lot about audio equipment or whatever, but I feel like this is teetering on the edge of snake oil audiophile bullshit gear. I know the stuff can get hilariously over priced compared to what I’m picking up, but also $110 for an amplifier just feels like it’s a lot of money for some reason, especially when it’s hooked up to a $120 turntable. At what point does this all break down and just turn into an exercise in spending money for placebo effects?
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Feb 21, 2023 18:52
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Anything electronic in a box shipped to you is going to cost $100. That said 560s aren't particularly hard to drive, do you like the way they fit and sound connected to something else like your computer? I guess the most relevant question would be do they sound so much better than your speakers to be worth the extra expense. Open headphones aren't super versatile and you can kinda only use them at home. Schiit appeals a whole lot to a certain kind of enthusiast and I'm not one of them but their entry level stuff works and isn't a ripoff pricewise. The decent Chinese analog headphone amps like Topping, SMSL, etc. start around $90-100.
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Feb 21, 2023 19:08
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Branch Nvidian posted:I have an Audio-Technica LP60X I got for my birthday a year ago and I’ve been using it with some basic-rear end Edifier R1280T speakers I bought from Best Buy. It sounds fine enough to me, and I mostly just listen to anime OST vinyls or emo music on it. However, a friend talked me into buying some Sennheiser 560S headphones, for which I need an amp to run off the turntable. I was in order directed to the Schiit Magni+. lmao do not look at audio equipment pricing, my dude. Definitely do not look at "audiophile" poo poo if $100 for a headphone amp/preamp seems weird to you (TLDR: Schiit products can veer a bit into audiophile woo-woo when it comes to their designs and philosophy, but in this case you've been given valid advice you have two possible pathways before you: 1. keep the Edifiers and figure out a way to cleanly run a headphone off of the same signal chain. A Magni or similar product will fit between the turntable/any other sources you got and the Edifiers, and serve as headphone driver when the headphones are plugged in and preamp/volume control for the powered speakers when they aren't. This is honestly probably the cleanest and best bang/buck way to do this in terms of signal quality/etc. If your Edifiers have their own headphone out port like a lot of M-Audio and Mackie-branded computer speakers have it's probably dogshit and not worth using. 2. get rid of the Edifiers and get a proper 2-channel amplifier or receiver (or maybe even like a surround AV receiver if that's what you got) with some passive speakers, and with a headphone out port that is probably decent enough for most people. Probably not ideal for a million reasons but you'd definitely end up with a much more "long-term" and growable solution than those Edifiers, where you could hook that amp/receiver up to different speakers over the years and whatnot. Arguably a more "buy once/cry once" solution, but if you balk at $100 for amps and $120 for turntables, then dropping anywhere from $100 to $1000+ on an amplifier/receiver is probably a total nonstarter. A cheap enthusiast would find a receiver at a thrift store for $12, but that takes drinking enough of the Kool-Aid to know about that poo poo in the first place) trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 19:15 on Feb 21, 2023 |
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Feb 21, 2023 19:11
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Branch Nvidian posted:I have an Audio-Technica LP60X I got for my birthday a year ago and I’ve been using it with some basic-rear end Edifier R1280T speakers I bought from Best Buy. It sounds fine enough to me, and I mostly just listen to anime OST vinyls or emo music on it. However, a friend talked me into buying some Sennheiser 560S headphones, for which I need an amp to run off the turntable. I was in order directed to the Schiit Magni+. That's actually considered a bargain price, good quality headphone amp. Snake oil hilariously overpriced gear is more like... $1000-$2000 and up. If you wanted something dorky with tubes and wanted to save some money, you could get this https://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-Amplifier-Receiver-Integrated-Headphone/dp/B07Q26T5N7 , but that Schiit will be more reliable long term.
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Feb 21, 2023 19:14
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Ok Comboomer posted:1. keep the Edifiers and figure out a way to cleanly run a headphone off of the same signal chain. A Magni or similar product will fit between the turntable/any other sources you got and the Edifiers, and serve as headphone driver when the headphones are plugged in and preamp/volume control for the powered speakers when they aren't. This is honestly probably the cleanest and best bang/buck way to do this in terms of signal quality/etc. If your Edifiers have their own headphone out port like a lot of M-Audio and Mackie-branded computer speakers have it's probably dogshit and not worth using. This is what I was intending to end up doing. The speakers have no output of any kind other than the audio cable the links the two units. I feel kinda stupid coming in here and asking about the stuff, but I also have no point of reference beyond using the most basic of sound equipment. And honestly it’s not spending the money that is the issue so much as it feels like everything is an incomplete part of a solution. Turntable + speakers is a given, but then it’s like you need a receiver and an amp and if you want to use your computer on it you need a DAC and so on. $110 for an amp or $120 for a turntable seems reasonable in a vacuum, but when you’re buying an amp that costs almost as much as the turntable it feels a little head scratchy. Arguably the amp in this instance is a higher tier product than the turntable or speakers in the equation, but that would somewhat signal that there are cheaper amps more in line with the price of the other components. If that makes any sense? qirex posted:Anything electronic in a box shipped to you is going to cost $100. That said 560s aren't particularly hard to drive, do you like the way they fit and sound connected to something else like your computer? I guess the most relevant question would be do they sound so much better than your speakers to be worth the extra expense. Open headphones aren't super versatile and you can kinda only use them at home. Schiit appeals a whole lot to a certain kind of enthusiast and I'm not one of them but their entry level stuff works and isn't a ripoff pricewise. The decent Chinese analog headphone amps like Topping, SMSL, etc. start around $90-100. The 560S were positioned to me by a friend as great for the money and far superior to my closed back Logitech gamer headset. I’ve not heard them yet, but if what my friend has said is even remotely true then I’ll probably end up using them on my computer as well. Branch Nvidian fucked around with this message at 19:38 on Feb 21, 2023 |
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Feb 21, 2023 19:27
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Branch Nvidian posted:This is what I was intending to end up doing. The speakers have no output of any kind other than the audio cable the links the two units. I feel kinda stupid coming in here and asking about the stuff, but I also have no point of reference beyond using the most basic of sound equipment. Some various thoughts in no particular order: 1. The LP60 line is very much a "budget" TT, but that doesn't mean that it has to have poor sound quality. Much of the cost-cutting on that particular turntable comes from materials and upgradeability. The cartridge is special to those kinds of TTs and isn't replaceable so you can only buy styluses specific to the LP60. If you ever decide to upgrade you have to go to a more traditional TT design. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry too much about putting a "low quality" TT with a "higher tier" amp or whatever. Buy what you like and makes sense for you, plus also turntables are super simple devices that translate vibrations into electrical impulses so don't worry about it on a technical level either. 2. To repeat, you shouldn't hyper-fixate on the relative costs of different components. There is a definite curve of gains followed by diminishing returns with equipment cost, but a lot of it is also stuff like marketing, capability, materials, and whatnot. There are good DACs that cost $9 and good DACs that cost $200 and good but also way overpriced DACs that cost $500 or $1000+, nevermind $10k+. Some things, like amplifiers or speakers, have a range in which you can expect a certain amount of quality for the price, other things are much more wide-ranging or dependent on stuff like the size of the company manufacturing them, etc (ie a company like Yamaha can give you way better bang for the buck than a tiny boutique builder can. Apple can provide a level of fit and finish and capability and quality on their iPhones that a much smaller company would never be able to do at scale for that cost, etc). Oftentimes the main difference between a <$500 pair of speakers and a $500+ pair of speakers is the finish material, which is important to many buyers but may not be important to you. 3. That said, the most important component in your chain is probably your speakers and/or your signal source. Otherwise you generally want your amp to be as noiseless as possible and measure as accurately as possible and also have enough power to drive your speakers without clipping or distorting. That's basically it. 4. The downside to the Magni+/Magni Heretic (I honestly don't know which is better for you. Possibly the Heretic) is that it has a single RCA input so you have to pair it with some kind of passive splitter. Schiit wants you to build a ministack with a Magni, a SYS ($50) and something like a Modi DAC, which admittedly looks pretty boss but is also like $250-$350. Other alternatives for getting your PC + your turntable hooked up at the same time are a SYS and a $9 Apple USB-C dongle DAC (works with an adapter if you have to make it USB-A, really is that good and measures that well). Alternatively you could size up to a Schiit Asgard or Jotunheim and get multiple onboard inputs but now you're spending $200-$500. 5. There are other things like mixers and interfaces which might work for you for similar or slightly less money, but honestly that's even nerdier than this stuff.
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Feb 21, 2023 20:00
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Branch Nvidian posted:$110 for an amp or $120 for a turntable seems reasonable in a vacuum, but when you’re buying an amp that costs almost as much as the turntable it feels a little head scratchy. Arguably the amp in this instance is a higher tier product than the turntable or speakers in the equation, but that would somewhat signal that there are cheaper amps more in line with the price of the other components. If that makes any sense? Personally, I think this makes perfect sense… I am not an audiophile, and in no way want to poo poo on peoples opinions or purchases. You do what makes you happy and enjoy it. That said, it just seems so odd to me to spend $100 on an amplifier for headphones? Maybe it’s because headphones were always an afterthought to me, but doesn’t a tiny piece of my computers motherboard that’s ostensibly thrown in for free do roughly the same thing? I mean, I have an old pair of over the ear headphones and if I plug them into any computer, laptop, radio, whatever it will drive them. I mean, even a raspberry pi has this stuff built-in, right? And before you say the raspberry pi’s headphone out is poo poo, fair enough… but it does it. And be an entire computer at the same time for an MSRP if $40 or whatever if you can find them. If I were in your position, I’d grab a used receiver if you have the room for it. They can be had for $50 and will have toooons of inputs and power and options and a DAC usually and be able to power your headphones  6-piece spicy chicken nugget and a baconator please
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Feb 21, 2023 20:04
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namlosh posted:Personally, I think this makes perfect sense… I am not an audiophile, and in no way want to poo poo on peoples opinions or purchases. You do what makes you happy and enjoy it. If OP gets a receiver then they have to toss their current speakers and get new ones (probably better ones, but different speakers nonetheless) because they have built-in amplification Also the headphone amplifier "debate" is a long one but the TLDR is that some types of enthusiast-focused headphones need more power to run/run well than what most integrated devices can offer, and also many of those integrated devices arguably sound like rear end and are of low quality or are subject to noise, etc. For example most motherboard headphone outs that aren't made by companies like Apple are pretty noisy and lovely and some people like to break out that signal chain into an external device of some kind.
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Feb 21, 2023 20:12
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Also fwiw the way I have things set up, my PC uses a set of Audioengine A2+ speakers with an internal DAC that I love. And my PC would be more than capable of driving the 560S all on its own. I just used the receiver and DAC comments as an example of how piecemeal it seems to someone on the outside. The amp really is just for use with the turntable and will sit between the TT and my Edifier speakers. Sorry for cluttering up the thread, I was honestly just worried I was buying snake oil poo poo.
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Feb 21, 2023 20:15
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Ok Comboomer posted:If OP gets a receiver then they have to toss their current speakers and get new ones (probably better ones, but different speakers nonetheless) because they have built-in amplification Ok Comboomer posted:
Yep, barring the super expensive headphones… I addressed this. Some people don’t like the output of built-ins which is fine. They want a different one. It still doesn’t justify why they cost ($100) so much separately. At least not to me. 15-20 watt amplifiers are a single Integrated Circuit chip now
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Feb 21, 2023 20:28
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Whatever happened to Altoids tin headphone amps?
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Feb 21, 2023 20:42
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namlosh posted:I assumed that any receiver would have a line level output that could be used with his existing speakers. Tape monitor or something idk. The 2 receivers I have can do it you're going to get a much more satisfactory answer to this (or maybe not, but you'll definitely get some answers) in the headphone thread than you are here this is kind of the backwater audio thread, nobody really does anything here unless they have a turntable-specific question or comment Also, WRT to line level or recording outs: you'd be surprised by how many receivers don't have those anymore
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Feb 21, 2023 21:15
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"audiophile cd players" are silly but I have heard things including on this forum about *really* old CD players having lovely DACs. Whats the oldest I should go if I want to just pick something up from Craigslist for $50
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Feb 22, 2023 04:41
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Feels Villeneuve posted:"audiophile cd players" are silly but I have heard things including on this forum about *really* old CD players having lovely DACs. Whats the oldest I should go if I want to just pick something up from Craigslist for $50 get something with an optical or coax out and use your own DAC/the DAC in your receiver
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Feb 22, 2023 04:47
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Feels Villeneuve posted:"audiophile cd players" are silly but I have heard things including on this forum about *really* old CD players having lovely DACs. Whats the oldest I should go if I want to just pick something up from Craigslist for $50 Old cd players can have all sorts of issues that can be hard to fix. I’d just want to make sure it works And I don’t mean 40 year old cd players. There’s a lot that can break.
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Feb 22, 2023 05:00
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I’ve had a pair of old Gradient coaxial speakers with SEAS elements laying around for a few years. I wanted to try them out with my PC so I bought a cheap Chinese Aiyima A07 stereo amp. D class, 2x50W with 8ohm. https://www.amazon.com/AIYIMA-A07-TPA3255-Amplifier-Digital/dp/B08CJZGT6H/ It has a very cheap plastic encased external power brick. Do I need to worry about that - can those be left connected to mains all the time, or do I have to buy a switch for it?
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Feb 22, 2023 10:23
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Ok Comboomer posted:you're going to get a much more satisfactory answer to this (or maybe not, but you'll definitely get some answers) in the headphone thread than you are here Thx for the suggestion and the info about line outs. I think I’ll just drop the subject. There’s a reason that this and the ridicule audiophiles thread are the only audio threads I have bookmarked
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Feb 22, 2023 14:26
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namlosh posted:Thx for the suggestion and the info about line outs. I think I’ll just drop the subject. I promise that it's not because SA is full of idiot audiophiles, but it's clear that you've already made up your mind
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Feb 22, 2023 14:34
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Feels Villeneuve posted:"audiophile cd players" are silly but I have heard things including on this forum about *really* old CD players having lovely DACs. Whats the oldest I should go if I want to just pick something up from Craigslist for $50 Also don't sleep on DVD players from the mid 00s. I have a mid-high end Sony that has optical and digital coax out on it, takes all manner of digital files on disc and is one of the best CD players I have ever used. I got it for free but looking online you can score the same and higher end models for under 50 bucks shipped.
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Feb 22, 2023 17:02
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BigFactory posted:Old cd players can have all sorts of issues that can be hard to fix. I’d just want to make sure it works tbh one reason i was looking at old ones which didn't have things like rotating changers was that i assumed they'd be pretty well built back from the era where CD players were extremely expensive also because old poo poo ftw
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Feb 22, 2023 17:11
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Djarum posted:Also don't sleep on DVD players from the mid 00s. I have a mid-high end Sony that has optical and digital coax out on it, takes all manner of digital files on disc and is one of the best CD players I have ever used. I got it for free but looking online you can score the same and higher end models for under 50 bucks shipped. i stupidly let an OPPO with DVD-A and SACD sit at a thrift shop for $99 because it didn't have BD. smh,.....
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Feb 22, 2023 17:12
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Djarum posted:Also don't sleep on DVD players from the mid 00s. I have a mid-high end Sony that has optical and digital coax out on it, takes all manner of digital files on disc and is one of the best CD players I have ever used. I got it for free but looking online you can score the same and higher end models for under 50 bucks shipped. I do the same thing, the one headache is that sometimes DVD players don’t have exactly the best functionality like showing track number or whatever if they’re designed to be hooked up to a screen or use a remote. But I’ve been using a dvd player as a cd player basically since dvd players came out.
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Feb 22, 2023 17:14
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Feels Villeneuve posted:tbh one reason i was looking at old ones which didn't have things like rotating changers was that i assumed they'd be pretty well built back from the era where CD players were extremely expensive There are still a lot of moving parts, and a lot of small plastic parts, and optical stuff can get out of alignment. Some laser heads are easy to adjust, some are not at all. It’s not like a record player where they can be easily user serviceable. That being said, I don’t know that a higher end 35 year old CD player is any worse than a 10 year old one unless you know how it’s been handled.
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Feb 22, 2023 17:18
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i mean gently caress it, at this point getting the PS3 hooked back up to the TV might be my best move lol
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Feb 22, 2023 17:23
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Ok Comboomer posted:I promise that it's not because SA is full of idiot audiophiles, but it's clear that you've already made up your mind Please don’t put words in my mouth. I never said SA had idiot audiophiles… only that the other thread is audiophiles, of which I am not. See the former discussion regarding the price of headphone amps. We just have different priorities and I prefer more chill audio discussion; or dumping ridicule on the true idiot audiophiles 
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Feb 22, 2023 17:43
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BigFactory posted:I do the same thing, the one headache is that sometimes DVD players don’t have exactly the best functionality like showing track number or whatever if they’re designed to be hooked up to a screen or use a remote. But I’ve been using a dvd player as a cd player basically since dvd players came out. Yeah that is an issue. Thankfully the model I have has a display on the unit. It really does seem like it was designs to play audio first and movies as an added bonus. Feels Villeneuve posted:i stupidly let an OPPO with DVD-A and SACD sit at a thrift shop for $99 because it didn't have BD. smh,..... Oh man. That stings.
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Feb 22, 2023 17:53
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I mean SACD and especially DVD-A are silly but there's something cool about having a device to play obscure formats e) especially because i like classical which is the one genre with like a lot of SACD stuff which might be nice if i ever go the 5.1 route Feels Villeneuve fucked around with this message at 18:03 on Feb 22, 2023 |
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Feb 22, 2023 18:00
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Mederlock posted:Probably something like a Fosi Audio unit for that price point. Thanks, mine came in today, not a bad little device.
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Feb 23, 2023 01:16
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TooLShack posted:Thanks, mine came in today, not a bad little device. Yeah, for the money, they're great little units. I don't actually have that DAC, but I do have their TB10D stereo amp for the bedroom with a WIIM mini streamer/DAC unit as a source, and it's fantastic for that purpose/price point. It's driving a pair of 86db sensitivity Wharfedale Diamond III bookshelf's perfectly
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Feb 23, 2023 01:41
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Feels Villeneuve posted:I mean SACD and especially DVD-A are silly but there's something cool about having a device to play obscure formats In the early 00s I really got into 5.1 audio as I was having to mix stuff for clients and there was some really fantastic 5.1 commercial mixes of stuff coming out. The NIN 5.1 mixes are fantastic for example. Some bootleg folks were doing 5.1 mixes of shows as well. Like I have a 5.1 mix of the Pearl Jam show from Atlanta 1994. Someone took the soundboard source along with multiple bootleg recordings a mixed it so it is like you are actually at the show. It is wild with a proper 5.1 setup. I always found it a missed opportunity with surround sound and music. The stuff I have ever heard done with it is almost always amazing and I would have thought we could have solved the multiple speaker thing easily and cheaply at this point. One of these days I am going to get a Quad decoder and get that working since the Pink Floyd Quad pressings are absolutely incredible.
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Feb 23, 2023 06:59
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I have essentially no audio/stereo knowledge and was gifted a cheap turntable recently. I'm enjoying it a lot (I hadn't realised just how much I miss owning physical music and listening to it for more than just background noise), but the sound isn't great. I thought I could just plug it into an Anker speaker I have to make it sound better, and then I discovered there's this whole world of pre-amps, amplifiers, and many other acronyms. I somewhat landed on maybe getting some KEF speakers but became completely overwhelmed looking at amplifiers. It's gotten very overwhelming, and the more I google terminology, the more confused I'm getting about how to go from record -> good sound. Enfys fucked around with this message at 10:48 on Feb 27, 2023 |
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Feb 23, 2023 13:00
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Enfys posted:I have essentially no audio/stereo knowledge and was gifted a cheap turntable recently. What’s your turntable? My advice for speakers is either to listen to them before you buy, or not really care and just buy something in your price range. Pairing a speaker brand to an amp brand doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. And if you’re going to drop a ton of money on a stereo, you might not want to put your speakers right next to your turntable on the same shelf. Unless you listen really quietly.
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Feb 23, 2023 13:30
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