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So like any good recently-employed hipster I'm looking to get into vinyl for the first time since my dad decided that his old Vector Research TT belonged in storage (but he's keeping it, regardless). Since you can't get an SL-1200 for less than $700 these days, I've been looking at the goon-standby Pro-Ject Debut III. In the last 26 pages of this thread, nobody's made any mention of the Music Hall MMF-2.2, which costs about $100 more than the Debut III, comes in fewer colors, shares several interchangeable parts, and is made in the exact same factory as the Pro-Ject. I've seen a lot of reviews comparing one of the two to the Rega RP1- and the consensus seems to be that both are better than the Rega- but beyond that, everything sort of dissolves into hazy audiophile-speak. Despite hours of internet scouring, it seems like nobody's done a direct comparison between the two sister TT's. Does anybody have any experience with the MMF-2.2? What exactly sets it apart from the Pro-Ject? Is it better in some quantifiable way?
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Oct 8, 2011 19:33
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Not an Anthem posted:Electric Bugaloo what is your max price for a turntable? MMF 2.2 does not have a 100$ bump in enjoyment, and that 100$ can go towards another table or other audio equipment. There are plenty of great turntables just over the Project Debut/Rega intro offerings pricepoint too. Good question. I'm a recent college grad with loans and a degree in an art and a science and no desire to go to grad school who is currently working in Entertainment. TLDR: not a lot. Also, I need to get an amplifier/reciever/speakers/headphones- so again, not a lot and I'll probably try to hold onto this TT for a long haul if I can. That's why I'm sort of splitting hairs on '$500 vs. $400 vs. etc.' If $100 is going to buy me a TT with a sizable difference from one worth a bit less that can't be overcome with a cartridge/arm upgrade in the future, I may as well go for whatever gives me the most "quality staying power"-so to speak. I won't be upgrading to an $800+ table anytime within the next several years. Edit: If you (or anyone else) has any suggestions (and "used Technics 1200" doesn't count- I've been looking on craigslist/ebay for almost 4 months and the ones I've gone out and seen in my sub-$500 range have definitely not been worth buying), I'm way open. I am a bit of a whore for aesthetic design (hence looking at the Debut/MMF 2.2) and I like the "colorful modernist slab" look but I can obviously chuck that out the window for tangible playing quality. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 03:16 on Oct 14, 2011 |
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Oct 14, 2011 03:08
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Ghumbs posted:If you're interested in the Pro-Ject RM5 SE, I might be willing to part with mine. Isn't that a $900+ table? If you're selling it in my price range (I mentioned sub $500- but I'll add "strong bias to 'least amount of money with acceptable results" to that) there must be something wrong with it.
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Oct 14, 2011 07:59
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Not an Anthem posted:Geez. What is your budget for the whole system? Maybe $1500 whole hog? I realize that that hardly qualifies as "cheap" by most goon standards but I'm fortunate enough to be in a situation where I can swing a bit of cash if it'll get me a system worth holding onto for several years/longer. I have a borderline-obsessive "if you save for another X months, you can get something much better" purchasing philosophy (hence I agonize over stuff like this for up to years at a time before buying anything). I highlighted my financial constraints to differentiate myself from the "Just blew a cool grand on a pair of Bowers/Wilkins, any suggestions for a sweet tube amp?" setups in A/V Arena but it's not like I'm living in a box, debating whether I'll spend my next paycheck on food or loans either. I've considered the "thrift store/record store used TT" but haven't had much luck seeing anything worth getting. All of the record/hi fi stores near me that have survived the Walmart/Best Buy onslaught are hardcore audiophile places, and their used gear's never been what I'd call cheap. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 03:26 on Oct 17, 2011 |
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Oct 16, 2011 22:03
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Welp, it just so happens that my dad would rather have his gear in use than sitting in his attic. That takes care of the receiver: It's a Nakamichi 'Receiver 2', circa 1990- which I can't find much on aside from the fact that people are selling them for anywhere from $120 to $350 online- which isn't bad at all for a piece of kit that cost $650 new. It's in fantastic shape (To think that we once tried to offload it for $30 in a tag sale a decade ago). My dad gave me that receiver outright and it sounds pretty great. Only complaint is that it's 2.0/4.0, without a subwoofer output. It's 55W but I have no idea if that's necessarily going to be a bad thing. The top of the line ('Receiver 3'- $950 new) had 75W so I'm not sweating that too much ATM. And the turntable: A Vector Research VT-250, circa 1982 (I think). Again, not much info online aside from someone saying it was "solid" and that VR was "a small California company that went bust in the mid-80's." It's auto, which is nice, and it's got cueing and other goodies for a simpleton like me. I think it's direct drive (it has a quartz timer). This one's on "extended loan"- which means I'll probably have it for a few years until the old man decides he needs it for something out of the blue. As for speakers, I've got some $25 plastic-shelled Indoor/Outdoor KLH's hooked up at the moment. They sound like garbage. Since the receiver's 2.0, I'll be wanting something with good bass production, probably of the floor-standing variety (again, advice would be lovely. What can I expect in difference between say, some Mordaunt Short Carnival 6's versus a pair of Carnival 2's besides loudness?) The best news is that I took a chunk of that "Receiver and Turntable" money and threw it towards picking up a few hundred bucks' worth of vinyl, including some fantastic rare stuff. Pictures forthcoming because the snotty hipster in me wants to share.  
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Oct 20, 2011 01:08
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Not an Anthem posted:EB, I have the Nakamichi Cassette Deck 2, just grabbed it because it was a 5$ Nak tape deck but didn't realize it was 90's and not that amazing. Works perfect for me though. From the limited amount of stuff I've heard, the /-1/-2/-3 series was pretty solid, though maybe not early '80s Nak good. The CD player-2 is apparently really sought after by hifi snobs. There's one sitting in my dad's attic but the thing is ENORMOUS (wider and much heavier than the receiver) so it'll stay there for the time being. Apparently the younger RE- series of stuff (circa '93) is what's "terrible" (though this is coming from the sort of crowd that think buying special speaker wire matters, so I'll take it with a grain of salt without an actual valid explanation). Regardless of whether it sucks or not, I'm pleased as punch with the receiver for my tiny apartment setup though. I'll eventually have to pick up a 5.1 one + (much smaller and cheaper) speakers for home theater-type tomfoolery. Not a problem, as I like the idea of having a separate 2.0/2.1 music-only system-rather than try to compromise things or whatnot (it'll end up costing about the same as finding a 5.1 receiver with a phono preamp and HDMI/buying a cheap receiver and a preamp separately anyway since the Nak was free and I won't need something particularly nice for just movies/games) and I'm thinking of putting together an attractive little setup around a cabinet/sideboard with the turntable and a laptop/DAC. I also want to pick up a tube headphone amp that I'll run out of the pre-out on the Nak and a pair of Grados to complete the ensemble (way future plans). Then all I'll need is the leather Eames armchair next to the headphone amp and my master plan for domestic bliss will be complete (until then an IKEA Poang will have to do.) trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 16:39 on Oct 24, 2011 |
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Oct 24, 2011 16:08
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Not an Anthem posted:I was buying the CD player 2 with the cassette deck 2 for 5$ each but some old mom grabbed it randomly while I had pulled it from the shelf and ran to the checkout and bought it. I was flabbergasted that someone would do that at a thrift store. Somewhere, some 60-year old dude with a ponytail and a Playstation 1 (apparently, there's a major contingent of audiophiles who swear that a specific model of PS1 produces top-tier CD fidelity) is getting ready to listen to Aja, Yes 1, We're Only in it For the Money, Wish You Were Here, So, and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway without having to get up and swap CDs for the fist time since he got suckered into audiophilia.  Either that or maybe it was her husband's and she pulled it out of the basement and donated it without him knowing (It's her husband's because there are no female audio snobs). trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 21:32 on Oct 25, 2011 |
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Oct 25, 2011 21:28
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minivanmegafun posted:http://www.stereophile.com/cdplayers/708play I'm 99% sure the guy who wrote the article has no idea that the PS1 is from the early 90's. Also liked it when he (or his daughter, I guess) said that you could play Mario and Zelda games on it. And when he said that it was smooth. I wanna start buying 'em up at Goodwills in order to hawk them for hundreds of dollars to bearded guys with $15,000 hifi setups in a few years. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 23:29 on Oct 27, 2011 |
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Oct 27, 2011 23:26
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Here's a related question: So I've got my Nak receiver running to some speakers via its onboard speaker-outs. I'd like to eventually hook a tube headphone amp to the receiver's pre-out (so that I can use it as a phono preamp in headphone mode). However, I'd still like to keep the speakers running directly out of the receiver. Can I do that or will the receiver automatically bypass to the amp if it's plugged in? There doesn't look like there's any way to select the pre-out or switch it on/off (you have to bridge the pre-in/out to get any sound out of the speakers. Could it switch automatically (I imagine not)? Right now, I'm imagining a setup where I'd have to constantly plug in/unplug poo poo from the back to get whatever output I want, which is hardly elegant or convenient.
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Nov 2, 2011 20:03
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Brozekiel posted:You could probably buy some sort of two-way switch that would connect between the pre-in/outs that would let you either bridge the connection (to use your speakers) or divert through the tube amp (to use headphones). Something like this, then:  with "Output A" running back to the receiver and "B" to the amp. Hmm...apparently signal quality can degrade through one of these (probably just endemic to that specific switch- which looks super cheaply-put together), but I wonder how much of that is "audiophile" hogwash. It makes me wonder if the fact that I've been using a short RCA cable to bridge the in/out instead of the bridge pins (those were lost) has resulted in degraded audio quality too. And for everybody commenting on how to display their vinyl and suggesting $20 frames: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40126069/ There are 2 sizes and various colors. Just pop one of these on the wall above your setup, with maybe a large picture or framed poster above it, and you're set in a way that looks much better than those cramped-looking LP frames and for less money. If you're worried about warping any LPs or bending any sleeves that you might lean up there for a long time, you could easily cut a rectangle or some squares of foam board/cardboard/laminate to put behind them. Gonna crosspost this in the NMD vinyl thread because I'm so smart 
trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 03:24 on Nov 3, 2011 |
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Nov 3, 2011 03:21
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Not an Anthem posted:Crap turntable for the price. That's a high price for that table and even at the normal price I'd go for something better. Are you talking about the Debut III (link was deleted)? What would you recommend "at the normal price?"
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Dec 14, 2011 22:32
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Not an Anthem posted:It was the 1.2. Oh. Ok, makes sense now. Sorry.
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Dec 19, 2011 10:54
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So I picked these speakers up in March at a Goodwill store in the middle of the 'hood for a grand total of $16: They're Technics SB-K14s, and aside from some slight external water damage and scuffs along their backs, both speakers are in solid shape and haven't given me any trouble yet. That said, my intent when I bought them was to have a decent pair of cheap holdovers until I actually dropped some real coin on my first Legitimate Grownup Speakers. Can anyone tell me any information about them? I've done a fair amount of digging online and have been unable to find a single bit of information about this model other than that they're "rather wimpy" and that "Technics was on the high side of low-end for speakers." They seem pretty solid-sounding to me, but they're currently set up in a room that's quite a bit smaller than where I'm planning to put my turntable setup in a few weeks. I'm still putting money in my Grownup Speakers Fund but I'm debating how worthwhile the change would really be. I've been thinking of getting a set of low-to-mid end Mordaunt Shorts (maybe a pair of the recently-discontinued Carnival 2's or 6's, if any are still available at a decent price). These are the first speakers I've bought that aren't either complete and utter garbage or made to go on a computer desk. Are these as bad as the limited talk I've seen makes them out to be? (And for that matter, are the M-S's going to be that much better? I haven't been able to really crank a pair of them.) It'd be great to save some money, but these things are kind of massive- and while I'm a big fan of both retro and woodgrain, they look pretty cheap and chintzy in person (the contact paper grain's not convincing and neither are the silver plastic speaker surrounds). Here's a picture with the rest of my setup for a size reference (I have a lot more records than that, I was organizing them at the time): 
trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 09:14 on Jul 3, 2012 |
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Jul 3, 2012 09:09
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Dumbledore 64 posted:If you can't find any information for them online it's a good chance they were part of some kind of component system and weren't sold as standalone speakers. If they sound good to you, that should be good enough, and $16 isn't a bad deal at all. I used a pair of $8 thrift store speakers for a long time and something somebody told me once was that you could spend a lot more for fast food and end up a lot more disappointed. For me it's honestly more of a space thing. These aren't proper floorstanders and they don't really look right that way. They're from a time where it was acceptable for a shelf-mount (or rather, entertainment console-mount) speaker to be massive. I can ballpark that these might be as "good" as a pair of modern decently-priced ($200-$500) bookshelf speakers (if not probably a bit worse) but their woofers really aren't a match for a proper subwoofer, despite their size. Like I said, I'm a fan of the old school look- they just might be a bit too loving big for their sound.
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Jul 5, 2012 04:40
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alg posted:Get on Craigslist, get a vintage turntable and receiver (make sure it has a pre-amp in it) and some speakers for $100. Make sure you try out all of it before you buy. Yes, basically this! He could also, you know, read the OP.
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Sep 13, 2012 02:08
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Jinnigan posted:The OP is almost half a decade old. You're right. Let me address the literally two things that have changed: 1. Technics no longer manufactures turntables, so the SL-1200 is now virtually unavailable in decent shape for less than $700 used. Every DJ on Earth wants at least two. 2. Self-quoted and crossposted from the NMD Vinyl thread: Electric Bugaloo posted:Also, the Debut-III has just been replaced by the new Debut Carbon. It's the same table except apparently better in every way that counts: Carbon fiber tonearm (probably more of a gimmick than anything, but hey- improvement's improvement), Ortofon 2M Red cartridge (this is a biggie- people often upgrade their Debut-III's by replacing the bundled cartridge. AFAIK this is the one that most people replace it with. It's $100 on its own- so unless you find a clearance Debut-III for at least $100 less than the Carbon, I'd argue that this upgrade alone is worth the cost of the new model), bigger platter, and new motor suspension (from what I've heard, these last two changes basically take care of most of the complaints people had with the older model). There you go. Since you gave yourself a total budget of ~$350 for table/receiver/speakers, neither of these updates really apply to you at this moment (and you wouldn't really have been able to afford an SL-1200/Debut III four years ago anyway). So read the OP and tailor your search for good used equipment based on the advice it holds. Don't buy anything Crosley/from Walmart/lovely. Good luck and have fun!
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Sep 13, 2012 19:59
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JohnnyWarbucks posted:Not sure if it's the right place to ask, but does anyone have a recommendation for a place to sell medium-range speakers? I have an older pair of B&W bookshelf speakers and some new Orb Audio speakers I need to sell, but I don't think I'd get the best price from Craigslist and I hate having to pay eBay fees. Thought about listing them in SA Mart, but wasn't sure if it'd reach the right audience. What are they, exactly? I might be in a position to take one of those sets off your hands.
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Jan 23, 2013 16:55
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So I went to play some LPs earlier- as I usually do most days- and all of a sudden I started to get a horribly scratchy (like static on 'roids) sound out of a new (and normally very good-sounding) record. I futzed around with all of the connections on the receiver and turntable, changed the record a bunch of times, and checked the stylus for debris. No change, but when I put a little bit of downward pressure on the headshell, it sounds a smidge better (but by no means 'good'). I suppose this means that the old stylus finally bit the dust, right? It turns out that I can't simply replace the stylus because the cartridge (Shure R47XT) has been long discontinued (it was made exclusively for Radio Shack) and Shure never bothered to carry replacements since it was "Radio Shack's responsibility" and God knows Radio Shack doesn't have anything. Ebay and the internet haven't been much help either. So now I'm looking to replace the whole cartridge assembly (which is fine- it's not like the R47XT was particularly great to begin with) but I don't want to spend a lot of money. I've been planning to replace my current ("borrowed" from Dad) table with a ProJect Debut Carbon for some time, and that comes with an Ortofon 2M Red. However, I can't do that for a few months and I would like to listen to my LPs until then. But since this replacement is in the pipeline, I don't want to blow too much on a cart now. What's the cheapest good cartridge y'all can recommend me?
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Feb 17, 2013 20:33
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Retarded Pimp posted:Could be the headshell contacts, try taking it off and cleaning off the contacts on the headshell and tonearm with something abrasive and fine like 1k grit sandpaper or an eraser. Nah, it was definitely the stylus. I ended up just replacing the cart with an AudioTechnica CN5625AL that I picked up at the record store about 2 blocks from my apartment. $25 and they also mounted and aligned it for me- not a bad deal seeing as the cart alone would've been at least $30 with shipping from Needledoctor + the wait and the potential clusterfuck of self-installation (the last time I did a cart replacement on an old table like this, I snapped one of the brittle 30-year old lead wires and it was an ordeal to get a replacement). Everything's working fine now.
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Feb 19, 2013 17:32
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Weinertron posted:Now I just need to decide if I want to get a tiny phono pre-amp for now or get a receiver which has a Phono input, which I'm planning to do at some point in the next year anyway. If you're planning to hold off until you find your 'dream receiver,' a good alternative to the temporary pre-amp is to just dig around for a cheap '80s-'90s receiver on craigslist/in the attics of family members or friends. Almost every receiver produced until 1998 (very rough generalization) is going to come with a 'Phono' input- if it does, you're in business. If you can get over the dated "90s appliance" aesthetics, it's not particularly difficult to score a half-decent receiver (one that will at least let you hear your turntable through your speakers) for very little/no money. Your parents probably have one in their garage.
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Jun 18, 2013 16:32
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Crossposting myself from the NMD vinyl thread:Electric Bugaloo posted:
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Jul 26, 2013 03:13
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I figured you guys might get a kick out of this here too: From the NMD Vinyl Thread: Context: Fellow goon Owsla had responded to my previous question about overloading my Expedit by telling me about the massively heavy equipment he keeps without issue on his. He attributed some of that to the weight and relative blocking power of his speakers, which he suggested may protect his Expedit from sideways jostles. People got to talking about the speakers (Pioneer HPM-60) and how good they were and then some stuff happened and I spent some money: Electric Bugaloo posted:Ok, so I spent Friday afternoon/evening finishing up with the inside of the Yamaha (CR-2040) and setting it up on the Expedit. No problems yet and the whole thing seems sturdy enough. But HOLY poo poo what a difference in sound. I really can't believe that I waited this long to swap it in. It turns out that buzzwords like "expanded soundstage," "clear imaging," and "you'll hear things you didn't hear before and play louder without distortion" aren't entirely audiophile bullshit- because I am an absolute believer in how much better this thing is at making sounds come out of speakers and headphones.
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Jul 29, 2013 05:40
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- and within fifteen minutes I had learned two things:
without a hint of sloppiness...just, these things don't loving quit. 
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Not an Anthem posted:What are you playing through the aux in? It's probably a computer or a smartphone/MP3 player connected to a 3.5mm-to-RCA cable. There's definitely a crossover or interference of some kind, but no clue what would be causing it.
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Jul 31, 2013 18:46
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TomR posted:But it gives off that electronics burning smell a little. I think it's coming from the amp section, but it's hard to tell. I let it run for a few hours on a comfortable listening level, not cranked up. There wasn't any smoke or anything. I'd like to use it, but after a while the smell bothers me. Any ideas? I'm a huge believer in vintage Yamaha, but I didn't know anything about your amp. A quick googling turned this up, though: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=308977 quote:There was a recent thread on a notice Yamaha issued on certain 240V models and I think the A-960 was one of them. Yamaha recommended these models be taken out of service because of some unspecified issued that increased the risk of fire. And here's the info from the manufacturer itself: http://www.whathifi.com/news/Yamaha-issues-safety-recall-on-amps-30-years-on/ Apparently, Yamaha have recalled a 30+ year old series of equipment and I guess they'll either fix what's causing the issue or send you a replacement part. I'm really pleased and surprised that they decided to do that. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 19:20 on Aug 2, 2013 |
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Aug 2, 2013 19:17
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eggsovereasy posted:I have a Yamaha R-500 I bought off craigslist and it seems nice. I bought it to use as a second system with headphones in my bedroom, but have been considering getting some speakers, is it worth making a real setup out of? Apparently it's the "last of its kind" though the R-series isn't nearly as highly regarded as the CR-x20/CR-x40's from the late '70s. Looks like it's 30-WPC (and this is by '80s standards) so it's kind of on the low end power-wise but it should definitely make a respectable bedroom/office/small room setup if you want it to. I'd pair it with some fairly sensitive speakers if you wanted to play particularly loud, though. For a good looking, good sounding, minimalist/designer-y bedroom setup on the cheap I'd get a pair of white or silver metal Realistic Minimus 7's (often go for $50/pair on ebay and even cheaper on craigslist) and probably a craigslist 8" subwoofer. TomR posted:Mine is 120V. They say the problem is with the 220V models, which would have a different power supply. I'm going to try and clean it more, see if that helps. I would do that- there might be a pocket of dust in the heatsink somewhere. But at the same time dude- if it smells like it's burning and the smell becomes noticeable enough to bother you then it's probably worth addressing the problem in some manner. Who knows, maybe email somebody at Yamaha and see what happens. Never hurts to ask. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 19:56 on Aug 2, 2013 |
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Aug 2, 2013 19:49
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TomR posted:What I would really like to do is figure out what parts are failing and replace them, if there are any. I can't see anything that looks like it's burning. There isn't any smoke coming off of anything when it's on either. Well, one place to start is to simply google and read up as much as you can on the receiver in question. See what parts people have reported having issues with (I saw some references to certain caps and switches failing/smoking when I looked it up for 5 minutes) and see what they did. Audiokarma and its archives are full of obnoxious "audiophile" sperglords but they're also a gold mine of almost every kind of information if you can wade through the dreck. Find PDFs of both the user and service manual online (dead easy). You're definitely going to need the latter if you plan on replacing anything. As for cleaning, go to Costco and buy a 5-pack of canned air computer dusters. Order a Deoxit kit on Amazon and hit all of the switches, potentiometers, and contacts (there are tons of how-to guides online).
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Aug 2, 2013 20:42
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Dogen posted:I dunno. Definitely better than the AT cart I demoed it with. You wouldn't happen to remember which AT cart that was, would you? I'm planning to buy an AT cart that definitely costs less than that Shure and I kinda wanna know if it's that one. If not, do you maybe remember what color it was?
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Aug 3, 2013 07:24
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Dogen posted:It was like, silver body, brownish yellow stylus cart? Mustard looking. Repair shop guy said it was the cheapest thing he had, knocked off $40 when I passed on it and the headshell. Great. I think I know exactly which cart you're talking about and it's not the one I'm looking at. In fact, it's the cart I'll be replacing. eggsovereasy posted:For what it's worth I like both the AT95e and 440MLa more than the M97xe I used to use. The Shure's high range sounded really weak too me, but maybe I'm just getting old and my high frequency hearing is going bad. The 95E is what I'm thinking about picking up. I've got a bottom-of-the-barrel CN5625AL right now (bought it to replace the old- and long discontinued- RadioShack Shure that was originally on my TT when its stylus broke) that I pretty much hate. I'm hoping that the 95E will be a noticeable step up because I don't have the budget for a $200 cart like the 440MLa right now.
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Aug 3, 2013 20:52
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TomR posted:I cleaned up this stereo and tried it. Ooh, I remember you/this amp from a few weeks ago! I wholly support what you're doing and look forward to seeing the result. Now, you mention that a bunch of the components were bad- was the amp at all functional despite this? I remember you saying that it had a burning smell but I'm curious to know if you could play music through it despite the problems.
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Aug 20, 2013 05:58
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TomR posted:From what I have read online it wasn't that great when it came out. Its all solid state and has a bit of a weak sound. I'm sure there are other Yamaha stereos that use the same knobs so I could sell them.... To be honest, BANME.sh makes a valid point. IMO, there are way prettier vintage receivers out there that are actually worth listening to as well. If you like the minimalist Yammie look, the CR-xx40/CR-xx20 series from the mid-to-late '70s have a rabid following (of which I'm one- you'll have to kill me for my CR-2040) and they generally sell for a bit less than the Pioneer and Marantz amps that everyone talks about (I also think their sound is more "transparent" than Marantz without being flat). I dig what you're doing and it's definitely interesting, but I also can't help but think that the financial/time investment that you're putting into this project might be better spent on restoring a good-sounding vintage receiver instead of putting some okay modern components in the shell of an okay receiver. Edit: drat, I'm hella late with this post. I guess that's what I get for spending the past week on a cross-Canada adventure.
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Aug 22, 2013 19:38
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Whodat Smith-Jones posted:So I recently got a Bang and Olufsen Beogram RX from my uncle since the tonearm on my old Dual quit working. I guess it was just laying around at his house and he wasn't using it. The platter was kind of dirty when I get it from him, so I used the nearest cleaning product on hand, which was Windex, and sprayed a lit bit on the platter only to find out that it didn't exactly leave a streak free shine: You could put a slipmat on it (which you should do anyway) and stop worrying. Also, why would the tonearm suddenly crap out and stop working? That's arguably the least at-risk-of-crapping-out component of a turntable. If it starts getting stiff, you put a little lubricant on it.
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Aug 23, 2013 02:12
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Znorps! posted:As far as vintage vs new, I can go either way. I always love the vintage look, but I'm willing to buy new if it means a better performance for less money. Generally speaking, the opposite will be true unless you've got to deal with issues like degradation and sinking money into repairing/restoring a pair. As far as adding a subwoofer goes, look at the output range for whatever pair of speakers you're considering. Most bookshelf speakers (and even many floorstanders) will only go down to ~50Hz at most- and even that will often be with less than stellar results. That may be fine for you- and it probably would be in a small room or tight apartment setup where "polite" is a key concern, but you'd be missing out on the low-end frequencies that a sub would hit. To get down to the 20-50Hz where the bass lives, you'll either want to consider a sub (which can be annoying to buy and requires careful selection and pairing with your other speakers for good results- something that becomes doubly annoying when you're on a tight budget) or legit full-range speakers, which tend to be pricey when new. In that regard, I tend to go for vintage full-range first- as the value for dollar you'll get is better (for example, my circa-1980 HPM-900s will go down to about ~20Hz without breaking a sweat and cost me $250 for a pair via Craigslist. They are also enormous and weigh 50 pounds each). You've got 100 WPC to play with, so your selection is open to basically any speaker on the market. CanOfMDAmp posted:Coolest senior thesis project ever. I'd love to see a selectable/switchable preamp output. Most stereo receivers newer than 1980 have preamp outs that have to be physically bridged with their respective inputs (usually with little clip-like things) if you want to get sound out of the receivers themselves. If you connect something else to them (like, say- a tube headphone amp) your signal will only go through that pathway unless you unplug everything and re-bridge. You can only have one or the other. My CR-2040 has a 'record to' switch that lets you choose whether you want to send signal through the preamp outs or not without having to futz with cables- something that's fantastic but kinda useless to me since the headphone outputs on that receiver sound really drat good.
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Aug 25, 2013 17:38
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TomR posted:I don't have any photos, but I completed my stereo project for now. It sounds great and everything works as it should. What speakers/input components are you using?
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Sep 5, 2013 04:41
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The Leon Hikari posted:So today was another good find for me...Sansui 990DB... You lucky dickhead.....
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Sep 6, 2013 07:17
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Guys, quick! Should I grab a Bang & Olufsen RX-2 with MMC 3 cart in "new condition" for $100? It seems to go for quite a bit more on eBay and it's a loving gorgeous machine but I'm terrified of the whole "expensive-as-poo poo proprietary cartridge" thing. Also, I don't actually need another turntable at the moment and should probably instead spend that money on new carts for the two that I already own. But, I mean loving look at it:  And it does, like, automatic everything.
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Oct 2, 2013 06:46
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metaxus posted:Sound Smith will become your best friend when you need a new cartridge for it. So...when the stylus finally breaks I can look forward to spending at least $300 on a full replacement cartridge and there really isn't an alternative?  But on the other hand, it is really pretty...
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Oct 2, 2013 18:00
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Jerry Cotton posted:It's easy to mistake it for a P-mount. If you don't know exactly what a P-mount looks like Yeah, I hope whoever ended/ends up buying the Beogram knows exactly what's up and is prepared to deal with it. The thing's a drat work of art and really was in flawless shape. I'd hate to think that somebody would trash it or break it or leave it in a basement because they initially thought it worked like any other table. If I weren't a grad student with two turntables already, I'd have probably grabbed it but I just kept thinking about that "time to replace the cart  " eventuality.Which reminds me: I finished my bedroom setup a few weeks ago and I loving love it. I'll post pics, but I've gotta clean my room first. 
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Oct 4, 2013 21:15
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jonathan posted:Wireless radio options. Not to be lovely, but I'm not totally sure if this is the right thread for that sort of stuff. But to answer your questions, Bluetooth audio sounds fine to me and the stuff you've linked to looks like a decently good setup. If you want something a bit sleeker and more minimalistic (and a bit better sounding IMO) then you could probably set up a really good deal with Audioengine's self-powered speakers (either the A2 or A5) and their wireless dongles. They're all really great.
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Oct 5, 2013 03:49
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peskyplumber posted:A Pro-ject 3 Debut popped up on craigslist recently for $250 and I'm tempted to go for it. It has a OM-10 cartridge on it instead of the standard OM-5, and I'm hoping to talk the guy down to around $200 since the table is going for $300 new on Amazon right now. Does that sound like a good deal? From what I understand, the Debut Carbon is the successor to this one but I've only ever seen them go for $400. I mean, it's not a terrible price, and it probably isn't unfair, but I'm just not sure if $250 is worth it to me given what a Carbon brings to the, erm, table. $200 is better, but if the table's in good shape I don't really see the seller lowering the price any more than he/she has. The Carbon comes standard (in most markets) with an Ortofon 2M Red- on top of the carbon fiber tonearm, new motor suspension, bigger (more massive) platter, and other structural upgrades. A 2M Red retails on its own for $100, so the $100 difference between a new Debut 3 and Debut Carbon gives you all of the structural improvements + the much better cartridge* (already aligned and mounted) all for the price of the cartridge alone. It would probably cost you at least $200 to upgrade your Debut 3 with retail parts to get it to a similar state (let's say you buy a 2M Red and a CF tonearm and you have to get them mounted/buy the tools to do it yourself). So it's really up to you- if you're happy with the Debut 3's capabilities and wouldn't necessary be planning to do any major upgrades (or if you can see yourself planning to replace that table with something substantially more expensive in the future) then maybe go for it. If you think you might be planning to put a 2M Red or similar cartridge on it in the future, then I suggest simply saving up the extra $50 and just buying a Carbon. For what it's worth, I personally wouldn't buy a new Debut 3 for $300 instead of a Carbon for $400 and I wouldn't buy a used Debut 3 for $250. I might buy it for $200 if I really needed a turntable right away and couldn't afford to wait until I could buy a Carbon instead, but that's not a particularly realistic scenario. If you're in the sub-$250 market, then I'd be looking for vintage gear anyway. Way more bang for your buck if you can get something good for ~$150 and then slap a good new cartridge on it. *That's not to say that an OM 10 isn't a great cartridge already. It retails for ~$60-70, so it's not like you're getting ripped off on that front or anything. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 21:21 on Oct 7, 2013 |
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Oct 7, 2013 21:13
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 14:20 |
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Double post, but a couple of days apart so whatever. Finally got the bedroom setup I'd been Jonesin' for. Now my LPs are totally unbound by such things as roommates or time of day or whether I need my desk or sex is happening. It's pretty awesome.   The table's a Harman/Kardon T20 and the subwoofer's a Polk DSW400. Both were obtained separately on craigslist for $60 each. The sub's got a remote so I can mess with the bass without having to affect everything else- which is handy when it gets late. The receiver's the same Nakamichi Receiver 2 that was powering my main setup before it got benched by the CR-2040. It's pretty fantastic for a bedroom rig tho.  The T20's a semi-automatic, so it won't cue up an LP, but the arm is supposed to return on its own when it finishes playing a side or you press the 'return' button. When I bought the table, everything worked fine on it except for the auto-return. I figured it'd be an easy enough fix and chanced on it. When I got the table open, it turned out that the actuator mechanism that controls the auto-return had been totally removed. Fortunately, everything else is in fairly great shape, including the anti-skate, so I'm not too bummed. At $60, I don't feel like I got super ripped off or anything. If anything, it's basically like the ProJect I'd been planning to get with the added bonus of onboard speed controls, though I admit that the button-to-nowhere is a bit doofy. Aside from the very slight yellowing, it's in solid cosmetic shape- including the currently-in-storage dustcover. The phone camera makes it look a lot yellower than it does in real life.  The bookshelf speakers are Realistic Minimus 7s. I love love love these little speakers. I grew up with my dad having a pair that got used for different things (currently surrounds in his HT) and I can't understate how remarkably versatile and great-sounding (if used right) they are. They absolutely NEED to be paired with a decent subwoofer for stereo though (crossover no lower than 80Hz), but it's really easy to make them blend together. I've got these crossed at 100Hz and it's pretty seamless. I think they look really killer too- they've got a modern/timeless thing going that makes them blend into contemporary decor really well, despite their external design being virtually unchanged since the mid/late-70s. I got these two for ~$50 off of Ebay, but they're pretty easy to find on craiglsist/at yardsales for much, much less (though often not in great cosmetic shape). Eventually I plan to build a cheap, but fancy-looking, 5.1 setup out of Minimus 7s (Minimi?) and another Polk sub in the living room. Honestly, they're one of my go-to recommendations for people looking to build a small, inexpensive setup- particularly for a desktop or bedroom. My two big caveats are that they're not the most sensitive speaker, so they can be weird to pair with other models/brands if you're trying to use them as satellites, and their sound can come off as tinny if you play them loud and uncrossed without a sub to handle the bottom end. They're supposed to reach 50Hz, but I'm pretty sure that's a lie.  One last glam shot 
trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 08:59 on Oct 10, 2013 |
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Oct 10, 2013 07:41
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