# Just Picked Up a Cheap Turntable



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Got:

Revolver (Beatles)
Eroica (Beethoven)
Solo Walk in Tokyo (Earl FATHA Hines)
A Transfigured Night/A Pagan Poem (Schoenberg)

Pretty pumped. I dig the cheap sound on this Jensen's built in speakers too.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Gunna stick to used Jazz/Classical LPs from here on out, cheap and awesome music.


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## prlj (10 mo ago)

Hit up any flea market and you'll have as much Herb Alpert as you can carry.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Plugged them into my Fluance speakers via RCA cables. It's nice!

But I think I actually prefer the sound of the built in speakers.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Just got A Love Supreme from Target. Looks like I can't help but follow my IMPULSES!


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## Hogwash (5 mo ago)

Enjoy listening in the groove!


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Hogwash said:


> Enjoy listening in the groove!


Good one!


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## fluteman (Dec 7, 2015)

Captainnumber36 said:


> Gunna stick to used Jazz/Classical LPs from here on out, cheap and awesome music.


Cheap classical, yes. Jazz, not always, but I was able to get a few decent ones from the thrift shop bins over my lp collecting years and I left plenty there for you. Be patient.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Very wise not to put this in the Hi Fi forum....


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Spectra Merchandising International, Inc. - JTA-455 (spectraintl.com) 

This is what I got.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

My local resale store friend told me adults bring in their children to buy them LPs today. Only thing is they cost $25, not a couple bucks like we paid. I assume new vinyl is better than it used to be. You can usually find an outstanding turntable at a resale store for $20-$30. I bought a Technics Quartz 120-USB for next to nothing that's served me well many years. It is usually worth it to spend more money on a new stylus, however.


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## fluteman (Dec 7, 2015)

larold said:


> My local resale store friend told me adults bring in their children to buy them LPs today. Only thing is they cost $25, not a couple bucks like we paid. I assume new vinyl is better than it used to be. You can usually find an outstanding turntable at a resale store for $20-$30. I bought a Technics Quartz 120-USB for next to nothing that's served me well many years. It is usually worth it to spend more money on a new stylus, however.
> View attachment 179689


New vinyl can be, but isn't always, much better than it used to be, especially when it comes to reissues of the old stuff. Some new LPs are made with the original analog master tapes, others are made from digital files that aren't any higher resolution than CDs. That can make a big difference, imo.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

I meant the quality of the vinyl. There is vinyl used in certain Japanese CDs that better brings the musical signal to the surface without using SACD technology. These are called SH-M CDs. I assume there is similar for LPs. Also some modern LPs are played at 45 RPM, not 33, which would also better bring the source material to the ear.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Captainnumber36 said:


> Spectra Merchandising International, Inc. - JTA-455 (spectraintl.com)
> 
> This is what I got.


I hate to be 'that guy', but if you care anything about the longevity, the quietness, the high frequencies of your LP's, do not play them on that TT.

It has a conical stylus, which, since it has much less contact area with the grooves than say, an elliptical or line contact stylus, it will wear out the record faster. Less contact area means, more weight per square inch, means more wear.

But to make matters even worse (much worse), that thing tracks at 5 grams!!! Even fairly low end phono cartridges ($150), track at under 2 grams. And they have elliptical styli, which spreads the weight over a greater area of the groove.

"The forces involved in playing a record boggle the mind. A playback stylus with *one gram of vertical tracking force [your TT is at 5 grams VTF]* produces a pressure of *nearly four tons per square inch*. That’s because the contact area between stylus and groove is just 0.2 millionths of a square inch. The friction between stylus and groove creates enough heat (500° F) to melt the groove wall for a brief instant."

http://www.harryshifi.com/images/vinyl_tutorial.pdf

Not to mention, that conical styli last for about 150 hours of playing time, where elliptical last for 250 hours, and more exotic shapes last for 500.

Bottom line, you didn't pick up a cheap turntable, you picked up a vinyl shredding device.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

It works for me, I'll replace vinyls as needed. Not planning on spending tons of money on expensive vinyls. $30 is my max.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Captainnumber36 said:


> Plugged them into my Fluance speakers via RCA cables. It's nice!
> 
> But I think I actually prefer the sound of the built in speakers.


This is could be because your quite good Fluance speakers are laying bare the sonic weaknesses of the Jensen TT, tonearm and cartridge.

Please save up your money and get one of these instead. Your future self will thank you!

Fluance RT81

6 records at $30 will pay for the difference between the TT you just bought, and the Fluance. Not to mention the drastically improvement in sound quality. This comes with a Audio Technica AT95E cartridge, which is a legitimately good cartridge.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

How I see vinyl these days. 👺


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Simon Moon said:


> This is could be because your quite good Fluance speakers are laying bare the sonic weaknesses of the Jensen TT, tonearm and cartridge.
> 
> Please save up your money and get one of these instead. Your future self will thank you!
> 
> ...


I figured that. I actually had a Fluance player before, but I actually prefer the sound of this cheaper one for some reason. It's very warm.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Captainnumber36 said:


> I figured that. I actually had a Fluance player before, but I actually prefer the sound of this cheaper one for some reason. It's very warm.


I'm done...


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

The audio output is similar to cassette tapes, but richer and warmer.


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## Nate Miller (Oct 24, 2016)

its funny, but vinyl is making a comeback with young people. I think they are even putting out new releases on vinyl, too. 

and here we thought all those DJs scratching for the rappers were a bad thing


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

3.5mm out on TT to RCA on Speakers vs RCA to RCA. What is the difference in these two cables in terms of terminology of the connection, and sound that is anticipated? I much prefer the 3.5mm to RCA sound using my Jensen and Fluance speakers.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Nate Miller said:


> its funny, but vinyl is making a comeback with young people. I think they are even putting out new releases on vinyl, too.
> 
> and here we thought all those DJs scratching for the rappers were a bad thing


It's not that new. It has been going on for at least 10 years.

And it's not just young people. Many (most?) audiophiles have continued to buy vinyl.

Lots of new reissues of classic Coltrane, Miles, etc sourced from the original analog master tapes, are coming out on a regular basis.

And finally, there are still many who believe, despite the added noise of vinyl, the best turntables, tonearms, cartridges, phono preamps, etc, still sound better than digital sources. And when one hears one of these megadollar analog systems, it is hard not to be convinced. 

I still buy quite a bit of vinyl, all used, because there is a lot of material that never got a proper digital release; they are more compressed, noisegated, etc. I have plenty of vinyl and CD recordings where the vinyl sounds better than the CD. I am not saying this is the majority of the cases, but enough to warrant owning a good TT. 

Also, since I love mid to late 20th century, and contemporary classical, some of it has not been released at all, digitally.


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## Nate Miller (Oct 24, 2016)

yes, but for me 10 years is still pretty recent. That's what its like being a geezer. But its true that you can still buy turntables and cartridges, while cassette tape players are only found at the Smithsonian on display with the VHS machines. 

I'm not complaining, tough, I still have hundreds of old vinyl records and I'm glad that I'm not forced to replace them with CDs

which is a good thing because it seems like CDs are on their way out, too. Most of my friends under 30 dont even have CD players


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

I just picked up some Frosted Flakes...THEY'RE GRRREAT!


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

Merl said:


> How I see vinyl these days. 👺


Is that purple disc the limited edition Prince album - I've been looking everwhere for that!


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I just picked up some CDs. I don't miss vinyl. Or is it vinyls? As in Deers.


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

starthrower said:


> I just picked up some CDs. I don't miss vinyl. Or is it vinyls? As in Deers.


I never felt a strong kinship with the LP, but, then again, I'm not from that generation that grew up with them. I came from the CD era.

I do own some LPs and I actually own a decent record player --- a higher end Audio-Technica, but I never play it. Honestly, I don't play CDs much any either except to rip them to an external HDD. I mostly listen at my computer these days and I'm satisfied enough with the sound given that I rip the CDs at a high bitrate. I'm still of the belief, however, that nothing beats listening to classical music on a good stereo system.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I did grow up in the vinyl era and in my late teens I was able to buy some decent stereo components but the vinyl medium left me highly frustrated. At that age I didn't know about good quality vinyl from labels like ECM so I was buying the horrible quality stuff on major labels that was thin, noisy and warped. But once the CD was invented I was thrilled and I packed my turntable in the closet for good.


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

starthrower said:


> I did grow up in the vinyl era and in my late teens I was able to buy some decent stereo components but the vinyl medium left me highly frustrated. At that age I didn't know about good quality vinyl from labels like ECM so I was buying the horrible quality stuff on major labels that was thin, noisy and warped. But once the CD was invented I was thrilled and I packed my turntable in the closet for good.


Allow me to reiterate: I do remember vinyl as this is what I heard when I was a small kid as my dad would play the record player a lot. He had a good stereo system. CDs must've just come out and not everyone had them nor did they have the equipment to play them. Jumping ahead, when I was 11 or 12 yrs. old, I heard Karajan's performance of Strauss' _Eine Alpensinfonie_ on my stereo as my dad bought this CD when it came out and I was completely blown away by it. I knew next to nothing about classical music when I was in my early teens, but the seed had been planted.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

larold said:


> My local resale store friend told me adults bring in their children to buy them LPs today. Only thing is they cost $25, not a couple bucks like we paid. I assume new vinyl is better than it used to be. You can usually find an outstanding turntable at a resale store for $20-$30. I bought a Technics Quartz 120-USB for next to nothing that's served me well many years. It is usually worth it to spend more money on a new stylus, however.
> View attachment 179689


I bought a $100 turntable. Listened with headphones. Good sound. Bought a $100 receiver and the sound is much improved. I buy all albums on Ebay, little to no surface noise and returanble.


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