TT choice on return to vinyl

I think the question you need answering is what you want from vinyl playback. I think you should visit a dealer who can demonstrate decks, at varying price points. Take along some of your discs. Then you'll have a better idea if it's worthwhile for you. With a top class player and good source material then LP can deliver stunning sound - but at a price and an acceptance that ownership is neither 'plug and play' nor 'fit and forget'.

Did you keep your vinyl collection?

I wouldn't bother with only new vinyl. I find QC to be generally poor in terms of warping and surface noise, though there are some refreshingly good exceptions. The recording quality of current popular music on vinyl is not great either due to over-compression at the mastering stage. My old vinyl sounds way better to me.

It can be enjoyable building up a collection of the better quality old stuff, via a website such as Discogs. People (gawd bless 'em) are dumping vinyl collections into the marketplace every day. I've picked up lots of good s/h vinyl via Discogs.

John.

Hi NJB,
In terms of quality, Rega make several vinyl sources that make helpful reference points.  Using new equipment & prices, a relatively affordable yet excellent start point would be a Rega Planar 3 & Elys 2 cartridge for £625 + Rega Fono (for moving magnet cartridge) at £200.  So £825 new.  The predecessor Rega RP3 can be found new for about £475 and it's super too.

Your amp & speakers would show the benefits of a better source, easily coping with a Rega RP8 with Rega Exact cartridge for £1800.  Add £500-600 for a suitable phono stage (Rega's brilliant Aria is slightly more, at £800) and you have something wonderful.

I'm a real fan of the Rega RP10, £3,500 with the Rega Ania cartridge, which warrants the Rega Aria phono stage at £800.  Now you are talking £4,300.

£3,000 will also buy you a new Linn LP12 Majik turntable with arm & cartridge.  Add £500-800 for the phono stage and you have entered the world of Linn.

There are many viable alternatives to these makes, such as Project, Michell, Avid, VPI, Roksan etc., so no need to feel tied to Rega or Linn. We enjoy Vertere, Nottingham Analogue, Thorens and Rega turntables in our family today and I've enjoyed both Linn and Roksan turntables in the past.

Buying second hand saves a lot of money.  However, it is worth remembering that both arms & cartridges contain very delicate mechanical mechanisms that do gradually decline in performance with age, so we have always bought these from a reputable dealer.  Set-up is very important with these sensitive mechanical instruments, another reason to find a decent dealer.

If you have a few dozen old LPs and just want to play the odd one for the sake of nostalgia (and why not!), then I would suggest something along the lines of a Rega Planar 3  or RP3 and be prepared to be pleasantly surprised at just how good records can sound.  This is exactly what we bought for a relative for a big birthday a couple of years ago.

If you envisage records being an important source for you, then I would aim for the Rega RP8 - RP10 level (or their equivalents).

Why not pop down to your local Naim dealer to audition a couple and find out what works for you?  There are ardent advocates for CD players, for music streaming and for turntables.  We have all 3 and enjoy all 3, yet our reference for sheer musical insight and delight is the turntable, despite it costing less than our Naim CD player.

Hope this helps, FT

NJB -

As above, suggest go and get a good demo with a dealer. If they are selling TTs, they will have a stock of dem vinyl and you can hear the differences etc (you may be able to get a vinyl versus digital demo?)  -- and they may well have 'previously enjoyed' stock. Buying from other sources can be a tad tricky, unless it's truly plug and play kit you are looking at (not LP12s!) and you have heard it before parting with your pennies? Things like arm bearing and cartridge ware and alike need to be evaluated.

The 2nd part of the equation is the content. As JN highlights new quality vinyl isn't cheap. I have a jaundiced view of 2nd hand vinyl sites, as some supposedly 'excellent quality' LPs I have purchased have been very poor.

Rather than used deck consider a new Rega. It's a great little deck that comes as a package and there are models to suit pretty much any budget. Any good dealer will be able to get you to the right model for you.

Regards,

Steve O.

Rega seems a very sensible choice.  If you can pick up  a recent mid range  model s/h or ex dem that should provide minimum risk in terms of deprecation if you decide to sell.

Recent Origin Live decks can also be very good value s/h as they sound very good but seem to depreciate more rapidly than other  brands.  

Personally I use a Townshend Rock7 which I consider is one of the few HIFi products that truly performs way beyond its price, but not something I'd recommend until you are re-committed to vinyl (which of course you will be in time...) .  Also near impossible to buy new or s/h at present.

Kronos sparta 

Happy Listener posted:

NJB -

I have a jaundiced view of 2nd hand vinyl sites, as some supposedly 'excellent quality' LPs I have purchased have been very poor.

I absolutely agree with this point. IMHO the only vaguely reliable way to buy s/h vinyl is from a record store (or occasionally a charity shop) where you can inspect the item before parting with any cash. I have had a dreadful experience with Discogs - I am convinced the seller was describing a completely different album!

Unfortunately, many s/h vinyl specialist shops are now asking stupid prices too.

I'd find a good dealer who can demonstrate what's availabe from a Rega RP1 upwards. Only you will be able to decide on whether the different turntables you hear are value for money.

Please do not overlook the crucial matching of phonostage to cartridge. This can make or break vinyl replay imo.

I'm in Hampshire. You don't say where you are. I can easily recommend Winchester Hi-Fi (formerly Phonography, the clue's in the title). Probably no use if you are in Caithness, or Curacao. Unless of course you have a maiden aunt whom you regularly visit in Winchester, in which case we are firmly into Donkeyhaute territory...

Enjoy your records.

Chris

Clive B posted:

Happy Listener posted:

NJB -

I have a jaundiced view of 2nd hand vinyl sites, as some supposedly 'excellent quality' LPs I have purchased have been very poor.

I absolutely agree with this point. IMHO the only vaguely reliable way to buy s/h vinyl is from a record store (or occasionally a charity shop) where you can inspect the item before parting with any cash. I have had a dreadful experience with Discogs - I am convinced the seller was describing a completely different album!

Unfortunately, many s/h vinyl specialist shops are now asking stupid prices too.

Agree 100% with this, from experience much better to  inspect and buy in person from a record shop, rather than to hope for the best from online sellers' descriptions, even when dealing with reputable, specialist  online sources. IME though, there is nothing more negotiable than s/h LP prices.  When buying in any quantity and face to face, I generally look to shave a third to 50% off the asking price.

If I was you, and going back to playing vinyl, I would strongly suggest a vacuum rcm. You should wet clean every record no matter if it's old or new. Best money you could spend. Learned that the hard way.

BB

Rega P2  + Bias playing any old thing in a record store impressed me greatly, compared to good TTs I had heard before -- e.g. Dual 1229 + Stanton 681EE.  As a result, I bought a used Planar3/Exact/Fono 10 years ago, and have been pleased.

Obviously, expectations matter.   

Hard to go wrong with any Rega combo, at your price point, IME.

Probably other good options; but Rega won my loyalty.

Good luck.

Nick

I'm very happy with my Audio Technica LP5 direct drive TT with AT VM 540 ML cartridge. Precise, clear, lively, good PRAT, very stable pitch and cheap. 

Foot tapper posted:

Hi NJB,
In terms of quality, Rega make several vinyl sources that make helpful reference points.  Using new equipment & prices, a relatively affordable yet excellent start point would be a Rega Planar 3 & Elys 2 cartridge for £625 + Rega Fono (for moving magnet cartridge) at £200.  So £825 new.  The predecessor Rega RP3 can be found new for about £475 and it's super too.

 

This is the route I took after 30 years without a turntable.  I had saved my well cared-for and preserved LP collection from the early 80s (60s and 70s rock plus selective artists from the 80s).  The Rega Planar 3/Elys/Fono combination was an excellent reentry into vinyl.  Excellent quality for a very reasonable cost.  Highly recommended. 

New i would buy a rega planar 3 or rega equivalent....cant go wrong. However... I would go for a second hand linn sondek... great spinner with good residuals.... 

NJB, if you are just dipping your toes in so to speak, then most of the advice above is pretty solid. I can also recommend Rega TT’s and for some good reasons although there are plenty of equivalents at these price points from others. So why Rega? – unless you wish to become a closet TT fettler, the beauty of them is simplicity. I lived for many years far from dealer support. For me, the un-pack and play made sense. They really are that simple to set up and use.

My last model was a P5. This went through a humble stageline to 282/300. It was not left behind by my then CDX2/XPS2. With the right vinyl, it outshone the CD player and this with only the Elys (light blue one) cartridge. I guess you can get a P5 for a song these days but cannot say how this compares to the current RP3 etc. For me it was a fairly low cost but excellent source.

Dave

It looks like Rega is a well favoured approach. So, my 282 needs a phone preamp?  Any ideas? Once again VFM is the key. 

Whatever you get, I'd get a very simple design.  DD and servo assisted TTs are basically unfixable if (when) anything goes wrong.  A basic turntable with a mains frequency driven motor can be easily repaired if (when) anything goes wrong.  A Rega, or even a used Linn (Basik/Magik) should last forever.  True, you'll have a bit of a "mullet" system but, hey, if you really get the bug, you can upgrade in the future (making the used Linn look even more attractive).

NJB

same as my system 282/200 - purchased a SH Linn (1980 build) spent about £1,500 on service, plynth, motor, cartridge -

gives my NDX a run for its money - good SH Sondek from a good trusted dealer or new Rega - either would work

NJB posted:

So, my 282 needs a phone preamp?  Any ideas?

Yes it does. A Rega Fono would match the moving magnet Rega cartridge on a Rega turntable.

NJB,
With a 282 pre-amp, you will need an external phono stage.

If you are thinking in terms of a Rega Planar 3, then as Christopher says, the £200 Rega phono is the sensible, default way to go.  

For a Rega RP8 or RP10 with a Rega cartridge, the £800 Rega Aria is the sensible, default way to go.

If you go for a Linn or other make of turntable, then there are many makes of phono stage, not least Naim.  I recommend advice from your dealer if you go down the non-Rega path.

There is a genuine synergy issue between a given cartridge and its phono stage.  After all, the phono stage takes the tiny electrical signal from the cartridge and amplifies it by up to 2000 times (for a MC cartridge).  Little wonder that the matching/tuning/pairing of these two components is so very sensitive and tricky to get just right.

Hope this helps, FT

Hi, if new or recent

Latest Planar 6 is due to be announced and hopefully unveiled in Manchester this month (but I can only guess that). 

I would wait a little to discover more as it seems to benefit from the legacy of the RP8 rather than being an improved RP3, pretty sure it could be matched to the new Ania and MC stage for less than £2000. Otherwise for a similar outlay the Rp8 would be an excellent choice even with a cheaper cart (to be replaced later) as I strongly believe one should buy the best possible deck/arm  first, cart and finally phono stage. This latter would anyway lead to spend a lot more.

Also

As Antony D said, a good S/H Sondek even with a cheaper cart and phono stage but ONLY from a trusted dealer should be considered,  much better than any of the above for similar money and accordingly guarantee  a superb  upgrade path in case you'd be seriously hooked to vinyl.

Audio Technica LP5 with AT VM 540 ML mm cart!

I bought a sh lp12 years ago never regretted it ... miles better than a rega planar 3 even with cheap mm cartridge....