Thinking of collecting vinyl

Soldato
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I'm not much of an audiophile, but I was browsing in a shop the otherday, and really liked the idea of collecting vinyl records.

I was aiming to keep things cheap and stay under £100, but after a little reading, I thought if I'm going to do this, I best splash some cash.

Would I be able to get a respectable turntable and speaker setup for around £300.

I have my eyes on the Audio Technica ATLP120USB.
 
Soldato
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I’d also look at offerings from Pro-ject. Their “debut” range appears to have increased significantly in price, but they offer other models too.

The absolute best way into vinyl with the budget that you have is to buy second hand kit. The technology hasn’t changed in the last 2 decades so there are plenty of bargains to be found (especially from people who don’t quite know what they’re selling!). I’m not up to date enough with the current market, but I’d suggest looking on AV forums to get a better idea.
 
Soldato
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Just noticed that Amazon are seling the Sony PSHX500.CEX for £250.
£150 off the RRP.

Sounds like a steal and the reviews are good.
 
Man of Honour
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Lots of relevant info here: https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/entry-level-turntable-up-to-150.18850382/

The Sony turntable is okay for for £250; more of a purist design compared to the semi-auto and full-auto decks from Audio Technica. I doubt it was ever worth £400 though, so the supposed £150 saving isn't really the bargain you think. The £250 price isn't exclusive to Amazon either. Hi-Fi and AV retailer Sevenoaks Sound and Vision has it at £250 as well. The advantage here is that they're a national chain of bricks & mortar retail stores, so you can see it in the flesh.

Sony is just one of the companies cashing in on the vinyl resurgence trend; and if I'm honest, they were never renown for their turntables when vinyl had its heyday back in the 70s/80s. Today's market is even more crowded with budget turntables thanks to low cost manufacturing from China. For the same £250 the AT-LP5 is, IMO, a better deck if you want the same sort of digital outputs.

Both the above turntables kind of blow your £300 budget out of the water though; so, do you still want a complete vinyl replay system for a total of £300, or have your priorities and the budget available changed?
 
Soldato
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Just noticed that Amazon are seling the Sony PSHX500.CEX for £250.
£150 off the RRP.

Sounds like a steal and the reviews are good.

I wouldn't bother with the Sony, get something from a proper turntable manufacturer. You don't need all the digital encoding and USB crap, every record you buy these days comes with a download code, and any recording you make will be inferior.

For the same price, you can get a Rega Planar 1 https://www.whathifi.com/rega/planar-1/review, great turntable, no unnecessary electronics.
 
Soldato
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Thanks for the help.

Say I upped my budget to £400 for a complete system, turntable and speakers.
With a £250 turntable, can anyone recommend a decent pair of speakers for £150.

Or is it better to get a cheaper turntable and aim for better speakers?
 
Caporegime
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I'm not much of an audiophile, but I was browsing in a shop the otherday, and really liked the idea of collecting vinyl records.

I was aiming to keep things cheap and stay under £100, but after a little reading, I thought if I'm going to do this, I best splash some cash.

Would I be able to get a respectable turntable and speaker setup for around £300.

I have my eyes on the Audio Technica ATLP120USB.

Pointless in the digital world.

What if you want to listen to this new £30 record you just bought in your car? or in the gym? or on holiday?

it's just so limited and expensive it's a pointless endeavor.
 
Man of Honour
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There are too many unknowns in your questions to give definitive answers. For example, is this to be a standalone system just for vinyl or do you need something with multiple inputs? What size of room does it have to fill with sound? What other gear have you heard to compare against anything new? Is this a one-shot deal or just the first step down the road to a better system?

Of all the gear you'll own, the speakers will have the biggest influence on the character of the sound, but they can only work within the limits of the signal they receive: Garbage in = garbage out.

The turntable and its cartridge dictates the quality of the signal. Unless built into the speakers, any outboard amplifier influences how well the speakers can be driven in terms of volume, dynamics and scale.

If I was looking for the best sound quality in an entry-level system, then I would go for a separates system based on purist TT, Hi-fi amp, and bookshelf speakers; but I would be hard pushed to achieve what I would class as a worthwhile purchase for £400 new.

The system would consist of a Pro-ject or Rega turntable (£180-£250), an Onkyo A9010 amplifier (built-in phono pre-amp) @ £180, and a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 220 speakers (£99). You would need to budget for interconnect cables and speaker wire separately. This would give a very musically-satisfing system with enough bass to keep most people happy, and it would play well at both low and high volumes.

An alternative would be something based on active speakers, but I am unsure whether something in the £150-£200 range would have the resolution and the bass reproduction of the separates system, so matching that with a very good TT up to the max limit of the budget might be a waste.

AT-LP120 TT or the AT-LP5 + Edifier R1700 speakers would come in somewhere around £400. This would be the 'bells and whistles' system where you get facilities such as the USB output and infrared remote control. Sonically it wouldn't be as accomplished as the purist system, buy should still be enjoyable.
 
Soldato
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Thanks for all the help.

I like the look os that amp and speakers, but I'm thinking of dialing back my spending on the actual TT.
Would the AT-LP60BKU be a good choice for a starter?

Edit - Forgot to ask, what kind of cables do I need?
 
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Man of Honour
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At this end of the market, £20-£30 extra can make a big difference to what you could buy.

The AT-LP60 would be a decent partner to the R1700 active speakers, but the Onkyo/Wharfedale combo would probably expose it's weaknesses a little too soon.

For £20-£25 extra you could choose from the purist Pro-Ject Primary E or, for something a little more upmarket-looking, the Lenco L-400. If I was you, I'd go for the Lenco. Either will show you the difference between something adequate and something really quite good.

Cables: for the TT, if nothing is supplied in the box, then you'll need a stereo RCA to stereo RCA cable long enough to reach from the TT position to the amplifier.

Speaker cable won't be supplied with the amp or speakers; so you're looking for two lengths of simple all-copper 1.0mm or 1.5mm speaker cable. It doesn't have to be anything fancy or very expensive. Just avoid anything that's listed as CCA (copper clad aluminium) which is what the shysters are peddling a bit cheaper than genuine all-copper products. Budget around 80p to £1.50 per metre; so it's hardly going to break the bank.
 
Soldato
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Got to be really careful on your first set up, blowing loads on a really nice set up and finding you only have 5 albums that get played once in a blue moon could be a bit much...

Currently I'm running a Sansui SR222-MKII purchased for £70 off a mate (with new belt and decent cartridge), a JVC amp that was a tenner and a lovely set of Wharfdale DX1's (new ages ago). My set up gets a minimum of 30 hours a week usage and I can't fault it for the room I'm playing it in.

My moving present to my self (post renovation) will be a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 220 speakers for my living room, but that's because the living room will be about 40% bigger than my current one. I'd recommend the Sansui to everyone and anyone, it looks cool despite being from the 70's, is an easy one to customise if you're so inclined and plays really well.

For me much more of the fun comes from finding the albums you've been looking for over a long time instead of fiddling around with my setup. This is where I've blown quite a lot of money... It's worth having a venture into a couple of record stores and seeing what kind of things you want to pick up (before making me massively jealous of the Rega Planar)
 
Soldato
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I've done a bit of a U-Turn on the price.
Been talking to a friend and I've revamped my budget, gone for the AT-LP60 and some Edifier R1280T speakers.

Got to around £200 in price.
If and when my collection grows over the years, I'll look into upgrading.

Thanks for all the help and recommendation.
 

gEd

gEd

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Pointless in the digital world.

What if you want to listen to this new £30 record you just bought in your car? or in the gym? or on holiday?

it's just so limited and expensive it's a pointless endeavor.

I don't think people are drawn to vinyl for the convenience and portability. They may enjoy the sound and actual experience of coming home with an album and sticking on the turntable. That's not a pointless endeavour.

https://images.app.goo.gl/obiWFib8JAVTpHcy9
 
Soldato
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I don't think people are drawn to vinyl for the convenience and portability. They may enjoy the sound and actual experience of coming home with an album and sticking on the turntable. That's not a pointless endeavour.

https://images.app.goo.gl/obiWFib8JAVTpHcy9

Thought it was weird when I asked on another AV forum and someone just told me to get a Spotify account, because I wouldn't be able to use it in the car...
 
Soldato
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I would have got some better speakers as speakers are the most important thing in your system, also without good speakers you will never be able to make comparisons to the rest of the audio chain. Search PSAudio on YouTube where he says you should put 60% of the budget into speakers, and I totally agree.
 
Soldato
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I've done a bit of a U-Turn on the price.
Been talking to a friend and I've revamped my budget, gone for the AT-LP60 and some Edifier R1280T speakers.

Got to around £200 in price.
If and when my collection grows over the years, I'll look into upgrading.

Thanks for all the help and recommendation.


What the heck did he tell you ? At that price you're wasting money. Vinyl is something you invest in, not dabble.

My first vinyl system cost me about £1200 15 years ago. That included TT / speakers / amp
 
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Soldato
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I don't think people are drawn to vinyl for the convenience and portability. They may enjoy the sound and actual experience of coming home with an album and sticking on the turntable. That's not a pointless endeavour.

https://images.app.goo.gl/obiWFib8JAVTpHcy9

Don't waste your breath, he's singularly incapable of comprehending anything that exists outside his narrow world view of absolutes.

I buy vinyl and CDs still because I like to own the recording, I like the artworks and sleeve notes, I like just turning on my amp and flipping the switch on the TT and dropping the needle and listening to music without having any screen involved.

Still pay for spotify to listen to music out and about...
 
Man of Honour
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I like vinyl and CD because I enjoy listening to the arc of an album as the artist intended. I find it relaxing and I get more from the music this way.

When I listen to my digital library or streamed content, I find I am spending as much time being a digital DJ. That's okay if that's what I am in the mood for, but the simple presence and availability of so much choice can become a distraction even if I set them to play whole albums.

Vinyl, I also enjoy the tactile nature and the ritual too.
 
Caporegime
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i buy cd's too for the superior quality but they are to listen to in the car, even though I have DAB radio, Bluetooth and USB, etc int here too.

you can't stick a vinyl on in the car. which is my point vinyl is just so limited and if you don't already have a collection sitting around pointless starting one now.
 
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