For the love of God don't scrimp on cheap vinyl players... Unless you want your vinyl ruined
Yup been told those cheapo players wreck r records
I used to be of the same opinion, but some extra knowledge and a couple of rethinks have made me reappraise my position.
My time with vinyl started in the early '80s. When visiting dealers to demo gear, two or three albums tucked under my arm, I never had a dealer refuse to.play my LPs because they might have been wrecked on an inferior deck.
When I joined the LP record section of my local lending library, a stern looking librarian examined the stylus from my cartridge under her microscope. It was fine. A few school friends applied to join too. They brought theirs or their parents styli for a similar inquisition; and despite coming from stock systems or music centers, they passed too. As long as the stylus was clean, not excessively worn, and not chipped, then it seemed.that the librarians were happy to lend LPs9 to people with fairly basic decks.
Bringing things up to date, manufacturing has improved to the point where modest decks such as the Lenco dl85 will track reasonably well. I don't know if they're using a diamond tip, or a softer sapphire to save money, but it's unlikely to destroy a record by playing it a few times.
The lady in question might be interested in vinyl as a passing fad, or have a longer-term interest. If the bug bits then she can always upgrade.
In the mean time,rather than fretting over that or that turntable, she would be far better served by learning how to care for records. A carbon fibre record brush, some stylus cleaning gear, and a pack of Nagaoka anti-static record sleeves will be of bigger long term benefit than doubling the budget for the deck.
Take pride in the ritual of keeping the records clean, and above all, enjoy the music.
