Seeing as we are a vinyl of the month club, it seems only right that we help to both destroy the myth that vinyl collecting is inaccessible to the mainstream and streamline the process of listening too and enjoying vinyl.
Not everyone is an audiophile and certainly not everyone wants or can afford to be. This is fact. Fortunately there are many options for those of us who want our gear to provide a warm listening experience but do not have the funds to warrant spending thousands of dollars on a set up.
One place to start is with the faithful companion to any vinyl enthusiasts arsenal — the turntable.
The good news is that there are plenty of companies churning out excellent, beginner level, audiophile-quality turntables at a cheaper price that wont break the bank.
Below are 7 budget conscious turntables that Good Stax recommends to the vinyl enthusiast and would be a solid foundation for any hi-fi system.
Each of them feature high-quality materials, solid tonearms & cartridges and the majority offer a wide range of upgrades should you be inclined to beef up.
NOTE: searching around for second-hand models on ebay, second-hand stores etc are also very cost efficient ways to get your hands on a decent table. You may even find a vintage gem well below what you might pay for it retail..
The list..
U-Turn Audio — Orbit Basic Turntable
$179.00
Key features — Unipivot tonearm, manual belt-drive, 24V synchronous motor, vibration damping feet.
After absolutely smashing it on Kickstarter, this young Boston company turned a lot of heads in the audio industry and in doing so found themselves with thousands of orders for their products. Not bad for a startup huh?
Their basic model is U-Turn’s entry point and comes with a pre-installed Audio-Technica cartridge, perfectly balanced tone arm and the platter rides on an inverted main bearing — providing superior stability and reduced bearing noise (rumble). And that price point… No brainer!
Pro-Ject Audio Systems — Elemental
$299
Key Features — Easy setup, Ortofon cartridge, fully weighted counterweight and pre-adjusted anti-skating weight, central gravity mass point, made from artificial stone
The fine people at Pro-Ject Audio Systems don’t like those tacky plastic turntables you can get from the local department store. Those turntables suck and can ruin your cherished records.
The little beauty above is Pro-Ject’s solution for “penny-pinching audiophiles” and beginners alike that provides both the features for high fidelity listening and the care your records need.
The Elemental features a belt drive system with a low vibration DC motor, low resonance MDF platter, a stainless steel bearing and the straight tonearm uses an Ortofon OM5e moving magnet cartridge.
Getting everything working is very easy and the components on this bad boy are all of high quality. A high contender for the best beginner set-up.
Audio Technica — AT-LP120
$389
Features — Selectable 33/45/78 RPM speeds, Dual Magnet phono cartridge , balanced tone arm with soft damping control, switchable built-in pre-amplifier.
Feature wise this bad boy is packed full of them. The Audio-Technica AT-LP120-USB is, as they like to say in the motor industry, fully loaded.
It looks very similar to the late, lamented Technics SL1200/1210 — and that’s no bad thing. A direct-drive design, it has a stroboscope, target light, +/- 20% pitch control and a reverse switch.
The LP120 plays at 33.3, 45 and 78rpm and is supplied with an aluminium platter, AT-P2 cartridge.
This thing even spins the records in reverse! Just incase you want to decode subliminal messages on the drug soaked albums of the 60's and 70's. David Bowie’s The Lodger for instance has a secret recording on the track “All the Young Dudes” when you play it in reverse..
Music Hall — MMF 2.2
$449
Key Features: Adjustable height tonearm, manual belt-drive operation, easy setup, Music Hall Tracker moving magnet cartridge
Considered one of the best entry level decks there is, the Music Hall offers great user adjustability with an adjustable tonearm, meaning you can adjust the Vertical Tracking Angle (VTA) or the relative angle of the stylus to the groove (sometimes necessary when swapping cartridges).
Secondly, the MMF 2.2 has leveling feet that can be adjusted when dealing with uneven surfaces. The Music Hall is a beautiful turntable that competes well in the low to mid-range audiophile category.
When spinning, this thing is dead quiet and smooth and perfect for anyone wanting a true audiophile-quality rig at a reasonable price.
Rega — RP1 Turntable
$475
Features — Rega RB101 tonearm, precision main bearing and sub-platter assembly, phenolic resin flywheel (speed stability), Ortofon OM5e cartridge.
British audio company, Rega Research, has been making turntables since the 1970’s and with their well-earned reputation for high end turntables its no wonder they provide a solid entry level model.
Sleek and minimal this is about as simple as record players get. The RB1 carries the RB101 tone arm — a simplified version of Rega’s highly regarded RB300, the perfectly likeable Ortofon OM5e cartridge and the simple yet cleverly designed suspension in way of the rubber feet that have supported Rega turntables for yonks.
The RP1 offers solid performance, excellent value and is a great place to start listening to vinyl.
Pro-Ject — Debut Carbon DC
$599
Features — Ortofon OM10 cartridge, no sound colouration, significant reduction in vibration
A winner of numerous hi-fi awards, the Debut Carbon DC takes the cake for lower to mid range cost and feature count. In line with turntables with a much higher price tag, the Debut Carbon has a carbon fibre tonearm and heavy and wide platter to reduce resonance and vibration for smooth, clear music, and comes pre-fitted with the Ortofon OM10 cartridge to match. Introduced in the late 90's and since upgraded by Pro-Ject, this gem was a revolution for the hi-fi industry. If you want a record player that can easily go head to head with some of the higher priced decks out there, this is your star. Oh yea, and it comes in loads of pretty colours.
