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Playing Vinyl records |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 128
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Playing Vinyl records
Hi
Retrieved a load of my old LPs and EPs recently and I bought myself a cheap,stand alone,record player online so as I could play them.To cut a long story short I was hooked,Beatles,ELO Ultravox,all memories of my exploits as a young man came flooding back to me,past romances etc etc,you know what I mean,right,back to the present,I have started to buy a lot of my favourite LPs from secondhand shops building a collection of 70s and 80s hits. What I want now is a better way to play them as my little record player is, to be honest,basic,I would like to build a little HI-FI system to play my vinyl and also my CDs too,so what do I need to improve my listening pleasure. Thanks in advance. |
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#2 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 6,462
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Well, without a budget it's difficult to give you specific advice. But if we assume you'd like something decent without spending a lottery win then here's a couple of sensible entry-level solutions that'll knock your socks off...
New - Budget approx £550 with cables Secondhand - £300~£560 Rega Planar 2 or P2 Turntable with cartridge £100 - £140 You'd have to spend the thick end of £400 new to match the sonic abilities of these litte Rega decks. Buy, use, sell & upgrade for little or no loss. Depreciation-free hi-fi. |
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#3 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 447
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Quote:
What I want now is a better way to play them as my little record player is, to be honest,basic,I would like to build a little HI-FI system to play my vinyl and also my CDs too,so what do I need to improve my listening pleasure.
My advice would be to buy a modest turntable which you can use (probably with a PC) to convert the vinyl tracks to mp3. These can then be stored on hard disk, USB stick, SD card, CDs, mp3 players, etc, allowing you to listen to all your old records on almost any modern HiFi as well as anywhere else at any time. I did this and also photographed the covers to add to the mp3 files as tags. A big job but I spread it over about a year and now I listen to my old records more than I ever did when they were new. |
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#4 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Scottish Borders
Posts: 11,996
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Quote:
You do not seem to be an audiophile so I assume you do not want to spend hundreds of pounds nor to have the pleasure of watching the vinyl spin on the turntable and reading the sleeve notes while you listen.
My advice would be to buy a modest turntable which you can use (probably with a PC) to convert the vinyl tracks to mp3. These can then be stored on hard disk, USB stick, SD card, CDs, mp3 players, etc, allowing you to listen to all your old records on almost any modern HiFi as well as anywhere else at any time. I did this and also photographed the covers to add to the mp3 files as tags. A big job but I spread it over about a year and now I listen to my old records more than I ever did when they were new.
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#5 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 128
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Hi Chris,misar and emptybox,
Thanks for your helpful replies,all of which I will take notice of. Actually emptybox your dead right,I do like reading the sleeves,most of which are very imformative about the artists,especially the ELO records which give a full breakdown of the members of this great group,also gives the words of the track in question,all great stuff,so really I DO want to watch that old vinyl going round on the turntable ![]() Thanks again. Rich |
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#6 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 128
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Hi Chris,misar and emptybox,
Thanks for your helpful replies,all of which I will take notice of. Actually emptybox your dead right,I do like reading the sleeves,most of which are very imformative about the artists,especially the ELO records which give a full breakdown of the members of this great group,also gives the words of the track in question,all great stuff,so really I DO want to watch that old vinyl hoing round on the turntable
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#7 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 128
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sorry for the double post
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#8 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Nailsworth, Gloucestershire
Posts: 10,410
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Quote:
Bit of a bargain too as the sheep pay silly money for old Cyrus amps.
I know a few of the Cyrus sales guys and they tell me that the likes of eBay has seen a rapid rise in the amount of people who take that route, something they are very happy to do because it brings in work for them.
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 6,462
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Quote:
But then you can get a secondhand Cyrus IIIi reasonably cheaply these days, the IIIi has a Phono stage, and if it is boxed, and you wish to at some point, you can send it off to Cyrus to get it serviced for @£150 and have a very nice little "as new" integrated amp with a 3 month warranty.
I know a few of the Cyrus sales guys and they tell me that the likes of eBay has seen a rapid rise in the amount of people who take that route, something they are very happy to do because it brings in work for them. ![]() But the real point relates back to the OP, who has bought a cheap TT and has been bitten by the bug. The cheapest Cyrus is the 1. A Cyrus 1 is going to cost more than a Creek for no discernible benefit just because it is fashionable. IMO the Creek also has a superior phono stage which is useful. |
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Nailsworth, Gloucestershire
Posts: 10,410
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Quote:
Granted, if you can hit Ebay at just the right moment then a Cyrus III for £150~£160 could be considered a pretty reasonable buy. Equally though I have seen them fetch £250~£280 for the i version. I have also seen original Cyrus 1 amps going for £100. Given that back in 1984 I parted with £150 for the as-then new Cyrus 1 I think that's a bit on the high side. I also take your point about having one serviced. However, I'd need a lot of persuading that a s/h Cyrus 3i with a 3 month warranty is worth up to £400 when there are so many other good amps out there.
But the real point relates back to the OP, who has bought a cheap TT and has been bitten by the bug. The cheapest Cyrus is the 1. A Cyrus 1 is going to cost more than a Creek for no discernible benefit just because it is fashionable. IMO the Creek also has a superior phono stage which is useful. As I say I think that is because you can get them refurbished, or upgraded, by Cyrus and it seems quite a few people are getting in to Hi-fi that way. |
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There's some late 80's stuff which gets overlooked: Celestion DL6, Castle Kendal, Royd speakers, Ruark speakers. The sheep chase Mission and B&W. Budget anything from £30 if you're lucky, up to £150 of you like to bleat.