Buying a new Turntable.

[senguptamitava]

Hi Everybody,
I am planning to buy a turntable shortly and have shortlisted the foolowing one:
1.Project Debut III
2.Project RPM Genie 1.3
3. Audio Technica LP 120.
I require a phonobox connection to play the set with my existing system. The first two would require the phonobox to be purchased separately.
Please suggest me.

 

[TaureanBull]

Why not consider Rega RP-1?

 

[sachu888]

Why not consider Rega RP-1?

+1 for Rega P1,or buy any good vintage TT.

Regards,
Sachin

 

[avidyarthy]

^^^^ it really makes sense to buy a good vintage TT, that too in Calcutta, since quite a few should be available, provided you look around ... @ Free School Street, Park Street area.

You might need to repair /refurbish ........ but it is worth it.

 

[senguptamitava]

^^^^ it really makes sense to buy a good vintage TT, that too in Calcutta, since quite a few should be available, provided you look around ... @ Free School Street, Park Street area.

You might need to repair /refurbish ........ but it is worth it.

Yes its true that in calcutta a lot of vintage TT may be available if searched for but due to lack of confidence I am not willing to get a peice.

Why not consider Rega RP-1?

I think its not available in calcutta and the price tag is also a constraint.

Any ways thanks to you both for your reply. any more suggestions regarding my choices? please help!

 

[miroflex]

Hi Everybody,
I am planning to buy a turntable shortly and have shortlisted the foolowing one:
1.Project Debut III
2.Project RPM Genie 1.3
3. Audio Technica LP 120.
I require a phonobox connection to play the set with my existing system. The first two would require the phonobox to be purchased separately.
Please suggest me.

Hi Amitava,

Are all or some of the above turntables available to you for auditioning in Kolkata? If so, take along a favourite LP (either yours or borrowed from your family or a friend or colleague) and listen to it carefully and notice things like rumble from the motor or platter, minor variations in speed (wow and flutter) leading to variations in sound, overall clarity and rendition of detai at high, midrange and low frequencies. Go for the one that renders the best sound as per your own listening tastes.

All the three turntables listed by you are very good value for money. Both the Project turntables have received excellent reviews in the hifi press while Audio Technica have made their name with their excellent phono cartridges. If you can enlist the help of our senior fellow member Asit Da from Kolkata(Asit on this forum) you will get informed and balanced advice.

Best wishes.

 

[miroflex]

Hi Amitava,

If you are willing to consider buying a used turntable, you may be able to pick up an HMV or a Sonodyne direct drive turntable at a reasonable price in Kolkata. They require very little maintenance and offer wonderful sound quality for their price. You may have to consider changing the stylus or upgrading the cartridge after years of listening pleasure.

All the best.

 

[miroflex]

Hi Everybody,

I require a phonobox connection to play the set with my existing system. The first two would require the phonobox to be purchased separately.

Please suggest me.

A separate phono pre amplifier stage will not be required if you buy an integrated amplifier with a built in phono pre amplifier stage. Our fellow member captrajesh has sold his legendary NAD 3020 integrated amp with phono inputs but soundofmusic may be able to guide you to one. You won't regret buying it and can sell it at the same price if and when you want to upgrade.

All the best.

 

[miroflex]

Hi,

There's a Rotel RP-3300 turntable for sale on Mumbai (Bombay) Classifieds|Search Local Mumbai Classifieds online for Rs. 12,500. It will not be quite in the Project class.

Best wishes.

 

[Asit]

Hi Amitava,

Although I have not heard them all, but from your list my guess is that the RPM Genie 1.3 with an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge may be the best one. However, there is no dust-cover with it (Debut III has the dust-cover as standard). But one can get it made at low cost (approx Rs 1K) in Kolkata.

I do not know how much prior experience you have in setting up a turntable. If you do not have at all any, my humble opinion is against buying an used TT. Properly aligning a cartridge is an expert's job. If done incorrectly, it does of course produce poor sonics, in addition it may harm your records too. Anything that has a potential of harming the source (music) media is strictly unadvisable. While there are many self-proclaimed experts in the used market in Kolkata, I have found none with the proper knowledge. So unless, you have experience, this is not the best route to take.

My suggestion would be for you to get a new TT where the cart is factory fitted and aligned. The user only has to do the tone arm balancing and adjusting anti-skating etc which are much easier to do following the instructions. I believe the TTs you mention may come with the cartridge already fitted to the headshell of the tonearm.

During use one becomes more comfortable tweaking settings etc, can learn all trades of the game. It is then sensible to consider used TTs some of which, after proper rehab and set-up, may give you satisfaction at a completely different level for a reasonable cost.

If you are already a very experienced person in setting up a TT, please ignore everything after the first paragraph.

Regards.

 

[senguptamitava]

Hi Amitava,

Although I have not heard them all, but from your list my guess is that the RPM Genie 1.3 with an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge may be the best one. However, there is no dust-cover with it (Debut III has the dust-cover as standard). But one can get it made at low cost (approx Rs 1K) in Kolkata.

I do not know how much prior experience you have in setting up a turntable. If you do not have at all any, my humble opinion is against buying an used TT. Properly aligning a cartridge is an expert's job. If done incorrectly, it does of course produce poor sonics, in addition it may harm your records too. Anything that has a potential of harming the source (music) media is strictly unadvisable. While there are many self-proclaimed experts in the used market in Kolkata, I have found none with the proper knowledge. So unless, you have experience, this is not the best route to take.

My suggestion would be for you to get a new TT where the cart is factory fitted and aligned. The user only has to do the tone arm balancing and adjusting anti-skating etc which are much easier to do following the instructions. I believe the TTs you mention may come with the cartridge already fitted to the headshell of the tonearm.

During use one becomes more comfortable tweaking settings etc, can learn all trades of the game. It is then sensible to consider used TTs some of which, after proper rehab and set-up, may give you satisfaction at a completely different level for a reasonable cost.

If you are already a very experienced person in setting up a TT, please ignore everything after the first paragraph.

Regards.

Thanks Asitda for your wonderful advice. I am not at all a experienced person in this.
Finally I have opted for the Audio Technica AT LP 120 which is now on the way to my home. Hope I will enjoy it with my existing system which doesn't have a dedicated phono input, for now. I do intend to upgrade my setup in due course but this is where I am starting.
Thanks again
Amitava Sengupta

 

[reubensm]

Hi Amitava,

Are all or some of the above turntables available to you for auditioning in Kolkata? If so, take along a favourite LP (either yours or borrowed from your family or a friend or colleague) and listen to it carefully and notice things like rumble from the motor or platter, minor variations in speed (wow and flutter) leading to variations in sound, overall clarity and rendition of detai at high, midrange and low frequencies. Go for the one that renders the best sound as per your own listening tastes.

All the three turntables listed by you are very good value for money. Both the Project turntables have received excellent reviews in the hifi press while Audio Technica have made their name with their excellent phono cartridges. If you can enlist the help of our senior fellow member Asit Da from Kolkata(Asit on this forum) you will get informed and balanced advice.

Best wishes.

+1 to Microflex's opinion...I would also like to add a couple of comments (from my personal experience).

1) Take a look at your vinyl, do you own new stuff or have you got them pre-owned or have you raided the flea market...If you have brand new vinyl, any of our listed turntables should be great...you may also get along well with good pre-owned vinyl on these turntables. However, if you are planning to indulge in flea market vinyl (especially bollywood film music), you would need a turntable with a tone arm to track almost anything. From my experience, the good old technics S-tonearm is the best for the purpose. Also, vinyl comes with primarily, 3 speed options, 33 and 1/3, 45 and 78 rpm. Most turntables would accomodate the first 2 speeds, however if you have some 78 rpm records with you, you'll need (1) a turntable which has the 78rpm speed listed and (2) a cartridge and stylus for 78rpm records.

2) when auditioning, also listen for inner groove distortion. this is easy to notice, you will hear mild distortion, especially on the vocals when tracks nearer to the record label are played. However, make sure you take a new record with you for auditioning as you can be sure that the record is perfect. In the earlier days, especially in India, most low-end turntables came with tonearms tracking at around 8 grams or more. Vinyl constantly played on these turntables would exhibit greater wear. Also Indians generally used low end sapphire stylii in those days and were used to run them till they wore out completely. A worn stylus would have resulted in greater wear on the record. (point 2 is worth considering only if you are sure that the turntable you are auditioning is properly calibrated)

 

[reubensm]

Thanks Asitda for your wonderful advice. I am not at all a experienced person in this.
Finally I have opted for the Audio Technica AT LP 120 which is now on the way to my home. Hope I will enjoy it with my existing system which doesn't have a dedicated phono input, for now. I do intend to upgrade my setup in due course but this is where I am starting.
Thanks again
Amitava Sengupta

Not a bad choice, you have an inbuilt phono preamp and USB connectivity. Mechanically, the AT LP120 is a rip off from the Technics SL 1200 MK2 so you've got yourself a turntable with a pretty good design. I've heard this table play when in the United States and thought that its preamp was more than decent for analogue use, however when CDs were created using the USB to PC connectivity, they tended to have a bit of extra back ground noise. Guess this can be cancelled out using good software. Congrats and welcome to the wonderful world of vinyl!!

 

[senguptamitava]

Not a bad choice, you have an inbuilt phono preamp and USB connectivity. Mechanically, the AT LP120 is a rip off from the Technics SL 1200 MK2 so you've got yourself a turntable with a pretty good design. I've heard this table play when in the United States and thought that its preamp was more than decent for analogue use, however when CDs were created using the USB to PC connectivity, they tended to have a bit of extra back ground noise. Guess this can be cancelled out using good software. Congrats and welcome to the wonderful world of vinyl!!

Thanks to you all for all your wonderful advice. My AT-LP 120 has finally started its life with me. At present I have two different systems: 1. Philips MC-170 HI Fi system (1996) 2. Philips HI-Q International Record player(1970) with those legendary Hi Q loudspeakers. both of them are missing the phono inputs. Connected the new TT to both of them consecutively through its inbuilt Phonostage. The Hi-Q sounded far better than the MC-170.. Hence continuing to listen through that.
@reubensm: I have both the types of vinyl you mentioned. the new ones bought sounded pretty good. The old ones had the tome arm shaking vigorously. gave the records a good shower with plain water and then dried them after wiping with a soft cloth. the problem minimized considerably.