Its a wonderful experience, starting off on a vinyl journey. The road is a long one and there is much to be learnt on the way. Ensure that you get off to a great start and you will have a truly enjoyable time. The start of this journey requires 3 basics to fall in place:
1) some kind of a record collection of even a few records
2) a turntable to play them
3) suitable amplification for your turntable
of the 3 basics, the most ignored, but the most important is the first one. There is no use having the best of equipment with no records to play. Try to accquire a few, maybe 5 or 10 records before you start. If you have just one or two, you'll end up playing these all day long
The turntable comes next. There are many options out there, both old and new. If your knowledge of TTs is very basic or non-existant, better to start with a new one. All you have to do is to set it up and start playing. If you have some knowledge or you've experienced TTs before or you are more adventerous or if you are not on a very tight budget where any spend has to offer you assured returns, then go the vintage route. Here it is important to be patient, observant, eagle-eyed and in short, careful. You can either buy a TT from a friend or fellow enthusiast or you can go to a dealer (again, these come in many varieties). Getting a TT from a friend is the best option but only if you can see it play and experience it for a few days or so before you buy it. Buying over the phone is always not reccomended. When buying from dealers, take a friend who knows stuff, along with you and inspect in person before buying. Never buy from dealers over the phone. There are broadly 2 types of dealers. The first category are pure traders. They procure TTs and sell them for a profit. They usually appear more dodgy but with them, if you can manage the pricing and keep an eagle-eye open, they are the better persons to go to. This is because they really don't know much about what they are actually selling and you may end up with something really good, at a steal. What you need to look out for is complete functionality and nonstandard spares replacement. Get the model details before hand, do some research online with photographs, also take someone who knows his stuff with you and you should be fine. There is a second category of dealer out there who know their stuff, are probably enthusiasts themselves and even service stuff. It is advisable to be more cautious when dealing with them. Enthusiasts-cum-dealers follow a simple logic. They keep the better stuff for themselves and sell the rest. Also some of them practice component transplantation. If they come across TTs with good quality or newish components, they may retain these as spares or use them in their own equipment, and replace them with alternatives, OEM or otherwise. Always cross check info presented with 3rd parties to verify. Also inspect in person before buying. Another important factor is to always be very sensitive towards cosmetics. Remember the vinyl journey is not a short one and you may have to upgrade at some point. Hence if you have a TT in pathetic cosmetic condition, its not going to have many takers. Dealers will say that "this break or that bend does not effect the performance" but stay away from poor cosmetics. It is possible to get vintage equipment in semi or relatively new condition if you be patient. If you are looking to buy anything below Rs.15000/- stay local (buy in the Indian market). If you are looking to buy anything over that range, don't buy in India and prefer to buy from places like Germany (through ebay.de) or UK (through ebay.co.uk). Make yourself familiar with import regulations before venturing on a foreign shopping spree.
Most people price TTs based on inputs from the world market. Don't let this deject you. Always be brave enough to pitch your price. Remember, in the world of audio, those who go to the pre-used market almost never buy expensive stuff so the dealer may be just pushing his luck. If he does not bend, just move on. There will always be something better waiting around the corner.
For example, recently I tried to buy a vintage Shure MM cart from a friend. He was asking for Rs.5000/- with a new non-OEM replacement stylus. I really wanted this one but could not see any value in spending 5k for it, hence let it pass. 2 weeks later, when my Lenco L75 stock tonearm arrived from Toronto after servicing, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the guy who serviced it for me (a good friend of mine) had actually enclosed a few vintage Shure cartridges with it, for me in the pack as a gift. This particular Shure cartridge was one of them. At times, one gets lucky in this business
When buying a new TT, you will get a new cartridge and stylus along with it. When buying an old one, ensure that the seller gives you a good cart and stylus. A good cart with a broken stylus is a waste as a replacement stylus costs almost as much as the cart. If you chose to upgrade there are many options out there but its always better to buy from abroad as prices in the Indian market are absurd.
Finally on the equipment side, most often ignored but very important. To start with, you can get a good integrated amp with an inbuilt phonostage. However at some point you will have to upgrade to a dedicated phonostage for better sound. The journey goes on and on.
Good luck!!
