Budget Vinyl Rigs

Discussion in 'Vinyl Nutjob World: Turntable and Related Gear' started by Merrick, Feb 26, 2016.

  1. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

    Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,066
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Portland, ME
    I am enjoying my Pro-ject Debut Carbon at roughly $400. I actually got the Espirit SB version with upgraded platter. Not sure if it performs better than stock, although most say it does. It outperforms my Gungnir Multibit, but I've spend time playing around with several small mods and phono pre's. Seems to be a decent start for lots of people on the SH forums.
     
  2. shaizada

    shaizada Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,796
    Trophy Points:
    93
    To get a taste of it, find a friend who owns a decent setup and just go listen to it. Cheaper than sinking money into it and THEN finding out that its not for you. If it is the sound you are after, be careful to what you listen to. Vinyl setups have been known to devour wallets and owners with zero guilt! ;)
     
  3. SteelCannon

    SteelCannon Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 14, 2015
    Likes Received:
    466
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    usa
    I wanted to try vinyl out so I bought a debut carbon with some upgrades from dr. higgs. There is a fair bit of noise and distortion in the carbon that there was not in the classic signature. And the bass is a bit of a mess. I still get a lot enjoyment out of listening to my small collection of records, but there is tremendous room for improvement. I think based on my experience I would buy a preowned beginner table for no more than $200-$300 and spend the rest on music. And then when you have a collection of records make a big purchase for something much nicer and skip the middle of the road stuff. I would say my gungir sounds better than the debut carbon, but I am a bit of a crazy person when it comes to noise and distortion.
     
  4. JayC

    JayC Resident Crash Test Dummy

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    980
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Eindhoven
  5. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

    Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,066
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Portland, ME
    Looks like this could be a good value. Decent proven cartridge, real company, speed control, attractive finishes. I think the upgrade to the better version could be worth it, but at $200 - $250 who can complain. I am sure we will see a round of rave reviews from the usual suspects and then the actual reviews will creep in.
     
  6. JayC

    JayC Resident Crash Test Dummy

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    980
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Eindhoven
    im trying to save up for a project carbon, but if im getting that its going to be in a year or so. I can, however put aside $150-200 now and buy one of these. (sounds like a weird setup of cash saving/flow, but i have this money saved now and a lot of things happening currently so yeah)

    EDIT: nvm, im in europe. no shipping outside USA/canada for that fluance one.
     
  7. sashafuckinggrey

    sashafuckinggrey Acquaintance

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    43
    Trophy Points:
    18
    ^project debut III goes around 200$ used
     
  8. JayC

    JayC Resident Crash Test Dummy

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    980
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Eindhoven
    hmm, i'll look around then! this being my first turntable, any advice on things to look for when buying used?
     
  9. MoatsArt

    MoatsArt Friend

    Pyrate Banned
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    838
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Australia
    I've borrowed a crappy record player from my father-in-law with crappy speakers, a crappy inbuilt pre and a crappy in built amp. The sound is absolutely awful, but nostalgia has kicked in. I love the ritual element, the changing of sides, the tactility of the medium. The kids are fascinated and sit listening with me, holding the cover art and following along with the track listing.

    There's no doubt that even a modest vinyl rig will be a significant investment for me, that's before even considering buying decent recordings.

    I'm thinking of getting the base level Carbon with none of the upgrades at some stage in the future and then slowly adding an acrylic platter and other bits and pieces.

    Here are my rather nebulous questions:

    1. Have any of you bought a budget rig like the debut carbon and can see yourself happily sitting at that level for the rest of your life?
    2. Would it be true to say that this whole vinyl thing is a money pit that isn't meant for people with a small audio budget?

    Thanks
     
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2016
  10. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

    Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,066
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Portland, ME
    Moats - I currently own (and am listening to) a Debut Carbon. Love it, I've had it for 8 months. I don't know if it is considered the absolute best starter table, but alot of people do start with this table and have positive results. I have various upgrades and tweaks, but it beats out my Schiit Gungnir Multibit it terms of sound quality. I am sure I will upgrade in the future, but I shouldn't need to, it does everything that it is supposed to well. I am also happier with the intangables and physical nature of playing records as you mentioned above.

    I think where vinyl gets a bad wrap as being a money pit is trying to constantly muddle with things or not being happy with good enough. Its a long road to the top, but if you just relax, enjoy and try things out as budget allows I think you could be very happy. Trying to find the perfect copy of an album, finding the right cartridge etc can be frustrating especially if you are on a budget. Rather than worry about all of that, just play records, have a fun time with the kids, and if the upgrade bug hits, try some inexpensive tweaks or buy some more records and the problem solves itself! Finding used records is a fairly inexpensive hobby if practiced in moderation and can be alot of fun.

    Hope you try it out! I think you will really enjoy it.
     
  11. JayC

    JayC Resident Crash Test Dummy

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    980
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Eindhoven
    This is just what I had in mind; I don't see myself ending up with one of those $1000 turntables, let alone $8000. I need to build up a record collection too! I'm looking for something around 400 euros that will leave me happy for potentially the rest of my life (or at least 5-10 years) and well, general opinion is always either the project carbon, rega rp1 or music hall mmf 2.2. If someone here can help it would make a decision easier, since I trust opinions here more than anywhere else
     
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2016
  12. eastboundofnowhere

    eastboundofnowhere Facebook Friend

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2016
    Likes Received:
    202
    Trophy Points:
    43
    I think I can chime in here. I bought the carbon when it was first released and it was my first turntable. At the time I had a fair amount of expendable income so it isn't my only table and doesn't get used anymore, but that is mostly because I used to have room for more than one set up and now I only have room for one. This can turn into a money pit if you let it, but that is true for literally any hobby that I can think of and certainly all facets of home audio in general.

    If I could only have the carbon forever it would be okay, partially because it still sounds better than any DAC I have ever heard (not a large list) but mostly because of what you already mentioned. When it was my primary table, my friends and I would sit around often drinking a few beers and doing exactly what you mentioned doing with your kids. I'm from the CD/MP3 generation and unfortunately, the Pro-ject made me realize my friends and I had mostly been using music as background noise all our lives rather than as a an event in and of itself.
     
  13. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2016
    Likes Received:
    6,093
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Suburban DC
    Hi @MoatsArt
    In response to your above questions and piggybacking off of @JoshMorr 's reply...

    I purchased the regular Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (AC) about 2 years ago and enjoyed it with only a cork mat. Just this past week, I finally saved up enough and upgraded to the Acryl-It platter with Turntable Lab weight and the Speedbox S. I followed @purrin 's advice about the 2 + things he recommends for Pro-Ject tables. It really improved the already good sound especially in the bass department.

    I see this as my turntable for a very, very long time. I think the key is to know your limits on spending for this hobby and be willing to be satisfied with your current setup. I recently got the PS Audio Sprout because it has a phono stage and does bluetooth extremely well and has a tiny form factor. I do a lot of headphone listening through it with HE-400S and I love the setup. I have a wife and two young children and my financial disposable income is limited by my responsibilities to my family. I would love to go out and spend big money on audio equipment and headphones, but I want to have a happy wife and setup my children for the best possible financial future.

    My older daughter also enjoys the ritual of playing records and using the turntable. She likes to occasionally accompany me to a local used record store and dig in the crates for Raffi records, then go home put them on and dance. I mainly purchase inexpensive used records from local record shops or eBay and clean them and enjoy them. I stay far away from $50 audiophile releases. I rarely buy new records because it is infinitely less expensive to stream from Tidal.

    Hopefully this helps. It is also important to note that getting a good turntable/cartridge will be more gentle on your records whereas an el cheapo will "wear out" your records quickly.
     
  14. bazelio

    bazelio Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 16, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,417
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Perfect is always the enemy of good enough in the world of vinyl.... isn't it?

    What is a good price on a used VPI Classic? I see one within semi reasonable driving distance of me.
     
  15. JK47

    JK47 Guest

    I paid $1800 shipped for a certified pre-owned from Sound Stage Direct for my Classic 1 generation 2. Sound Stage Direct was great to deal with over the phone, email was much slower. I believe @purrin's was listed for $1800 and he sold it local for $1600. He said Sound Stage Direct offered him $1200 for a trade on his Rosewood Classic 4.

    Here's a thread on VPI's forum explaining the difference between generations.

    http://vpiindustries.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=35
     
  16. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,771
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
  17. BioniclePhile

    BioniclePhile The Terminal Man - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    386
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    Admudnson-Scott Antarctic Facility (Seattle WA)
    Home Page:
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,771
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    It will still be worth the same in five years whereas AKM380 will probably be $100. I like stuff where you can get your money back.
     
  19. bazelio

    bazelio Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 16, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,417
    Trophy Points:
    113
    And actually, that ad is why I asked.
     
  20. BioniclePhile

    BioniclePhile The Terminal Man - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    386
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    Admudnson-Scott Antarctic Facility (Seattle WA)
    Home Page:
    But why would anyone sell a Classic 1? :p
     

Share This Page