[OmniX]

This might be slightly off-topic, but it still is a peripheral so I thought I'd ask here: I'm looking for a relatively inexpensive (no more than $50) turntable to hook up to my home stereo system (and possibly my Mac if all goes well) so I can play all my old records (my previous turntable broke about 10 years ago and I'm only now getting around to replacing it).

So does anyone have an idea where I can find a good one (from reputable brand?) that is either new or used?

[Chuck_star]

Sorry to say it, but new turntables are quite a bit more expensive than $50. If I were you, I'd check a Pawn Shop or Flee Market.
As for connecting it to your Mac. You can't do a direct connection, or go through a stereo amp. You could however run it though a mixer and into your mac. Then your looking at more cash.

Good luck

Technics are one of the best, but expensive.

[pipndale]

Hi,

Try asking your friends if they have an old turntable they don't want. I had a friend who was not using it all and gave it to me for free. It was a Technics and all I needed to do was replace the cartridge.
As for connecting to a Mac I ended up buying a PCI card from Emagic and the quality is great. You could still do it without the card by buying a pre-amp to hook the turntable to (available at Radio Shack) and then use a simple shareware program to record. Try the MacAddict site - I know they had a great article on how to record your old vinyls.

pipndale

[marusin]

I really think that you need to run the Turntable through at least your stereo amp or a mixer just to get the sound level up a bit.. There's no amplification that is built into a record player and as a result, you would have to crank your recording input level way up...

Also, I believe that the record player has to be "grounded" or you will be getting lots of noise/static if you don't run it through an amp... The "phono" plugs on the back of a receiver are grounded (I believe.. Could be way off!)

Just my thoughts..
-Mike

[-Q-]

What's a record?

The above are correct. You'll need some sort of amplifier to get any decent sound out of the turntable. Good luck find a cheap one...

[zigzag]

Originally posted by Chuck_star:
<STRONG>
As for connecting it to your Mac. You can't do a direct connection, or go through a stereo amp. You could however run it though a mixer and into your mac. Then your looking at more cash. </STRONG>

I believe that's incorrect. If your Mac has an audio input jack, you can plug a turntable into any stereo amp or receiver that has a phono pre-amp (if it has phono inputs, it will have a phono pre-amp), then plug that into the Mac from the tape-out connection (usually via a stereo RCA - 1/8" adapter).

You can also buy a stand-alone phono pre-amp at Radio Shack for $15 or so.

A phono pre-amp is required because the signal from the phono cartridge is at a relatively low level and needs the extra boost (unlike "line level" sources like CDs and tapes). Also, the phono pre-amp performs the necessary RIAA equalization - without it, you'd get very unbalanced frequency response.

Check pawn shops and ebay for a used turntable, just make sure it works before you finalize the deal. You should be able to find an ordinary working Japanese brand for well under $50 - as the man said, a lot of people are giving them away. If you look hard, $50 should get you a pretty good table.

[ 08-01-2001: Message edited by: zigzag ]

[Jean-Luc]

Hi!

I know that you don't want to spend more than $50 but really, you should consider the Music Hall MMF 2.5 turntable (http://www.musichallaudio.com/). You can find one in the US for about $200 including cartridge. At that price, it's not a bargain, it's a steal! Many audiophile magazines recommend it even against models over $1000. Keep in mind that this piece of equipment will allow you to rediscover your record collection and will provide you with the quality level you'll need if you wish to transfer your vinyls to CD.

And zigzag explanations are right, but you should try to hook up your turntable to a decent amplifier or receiver than an inexpensive phono preamp (which will induce distortion, noise, hum, not to mention poor sound quality that will end up in your CD copy).

I don't know what are your needs, nor your goal with your vinyl collection. I just hope that this little suggestion will help.

Jean-Luc

[Tristrami]

Hi,

If you e-mail me I've got a fantastic extra turntable that I'd be willing to sell you a quite a reasonable price. It's in perfect condition and I've been using it to record records into my Power Mac 5400 so I know it does work with Macs! As for the debate of amplification, yes, if your phonograph has it's own amping (mine does) you don't need to run it through a tuner/reciever (or preamp) but you will still need to ground it--and many tuners conveniently have a grounding screw in the back, but few turntables are self-grounding. This provides an immense difference in sound quality.

[zigzag]

Jean-Luc is correct - with a little more money and research, you can do much better than the basic Japanese direct-drive turntable. If you can find a new or used belt-driven table by Music Hall, Linn, Rega, Revolver, Basic, Thorens, Rotel, or NAD, you can expect much better sound from your LPs. However, not everyone is an audiophile, and there's nothing wrong with simple and cheap if it meets your needs. If you can find a free or cheap Japanese table (Sony, Technics, etc.) and it does what you want, go for it.

Not that the Japanese haven't ever built audiophile tables (Denon was known for them), but they tended to be very heavy and expensive. The Japanese also make good tables for DJing, but they're built more for endurance than sound quality. Most Japanese tables are of the cheap, direct-drive variety - the kind that came with rack systems.