stellation wrote:ReasonablySober wrote:I'm finally getting into vinyl a little bit. I picked up about a dozen LPs, all of them part of my no-skip club. Now I just need something to play them on. Anyone have recommendations?
First off- welcome to where your money is going to disappear!
I'm currently using the Sony turntable at the link below and it's a great workhorse, it's kind of upper middle of the road and I needed to get something that used bluetooth for now (I'm sure I'll go back to high end later, but it's a future "renovate/rearrange" headache). I'd definitely recommend it, the bluetooth meant I could set it up on the other side of the room from the stereo it plays through so no running cables/hassles with trying to squeeze it in somewhere and the sound quality is pretty good (far better than I expected). It still has traditional RCA output, too, so you can run with cables if you like (have tried, it is a bit better by cables but probably being a bit pedantic). One touch easy pairing that actually works pretty well, I switch between a stereo/bluetooth speaker/headphones (cool if you have decent bluetooth headphones to just be able to go straight to them). I recommended it to a buddy who was getting into vinyl, he's using it with a Sonos Move as his little setup and he loves it (those Move speakers are killer, but pricey).
It has quite a heavy platter- a lot of cheaper ones will have a light platter, maybe not too big a deal with brand new vinyl but the firmer base makes a huge difference when the record is well loved or heavier vinyl made for improved sound (something to look out for with whatever you pick). Also easy to change needle. Looks really good, classic minimalist style and you can have the dust cover on or off.
Also- make sure to get an anti-static brush if you don't have one already to start taking care of them from day one. I don't think you need to go too high end with them, that turntable is automatic (press start, it lines up and drops the needle) and I generally just do one rotation holding the brush in place whilst the arm is lifting.
https://www.amazon.com/Sony-PS-LX310BT-Belt-Drive-Turntable/dp/B07PBLD4QN?th=1
I didn't expect audio output to be 90% of my battle in this one but it's become a thing.
I had a nice sound bar stuck in the back of a closet so I tried that out first, and the audio wasn't remotely acceptable.
I'm listening to Bluetooth audio now through my home theater setup and it's really, really good. But I want to be able to dedicate the records to their own independent output so I can listen while also having something like sports playing too.
I've got a Sonos Play 1 not being used. It's old but man I love how it sounds. If I can stick that in a corner by the couches and have it play via Bluetooth that would rule.
There's always headphones and I've got great ones but I'll be honest, part of the reason I'm doing this is impressing ladies when they come over. The coolest chick I've dated played me records on our first date.
Will continue to test and find out the best solution.
