Turntable recommendation required herein

Is there anywhere you could get a Pro-ject Debut for under $200? New they are $249-$299 which is unfortunately outside of my price range. I've only been able to find damaged Pro-ject 1.2s used. I don't know if its the same guy everywhere or if they had some motor buzzing problem. Anyway, I'm not interested in a broken turntable. I already have one of those.

Oh and fortunate hazel, I don't think you're going to find that state-side. You can see the models offered in the US by Sumico (their US distributor) here:
http://www.sumikoaudio.net/project/idx_products.htm

Have you got a pic? It's not for playing records designed for jukeboxes?

The instructions make no mention of it whatsoever.

http://www.musonic.co.uk/accessories/o-tfg.JPG

I'm not sure what those numbered divots are (1, 2, 3).

.. cos when you have to take the beast apart to reset the table speed it becomes somewhat annoying !

oh, and i never messed with the Bottle Opener .. couldn't figure it all out, and so far no skating has ever happened ..

I find it strange that there is no way of adjusting the tracking force - what if I want to use a different cartridge? And why include the bottle opener?

i guess i'm looking for something under $200.

my old turntable really needs to be trashed.

I think I'm going with the debut; I want one in a nice colour though. pink?

I just spent money I didn't have on an adapter for my ibook. this is the third one I've burnded through.

also do these models use "universal" needles or do i need to buy a needle from the manufacturer?

the only thing is, dont you have to lift off the whole plate and all that malarkey just to change the speed to 45? i know, i know, real audiophiles dont need to listen to stuff at 45.

but they are nice. i've had mine for about 6 years with no problems. really the only drawback is the lack of automatic features.

So I haven't had a functional turntable in many a year, but am thinking of investing this holiday season. Only problem is, I don't really have a stereo anymore, and play almost everything through my laptop. Are there turntables I can get that I can play through my laptop, like one of those usb jobs? Would that be worth it, or what? I am obviously very clueless about this whole thing. Help!

http://www.sumikoaudio.net/project/products/debut_usb.htm
dunno if this is too costly but it is a good-sounding deck. i think you would have to get some sort of software to let you listen but that should be available for free. it is a good enough 'table that if you were to get a hifi it would work very well in the context too.

yeah, thanks! though I think that is in fact too costly for me I think, at least at the moment.

http://www.sumikoaudio.net/project/products/phonobox_2_usb.htm

you can get a less expensive deck and then use that as the preamp.

this also just came out. i didnt know about it when i made the above post...
http://usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/4724.asp
I havent heard the Denon so I can't say how it sounds but their products are certainly reliable.

There are a bunch of USB turntables that include phono sections. They'll bump up the RIAA curves before sending things into the computer (without a phono section, you won't get much bass, amongst other problems).

But this device seems to be getting good reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Phono-Plus-USB-Preamp/dp/B000BBGCCI

Cheap, lets you hook up other devices too, and it lets you use any turntable so that you aren't limited to the sometimes chintzy USB turntables. It would probably also let you send a signal out to self-amplified monitors, though I don't know that for sure. Still, at $60 you can't go too wrong. Seems to be very flexible/configurable. I'd get the best belt-driven turntable you can afford, then tack this on. Then someday get a pair of modest monitors. Would think that should sound pretty good.

So I'm still holding out on taking the Technics dive. I really want to but money ain't what it needs to be for that. I'm thinking about this direct drive Audio-Technica since I want pitch control, it comes as a complete package with headshell and cartridge, and I've heard good things about A-T. Thoughts? Anybody have one of these?

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT-PL120-Professional-Direct-Drive-Turntable/dp/B00012EYNG/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1237314316&sr=8-2

Anyone?

Are you hoping to DJ? That looks like a reasonably solid 1200 knock-off (the model # is even 120). It's nicer than my turntable.

Eh, not so much dj as in take it around with me, but yeah sort of something I can at least mess with the pitch and I want the direct drive. So yeah not just for audiophile home listening, something I can fiddle around with.

I'd say pay a tiny bit more and look for a second hand 1200. Even if it’s a bit bashed up I bet it will be running long after the AT has died.

Thanks Chewshabadoo, I'm sure you're right. I had that thought, but I need to find someone with more expertise to advise me in bringing a used 1200 up to speed. No time for learning like the present I suppose. Whenever I've looked into it I'm a bit overwhelmed/intimidated by the cartridge selection, tonearm balancing, etc.

Funny you should mention: I've been camping on ebay ads for second-hand "hardly used, only in my living room, honest guv" Technics 1210 turntable.

Theye go there for about £130-160, otherwise around £500 for newish ones in shops.

Tonearm balancing is a piece of piss – there must be a simple guide somewhere you can follow – but all you have to do is put the cartridge on, turn-off auto-skate, rotate the counterbalance so the arm balances in the air on both ends when hovering over the platter, reset the numeric dial to zero, rotate to the tracking force specified by your cartridge (usually around 1.5, but more is always better than less), and set the anti-skate to the same amount. Shouldn’t take you much longer that a minute after you have fitted your cartridge.

And as regards a cartridge, just buy a reasonable one – unless you’re back-cueing, get a consumer one like an OM5, or OM10, which sound pretty good to me – and I’m sure you’ll be fine. You can always think about buying a more esoteric one in a couple of years time.

Thanks Chews. Just the sort of straightforward take I was looking for.

I had been waffling between a Rega P1 or P2 and the (now discontinued?) Technics 1200, but this thread has pretty much sold me on a Pro-Ject Debut. I am not a dj -- rather just someone looking to get a decent turntable for a home stereo setup.

i love my rega. p1. i'm not very demanding though. it's perfect for me.

i mean, i guess if i had the money to blow i would upgrade to the p2 or whatever, but i really don't feel the need to.

i do need new speakers though. or new old ones. the old warhorse marantz reciever maria got me for free is too good for my old speakers. i'm missing out on better sound.

Alright, any new updates or additions to recommend for a new turntable? I think my upper limit is going to be about $250. Looking for something to replace my (super shitty) Ion USB turntable. This will not be hooked up to a computer, but to my Pioneer receiver.

a friend who is a casual vinyl listener asked me for a <$200 turntable recommendation . i've had the same technics 1200 for 10 years and have no clue about other turntables so i don't know what to tell him ... any suggestions? are those basic audio technica tables worth anything?

I have this and it's pretty good for $179:

https://store.uturnaudio.com/products/orbit-basic-turntable

i'm in the market for a home-listening table. i'd previously had a technics SL-QD35 (passed down from my dad years and years ago), which was a p-mount so that always kind of limited my shopping but i liked the darned simplicity of it, and it's the table i grew up with so i was always very attached to the look and feel. it was lost in a fire. farewell; i got many, many, many great years of listening out of that thing, more than my dad ever did.

https://discogslabs.imgix.net/gear/56f9f4dc3e393c001b2f0b6b.jpg?auto=compress&s=4c5998a0cab64cb74d6e83bc7e81ae13

aesthetically it seems like say the audio-technica LP-120 kinda fits that vibe (why must it have a USB though?!). though with my decor it might make sense to get something a little woodier. but none of your "flat floating slab of glossy-painted fiberboard with abstract minimalist controls type stuff. listening-wise: i had a grado red on the technics and it sounded great for most of my listening (generally 60s-80s rock-pop-and-soul and 90s-00s indie, with a growing jazz selection).

i haven't seriously thought about budget but it's hard for me to comprehend spending over idk $500, and really over $300 unless it's seriously like, this is THE turntable that i'm going to listen to and love for the rest of my life. not trying to make y'all do my shopping for me but are there any acknowledged canonical starting-point classics on the market right now? i've never had to buy a turntable before! it's weird!

why not just get another SL-QD35?

otherwise I'd recommend the SL-1200 / 1210 - now there's a turntable for life! No other turntable is as much fun to use or as sturdy + easily repairable

it's not cheap, but it's a solid investment (if you're ever broke it's easy to sell, it's like buying gold imo)

only reason (for me) to get anything else would be audiophile aspirations

I have the SL-1200 but aesthetically maybe the 1210 is even cooler

https://www.thedjshop.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/t/e/technics-1210-mk5.jpg

why not just get another SL-QD35?

Good question! I guess some mixture of, they're thirty years old and P-mount cartridges may not always be available to hand, and it seeming somehow a falsification to get an exact duplicate of this thing that was a family item. But that's kinda silly cause it WAS the right turntable for me for so long. Seems like they can be had for not too much dough, either!

The 1200s are gorgeous, I'll give you that. And the used prices don't seem bonkers (though the ones being manufactured and sold now, holy shit). I have been envious of people with a super clean pushbutton start-stop, which the QD35 did not have. HmmmmmmmMMMMM!