Turntable question
 

I've been collecting vinyl for most of my life, haven't actually listened to any of them for quite a while.
Now I'm thinking about digging my turntable out of storage and hooking it up.

Before using it, I would take it to the local shop to have a new stylus installed, have the arm balanced and anything else it may need.

I have one of these:

http://www.vinylengine.com/library/jvc/ql-f4.shtml

So my question, is it worth putting one dime into this player or has technology come to a point where buying a $150 unit would be just as good if not better than my JVC?

Direct drive - looks like a good rig, spend a couple of $$ on a new stylus.

I thought with the counter balance this was a DIY thing?

You need to see if you can actually replace the "stylus" alone as opposed to the whole cartridge. Cartridge is the unit that houses the needle and plugs into four connectors at the end of the tone arm. In some cases you can have a cartridge re-tipped but I would not think this is the case here. Cartridges do not weigh the same so the tone arm counter weights will need to be adjusted. If you are happy with the sound of this turntable, then it might just pay to do new cartridge/and or stylus and have it set up, unless you know how to do it yourself. I good turntable even used will start in the $400+ range. There are a lot of other less expensive ones out there and I will say that the one you have is prob better quality than the new low end models. This site/company can be helpful in the process (no afil):
http://www.needledoctor.com/

You should post this on the AV forum.

However, I guess the question is if you have spent a lot of $$ on your collection and want to get the most out of it you might consider a better TT.

Although there are some wonderful old TT's out there if you are trying to extract the most out of your collection I would consider a newer table however, what the rest of your system is comprised of also makes a difference.

Although the basic principle has not changed the bearings and motors used today are superior for the most part over your average consumer TT of yesterday. This will lower the noise and increase bass over most older tables. The better the cartridge table setup the better the sound stage you will have. Although some will argue a direct drive or idler wheel table is the best this is not always the case. Some older Thorens tables were not as wonderful as many will have you believe.

Cartridges can very considerably in tonal quality. You need to decide if you want MM or MC and if you go with moving coil do you want to get involved in low output cartridges and phono pre-amps. This can easily add up quickly.

There are very nice TT's available on the used market you might consider looking at audiogon for some. Otherwise I found Benz Micro to make a nice intro line of cartridges with a nice upgrade program allowing you to trade in your cartridge as you get more involved and want more from your system. In either case have the table professionally looked at and set up. slight variations in setting up a TT can make a huge difference in tonal quality.

Done :)


Looks like I'm using the wrong terms again. I assumed I would have to replace the cartridge.

Either way I'm balancing the cost of just updating my player with a decent stylus and making sure it's balanced so I don't destroy my records.

If I can "update" my player for say....$200 - $300 and the best "budget" player is $400 - $500...... I would stick with mine just because I like it and it was my fathers (I still have the huge JVC amplifier that goes with it). I'm not really sure how much I will really use it, just bugs me I have all this vinyl and never listen to them.

What do I look for when picking out a cartridge? I'm sure I can handle that install and will get a better price online versus the local hi-fi shop.

I'm not looking for absolute, studio perfect sound. I can tell a difference and prefer the sound of vinyl, but I do have a nice case of 24/7 tinnitus that keeps me from really hearing the upper end of the spectrum.

Given the rest of the system, keep what you have and put a decent MM cartridge on it for around $150 or so. The "suspension" on cartridges don't last forever and your's is likely to be pretty well shot even if it had been lightly used before storage. Have the cartidge aligned by someone who knows what they are doing or get yourself an alignment protractor and learn to do it yourself- it's not difficult, but it can be time consuming. Don't break the bank today as you can always step up later after you get the hang of it.

GRADO make very good low priced cartridges....
 

FYI

I should have clarified, I have the original JVC amp, but I don't plan on using it.

I have a three year old Pioneer Elite receiver and an Onkyo M-504 for the front channel:

http://onkyousa.com/model.cfm?class=Amplifier&m=M-504

Thanks for the cartridge suggestions, time to do some searching!

Here are some places that will help for comparisons.

http://www.needledoctor.com/Online-S...ono-Cartridges

http://store.acousticsounds.com/c/34...put_Cartridges

Remember if your collection is new the cartridge and tonearm will make a difference regarding wear of the vinyl. Proper setup is critical. The better the cartridge the smaller the stylus and the lower in the grove it sits, this reduces background noise, clicks and pops although you won't see much difference in the price range you are looking. Grado, Sure and benz micro are all good names. benz offers or at least offered a trade in policy sometimes worth more than you paid for the cartridge if you upgrade to a high enough level. Although I am not sure if that works in the less than $1000 price range.

Remember you want high output MM since you don't want to get involved with phono pre-amps,

If you are Serious about it, i would move on and get another table keep this as your backup. I had recently purchased a Denon off Evilbay, the best of the fully auto tables IMO, i would look for one of those or a Yamaha.

350 avg...

:biggulp:

Which Denon table did you get? I live very near the Needle Doctor, and am considering buying the Denon DP100 they are selling.

http://www.needledoctor.com/Denon-DP...category=37288

DP60L ......


I'm not sure i would go for that Denon at that price point ^^ i really don't know how good a player you are getting for 2500 ..

Take a look :

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....abl&1306620081
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....sis-Audio-2000

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....t-Drive-Record - denon

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....---Star-Vacuum - good deal but will require setup knowledge..

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....c-Hall-mmf-7.1 -- heard good things , but have never experienced one...

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....13&/Denon-dp75 --- Hmmm!

yeah, I know all about that, I have the same thoughts about it as you stated, However, I have heard that the Denon DP100 is one of the best DD tables around. You are right though, at that price point, there is a LOT of competition, as well as I still really like my highly modded SL1200.

If you have an SL1200 , go for one of the belt drives recommended and compare..

I was talking to someone from sales at D&M holdings the other day and said the SL1200 was selling like hotcakes. Although the earthquake may impact production on items from Japan and might show an increase in future pricing because of it.

Nice table although once you get into that price range there is a lot of equipment on the used market that IMO is better for the same money or less.

You might consider looking into Well Tempered for the money they are a very nice table. Also many older model Denon's can be picked up in the $250 price range used. The money saved can be invested in a better cartridge.

I would stay away from the sota vacuum tables they are problematic and I preferred the non vacuum versions better. A good clamp will do more for you than the vacuum system. Although the Sota sapphire was a nice table I prefer some of the newer tables today.