We at Born & Raised love collecting and listening to vinyl. The medium offers an active, communal listening experience that isn’t really found in streaming or other music media. The process of thumbing through your collection to find the perfect album to fit the day or the mood and dropping the needle to your favorite music provides a tactile involvement that is unique to vinyl records. In addition to the romanticism of the experience, vinyl also offers a higher quality audio experience than other lossy music formats like mp3s. The list of pros is much longer, but we can save that discussion for another time. Rather than preach to the converted, today we’re here to guide you through the ever-important first step in becoming a vinyl collector; choosing your first turntable.
Admittedly, when I first got into vinyl in college, approaching the experience was intimidating. Do I need to buy all the old classics first? Is there value in the records that I have already? Does my collection need to be stocked with super rare records to be cool? How do I know if a used vinyl is in good condition? Is some guy in tight jeans going to materialize in my living room and make fun of me if my turntable costs less than $500? I faced plenty of insecurities venturing into all of this.
A vinyl setup can seem complicated at first. It’s not as easy as plugging in your phone to an aux cable. There are multiple pieces involved to get a quality sound, and some of the language may be unfamiliar since it’s not commonly used.
So I wanted to offer just some quick info to help others start their life-long addiction to vinyl collecting. While a set-up requires more than just a turntable, we are going to focus on that part of the signal chain, and we will walk through the others in subsequent posts. Understand this though, Your sound will only be as good as the weakest part of the audio signal chain. You can spend $5,000 on a turntable, but if you are listening to it with cheap speakers you got off wish.com, well that table won’t do you much good.
You don’t have to spend an entire paycheck for a good turntable. Save that paycheck for the records. There are plenty of great starter tables out there. Here are some quick steps to help you find the right turntable for you.
WARNING: If it looks like a suitcase, you probably should avoid it. Crosley and Victrola tables are super retro-looking and trendy at the moment and also incredibly affordable, but they can damage your vinyl over time. Pretty much every part of those tables from the cartridge to the arm are poorly designed and can scratch up your prized records. Just save your money and skip these.
Before starting your shopping, Outline features you are looking for.
Do you want to listen via bluetooth speakers? Do you want automatic buttons that drop the needle and return the arm after it’s done playing? What size do you want and how much space do you have? Do you want a USB out to record your albums? Outline these first before diving in.
The Basics
Know the basics of a table. Turntables are instruments, and the nicer tables can allow for some serious fine tuning. Know the basics so you know how involved you’d like to be.
Cartridge: This is the part that makes the sound work. The needle drags through the grooves on the vinyl and amplifies it to make the sound of the record.
Tonearm: This connects the cartridge to the table and tracks the needle through the grooves.
Direct Drive/Belt Drive: This is what spins the vinyl. Direct drives are great for DJs because they get to the proper speed quickly, but also could transfer vibrations more easily and lead to more unwanted noise. Belt drives are great for the listener looking to sit in their living room and listen.
Phono Preamp: Some tables come with preamps already in them. Vinyl has a lower signal output than most other formats. It requires an amp to bring it up to standard level or line level. My first table didn’t have a preamp on it, and I assumed something was broken. All it needed was something to bring it up to line level. Some tables have a preamp built into the table.
Platter: This is the mat that the vinyl sits on to spin.
Tracking Force: The amount of weight that the tonearm applies to the needle to track through the groove. Most tables and cartridges have recommended weights and some arms don’t allow the user to tune this part. The key here is to be sure to read directions and make sure you don’t track too heavy to avoid damaging your records. In most cases, the tracking force range falls between one and three grams. Beware that tables without counterweights can track heavy and still could damage your vinyl. Also, improperly balancing your counterweight can lead to heavy tracking and damaged vinyl.
Knowing the basic components of a table can help you decide what’s important to your personal experience. It’s okay to find a more hands-off table that allows you to get to listening quicker. The hunt for higher fidelity may catch you one day and you can make adjustments then. The journey of collecting vinyl can last a lifetime so there will be plenty of time to gradually upgrade your system as you learn more and crave a better listening experience.
Recommendations.
There are a few great starter tables listed below. Remember to find the table and set up that fits you and your listening habits best. There are plenty of tables out there and the ones below aren’t the only options, but we like them.
Audio-Technica AT-LP60
If mixing and matching all the different pieces of equipment sounds too complicated, this table is for you. Take out all the fuss and get to spinning immediately. It’s budget friendly and totally automatic. There is also a model with Bluetooth so you can hook up to bluetooth speakers. It sounds fine enough and gets you in the game fast. No counterweight on this table so just be conscious of how heavy it tracks.
Fluance RT81
This is the table we have here in the Born & Raised office. It’s a great place to start, because it has many features that are great for people who are new to vinyl, but it allows you to upgrade down the road. It sounds great, has some customizable options to fine tune your listening experience, but you can also get to listening quick. You have to manually queue records, which I personally love. If you want a start button, this isn’t for you.
Pro-Ject Debut Carbon
Want to go full-on nerd right out of the gate? Here is a great place to start. If you like to tinker and want to add more time to your set up in the name of fidelity, this might be worth checking out. It doesn’t have a phono preamp built in and doesn’t have a USB output. Speed changes have to be done manually. You will get more details from your records with this though. It also has a carbon-fiber tonearm which you usually only find in fancier tables.
Go out there and get a set-up and start crate digging!
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