Author Topic: Record (LP) turntables? (Read 7493 times)

mtnbkr · « **Reply #25 on:** April 21, 2009, 11:29:45 AM »

I need to see if my parents have my old Kiss albums. Might even have that old Led Zep 4 LP as well.

Chris

Gewehr98 · « **Reply #26 on:** April 21, 2009, 11:57:04 AM »

If the Zep4 LP is in good shape, I'll horse trade ya for it!

mtnbkr · « **Reply #27 on:** April 21, 2009, 12:09:43 PM »

It isn't.

Towards the end of the "album era", the albums at my parents' house didn't get a lot of love. Us kids abused them in a variety of ways. After all, tape, and later CD, was where it was at. The folks weren't audiophiles, not even close.

All this assumes my parents still have the two milk crates full of albums we once had. Considering they haven't owned a record player in over a decade, I would be surprised if they survived their last move in 2006.

Chris

crt360 · « **Reply #28 on:** April 21, 2009, 03:09:02 PM »

One of these days I'm gonna dig out my old record collection (including Led Zep 4 :D). Not sure how I'm going to listen to it. I had an old Marantz and a Harman-Kardon. Both were really good. I think the Marantz died and I probably loaned the H-K to my dad. I had good luck with Shure cartridges.

zahc · « **Reply #29 on:** April 21, 2009, 03:22:03 PM »

Quote

Harmon-Kardon

For some reason I always read and pronounce that as Karmon-Hardon, even when I think carefully about it beforehand.

crt360 · « **Reply #30 on:** April 21, 2009, 04:27:48 PM »

zahc, I hear ya. Even after owning a number of their products, I still can't seem to spell it right.

makattak · « **Reply #31 on:** April 21, 2009, 04:30:16 PM »

Quote from: zahc on April 21, 2009, 03:22:03 PM

For some reason I always read and pronounce that as Karmon-Hardon, even when I think carefully about it beforehand.

You should just refer to it as H-K or H&K... for simplicity's sake.

(I don't know if they hate their customers, though).

Gewehr98 · « **Reply #32 on:** April 21, 2009, 04:47:50 PM »

I know where there is a pristine Bang & Olufsen Beogram 4400 linear-tracking turntable for sale...

mtnbkr · « **Reply #33 on:** April 22, 2009, 09:54:52 AM »

I ended up with the Pioneer. It was a lot cleaner than the Technics.

I hooked it up last night, but I'm getting a low hum from it. I only hear it when the music is low, but it's there. I also need to replace the rubber "feet", they're old, cracked, and probably don't help much. In addition, I need to find a proper stand for it. I have it sitting on the stack of stereo/DVD/TV gear in the cabinet. Our floors aren't the most solid (this is on the 2nd floor of our townhouse). If my daughter starts dancing around with the music, the needle bounces around. Oops. The last time I spent any significant time with a record player, it was on a slab foundation.

Chris

zahc · « **Reply #34 on:** April 22, 2009, 10:17:45 AM »

Do you have a ground wire in addition to the RCA cables? Did you hook it up?

I had a marantz turntable that hummed. I figured out it was the RCA cables because when you moved them the hum would change. I put a fresh set of composite video cables on it and the hum went away entirely.

mtnbkr · « **Reply #35 on:** April 22, 2009, 10:20:47 AM »

Yes and yes.

Changing the cables might be problematic as they appear to be permanently attached inside the turntable.

Chris

zahc · « **Reply #36 on:** April 22, 2009, 10:22:20 AM »

In my case I had to take the bottom off the turntable and solder the new ones on. It was pretty easy with the marantz turntable but I don't know about other ones.

mtnbkr · « **Reply #37 on:** April 22, 2009, 10:25:22 AM »

oh, ok. I can probably handle that. I'll deal with that after I get a good, solid playing surface. That may be the project killer right there.

Chris

Uncle Bubba · « **Reply #38 on:** April 22, 2009, 10:44:15 AM »

Thank you to mtnbkr for the question and everyone else for answers and tips. I've got a vinyl collection that I bought from my (now ex-) girlfriend about ten or twelve years ago, five milk crates full of everything from some of the Disney albums she got as a child to hard rock/metal to easy listening, dating from the late '60s to late '80s, that I've been wanting to transfer to disc. This thread has been a big help.

Nitrogen · « **Reply #39 on:** April 22, 2009, 10:48:36 AM »

I have my dad's old Dual:
http://dual-reference.com/tables/1215.htm

BTW, Beatles records sound MUCH better than the CD's, and I don't know why.

Nitrogen · « **Reply #40 on:** April 22, 2009, 10:50:05 AM »

Quote from: mtnbkr on April 22, 2009, 09:54:52 AM

I ended up with the Pioneer. It was a lot cleaner than the Technics.

I hooked it up last night, but I'm getting a low hum from it. I only hear it when the music is low, but it's there. I also need to replace the rubber "feet", they're old, cracked, and probably don't help much. In addition, I need to find a proper stand for it. I have it sitting on the stack of stereo/DVD/TV gear in the cabinet. Our floors aren't the most solid (this is on the 2nd floor of our townhouse). If my daughter starts dancing around with the music, the needle bounces around. Oops. The last time I spent any significant time with a record player, it was on a slab foundation.

Chris

Is it a mag or ceramic cartridge? You might need to replace it. The one I have above hums when it needs replacement. Also, older units might need to be grounded.

mtnbkr · « **Reply #41 on:** April 22, 2009, 10:53:40 AM »

Cartridge? What does that mean? I've seen the term while perusing TT sites, but it's a bit above me right now.

The unit is grounded, well, the ground wire is attached to the amp. I need to pull it apart, check the continuity of the wires and maybe even replace them. I found a Target wall-mount stand on Craigslist for $30. Because our TH side walls are not connected to the floor (fire safety design to protect other units), that may be the ideal way to isolate the TT from the floor vibrations.

Chris

Gewehr98 · « **Reply #42 on:** April 22, 2009, 10:55:40 AM »

Sometimes the fix to an annoying hum is simply removing the cartridge and re-seating it back into the tonearm socket.

zahc · « **Reply #43 on:** April 22, 2009, 11:02:50 AM »

Yes, that or wiggling or replacing the little clips that hook onto the back of the cartridge can have an effect too.

The cartridge is the magnetic pickup on the end of the tonearm. It has at least as much effect on the quality of sound as the turntable itself does, and the stylus has a big effect too. Sometimes "cartridge" effectively means "stylus" because on moving-magnet cartridges, the price of the diamond stylus dominates the price of the cartridge. It's often as cheap to buy a whole new cartridge as to buy a new stylus. Plus when a new cartridge/stylus is installed, the new sound signature can be due as much to the new stylus as to the cartridge itself. And there are several lines of moving-magnet cartridges where the cartridge body is the same throughout the product line, and the only difference between the low-end $50 one and the high-end $400 one is the stylus, which may vary from a conical chunk of diamond on an aluminum tube to a carefully shaped line-contact diamond on a multi-jointed magnesium cantilever.

mtnbkr · « **Reply #44 on:** April 22, 2009, 11:05:21 AM »

cool, thanks. I'll check the cartridge to make sure it's hooked up properly and all.

Chris

Nitrogen · « **Reply #45 on:** April 22, 2009, 11:12:21 AM »

Quote from: mtnbkr on April 22, 2009, 10:53:40 AM

Cartridge? What does that mean? I've seen the term while perusing TT sites, but it's a bit above me right now.

The unit is grounded, well, the ground wire is attached to the amp. I need to pull it apart, check the continuity of the wires and maybe even replace them. I found a Target wall-mount stand on Craigslist for $30. Because our TH side walls are not connected to the floor (fire safety design to protect other units), that may be the ideal way to isolate the TT from the floor vibrations.

Chris

The cartridge is usually part of the needle. It's basically the part the needle hooks up to to convert the grooves into sound. There are 2 main types, magnetic and ceramic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonograph#Pickup_systems
This gives the skinny on 'em.

EDIT: BEaten. Iguess thats what all that red text above me was about.
I've spent way too much time on my dad's old record collection it seems...

News:

Author Topic: Record (LP) turntables? (Read 7493 times)