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New to forum and Vinyl

Good Morning,

  I have just recently been turned back on to vinyl.  We rented a home for a long weekend via AIRBNB and the host was gracious enough to allow acces to his lp collection.  I hadn't heard vinyl in many years and was taken by the feel and sound but also the interaction with the media itself.  Had plenty back in the 70's but fell away as 8 track, cassette, cd, and digital made music more accessible and portable.  

So,   I had a Marantz 1060 amp and a pair of really nice BIC Venturi Formula 4 speakers in my barn,  hooked it up to a professionally serviced and adjusted Technics SL-BD10 with a shure cartridge/needle I picked up for 100 bucks.   I went to the local swap-meet and picked up 50 albums, Stones, Beatles, Led Zep, Bowie, Who, stuff like that for 1-2-3 bucks each.  So far I'm into it for about 250 and it sounds really good.  

Where would you start to upgrade.  Turntable, speakers, add-ons?   I really like what I hear so far but I'm so new to this I am sure I may be missing something.  

Thanks,  Scott
slbradley
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,655 posts
 
How about a budget?
paraneer's avatar
paraneer
818 posts
 
A system can only be as good as its weakest link. Right now, you have a vintage system and I am going to assume that all is working at original factory spec.

So if your looking to upgrade, sorry but your recently acquired turntable should be the first to go. It was an extremely entry level TT that retailed at 140 bucks, has no adjustable tonearm and was designed with a simple P mount cartridge system. These TT’s were produced as the vinyl era was coming to a close with the advent of CD’s and were a low cost way to play whatever LP’s people still had lying around. Who knew that folks would rediscover vinyl.

I would get a proper TT - one that has a fully adjustable tonearm and that would accept standard 1/2" cartridges. Of which there a whole lot more to choose from than P-Mounts. If you want to stay with vintage, than look at the mid-late 70’s as TT’s were on the way out in the 80’s. But buying vintage has its pitfalls because the vast majority will need servicing. And if your not comfortable doing it yourself and have to take it to a shop, then you have exceeded its value. Like your current SL-BD10.

If your not comfortable repairing vintage yourself then consider any of the new entry level TT’s from Pro-ject or Rega or the new U-Turn Orbit. Good luck to you.

slbradley OP
5 posts
 
Paraneer,  Thanks for the advice.  I had a feeling the turntable was a bit low end.  I'm a bit of mechanic and a tinkerer so not afraid to get something vintage and adjust it.  That's half the fun of it all.   My budget for a TT would probably be 250-300 tops.  I feel I scored pretty good by having the Marantz 1060 Amp and BIC Venturi Formula 4 speakers gifted to me by a friend.  Suggestions on a TT/cartrige/needle in that price range would be great.  I really like the manual turntables.   If the sound quality is greatly increased by spending 500-600 on a TT, I'd consider it but really looking to keep the costs low.    
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