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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
reubent
6,973 posts
 
Hi Scott,

Congratulations on your newly re-kindled relationship with vinyl music reproduction. What a treat the be gifted a nice little vintage system. Are the Marantz and BIC's in good condition? Working properly? If so, you can probably focus on the TT for now. 

If you really want to stick to a $250-$300 budget, do a search here and on eBay and see what is available for that budget. You will find a few new TTs from Pro-Ject, U-Turn, Audio-Technica, Pioneer and maybe a Rega. They are all pretty good, but all will make different sacrifices to meet the price point. Maybe go take a look at what is available and get back to us with any questions about specific models. Reviews for most popular turntables can be found at AnalogPlanet.com.

Enjoy the journey.......

sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
One other smart choice if you find a deal in your price range is the Technics SL1200mkII or later, the best selling tt ever. Known for robust motors, stable speed and solid build, they evolved into the most popular DJ tables although they weren't designed for that. There is a whole subculture of 1200 modders/restorers. 
theartofsound forum has a section called Techiepedia full of experienced tweakers that can help you kick it up a few notches over time at modest cost. With mods of ~$1k they can compete with many tables up to $5k cost. 
Since they are so plentiful, you never know when one will pop up at a garage sale, craigslist etc. for a couple hundred or so. Cheers,
Spencer
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,656 posts
 
@slbradley
Here is a new turntable and cartridge within your budget of $300.
http://www.needledoctor.com/Audio-Technica-LP120-USB-Turntable?sc=2&category=358
reubent
6,973 posts
 
If you are interested in the AT-LP120-USB that yogiboy mentioned, look on-line for pricing and also check your local Craigslist, etc. There was one for sale last week in my city for $95. It's a very popular unit. Check out the review on AnalogPlanet. Also, if you are handy, it is reported to sound much better if you gut it of it's built in USB/phono stage.

http://www.analogplanet.com/content/audio-technica-lp120-usb-turntable-shames-plastic-competition#lc...
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