New Vinyl Setup

Now you've gone and put me on the spot, Tvad. :) But I'm game for taking a few risks here.

My experiences with the starter tables was a mixed bag. They are certainly good enough to have shown me what vinyl can be. But in my case I'm a hands-on type and willing to put time into tweaking things. Arms, tables, cartridge, equipment stands, etc. After about a year or so I realized that many of the parameter adjustments I wanted to learn about were just not supported well enough to help me learn these things properly. This is part of the point I was trying to make the other day in that thread about the test LPs.

I realize that not everyone is going to keep moving up and investing more and more in vinyl playback like I've done. However, it sure seems that more people do end up moving up than remain completely satisfied with that starter table (these are the lucky few). I have always gone over the top in my hobbies whether it was race cars or woodworking, so I always new what was going to happen for me.

One combo I have experience with that I can offer is a Basis 1400 with either the Rega or (even better) a Vector tonearm. These can be had for around $1K, maybe a bit more if it includes a Vector. The one adjustment that is not as micro-adjustable with this combination is VTA. However, the business card shim trick works well and there is only one set screw. This makes it pretty easy to do. The Basis motors are rock solid.

I think the Graham 2.2 is another great tonearm value. It has all of the micro adjustment capability and has been mated with many different tables over the years. Such a combination would run closer to $3K, I would expect. While it may be a bit fussy to extract the maximum performance, the 2.2 is an excellent tool for learning.

I know that's only two but these are the ones I'm most familiar with. Hopefully, some else will chime in with some more suggestions. I'd bet Doug, Raul, Thom Mackris, to name a few, would have some great suggestions along these lines.

I should have probably added that buying used is the better value most of the time, but perhaps that is obvious.

Kthomas,

You're absolutely right about the large number of variables involved in a vinyl setup. Unfortunately, these days even if you buy new and pay a dealer for the initial setup there's no guarantee it will be done right. The audio industry mainstream abandoned vinyl twenty years ago. A whole generation that might have learned how to do it right was lost, and the people who used to know are few and getting fewer. There's just not enough business to earn a living at it, but some dealers who no longer understand what they're doing may still take your money. (Of course others will do a good job. The problem is knowing which job you got. For that you need the DIY knowledge you could have begun acquiring from the get-go, for free.)

Having one or more things wrong in a newbie setup is likely enough. I've certainly been there, done that. But learning and hearing what various adjustments do and how to optimize them is a vital part of the experience. It makes you smarter.

From the thoughtful and foresighted nature of your question, I'm guessing you have the interest and intelligence to learn by reading, asking and trying. You already understand that vinyl is not plug and play, no matter what anyone's ad copy claims. That's a critical first step that some people never take. They throw thousands of dollars at very costly rigs, which never play up to their potential for lack of careful adjustment by the owner.

Try viewing the last half of Michael Fremer's vinyl setup DVD. (The first half is a waste of time, unless you'd enjoy a rambling tour of his record collection.) For a few bucks it will teach you how to do a reasonably good setup with no obvious or major errors. Resources like this board and the FAQ's on VA will also help. You'll be free to invest all your audio budget in better equipment and more music.

Doug