High quality record player that is affordable?

[dalekphalm]

Hey folks,

 

My wife is a record collector (LP's, 45's, and 78's) and likes to listen to them on occasion. She has one of those newer "Victrola" record players styled like an old school wooden enclosure, that has a built-in CD player, etc - I believe it has stereo RCA Phono outputs that I could use.

 

I would like to interface it into my AV Receiver (Yamaha RX-V385), since the built-in speakers for the Player is kinda shit.

 

As an alternative, can anyone recommend a decent record player in terms of audio quality that doesn't cost a lot? Or is this the kind of thing where a cheap one is just as good as a more expensive one until you get to the high end?

[Home Theater Dummy]

Some of these All in one record players that have speakers in them don't actually have a phono out. 

So when connecting to a receiver you usually need to connect to just a regular stereo line input (which your receiver should be able to let you rename the input for your on screen display). same cables, but technically a differently formatted input. just be sure to double check. ... looks like the Yamaha RX-V385 doesn't have a dedicated phono input, so depending on your player you might need a dedicated phono preamp. buy my money is on it being a regular stereo RCA out.


On that receiver you'd need to connect it to AV2 or AV3. Just of course won't have anything in the video signal input, but if all you want is audio. that's all you need.


As far as new gear is concerned I've seen good things about the following.

Among "Audiophiles" which (in my experience) can be complete snobs the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO, Audiophile Turntable I've seen recommended a few times as an "entry level" audiophile grade turntable  for $599.

[dalekphalm]

15 hours ago, GillyBond said:

Some of these All in one record players that have speakers in them don't actually have a phono out. 

Yes that's the problem with our current Victrola record player - it has a headphone jack (3.5mm) that I could convert using some adapters, but that's not necessarily ideal.

15 hours ago, GillyBond said:

So when connecting to a receiver you usually need to connect to just a regular stereo line input (which your receiver should be able to let you rename the input for your on screen display). same cables, but technically a differently formatted input. just be sure to double check. ... looks like the Yamaha RX-V385 doesn't have a dedicated phono input, so depending on your player you might need a dedicated phono preamp. buy my money is on it being a regular stereo RCA out.


On that receiver you'd need to connect it to AV2 or AV3. Just of course won't have anything in the video signal input, but if all you want is audio. that's all you need.


As far as new gear is concerned I've seen good things about the following.

Among "Audiophiles" which (in my experience) can be complete snobs the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO, Audiophile Turntable I've seen recommended a few times as an "entry level" audiophile grade turntable  for $599.

Thanks for the tips - $599 is a bit too much right now to drop on a record player that's just an upgrade, but that's something to keep in mind for maybe a future Christmas present to her or something.

[Home Theater Dummy]

something like this would do the job.

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-3-5mm-2-Male-Adapter-Stereo/dp/B01D5H8JW0/
Just connect to the same ports!

And Yes I agree with you, for someone truly just starting out 599 seems relatively ridiculous,

Maybe check out https://www.crutchfield.com/g_10500/Turntables.html
(better prices may exist elsewhere)

But its easy to filter the products you want by feature, price range, review score, etc.
And nearly every product has a full Cructhfield review as well as the best product details pages I've ever seen for audio gear.

They have several sub $300 turntables which might be more your speed. Like the Audio Technica AT-LP3 which retails for less than $230 on their site. 
Has a built in preamp so you are good to hook up to anything that has a stereo input.

[dalekphalm]

40 minutes ago, GillyBond said:

something like this would do the job.

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-3-5mm-2-Male-Adapter-Stereo/dp/B01D5H8JW0/
Just connect to the same ports!

Oh thanks, but I'm good on adapters and what not. No assistance needed there.

40 minutes ago, GillyBond said:

And Yes I agree with you, for someone truly just starting out 599 seems relatively ridiculous,

Maybe check out https://www.crutchfield.com/g_10500/Turntables.html
(better prices may exist elsewhere)

But its easy to filter the products you want by feature, price range, review score, etc.
And nearly every product has a full Cructhfield review as well as the best product details pages I've ever seen for audio gear.

Crutchfield is a great site for anything audio related - if I recall they also have a massive compatibility matrix for Car Audio too.

40 minutes ago, GillyBond said:

They have several sub $300 turntables which might be more your speed. Like the Audio Technica AT-LP3 which retails for less than $230 on their site. 
Has a built in preamp so you are good to hook up to anything that has a stereo input.

Not bad - I feel like I've seen the LP3 in retail stores before - particularly music shops like Sunrise Records.

[tikker]

Like all audio equipment their price basically goes exponentially. More expensive will basically give you better audio quality, more accurate and consistent speeds, better/more accurate tracking force etc.

 

I don't know what "a lot" is in this context, but I ended up going with a Proj-ject Debut III with an Ortofon OM5e stylus that I was able to get for €245 (not sure what that would translate to). It doesn't have a built-in phono preamp, but I specifically didn't want that and since that AVR doesn't seem to have one either that'd bring additional cost with it (I'm using a NAD PP2e that I picked up for €119).

 

I do spin records regularly, so that much money may not be worth it depending on how often "on occasion" is. The main reason I went with one a bit more expensive was because I wanted a solid well-regarded option that I could e.g. adjust tracking force to a proper weight or replace the stylus on, that sort of thing.

 

On the Debut-III you can switch between 33 RPM and 45 RPM by manually switching the drive belt. It doesn't support 78 RPM though. Separate pulley kits exist, but well they'll make it more expensive. From what I could find you also should not play 78 RPM records on a normal player as you  need a special stylus for those type of records.

[Stagea]

8 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Yes that's the problem with our current Victrola record player - it has a headphone jack (3.5mm) that I could convert using some adapters, but that's not necessarily ideal.

Thanks for the tips - $599 is a bit too much right now to drop on a record player that's just an upgrade, but that's something to keep in mind for maybe a future Christmas present to her or something.

For lower cost turntables, Fluance makes very good ones for the price. Decent turntables like these will make her records last, thanks to the lower tracking force.

 

The RT81 and the RT80 come with a built-in Phono Preamp:

Hifi Turntables | Vinyl Record Players | Fluance

[InstantNewt]

I’m pretty happy with my uturn orbit. It’s pretty basic, but there is the option to get one with a built in preamp for $270. It is completely manual so if you aren’t into the whole moving the tonearm by yourself and moving a belt to change between 33 & 45 RPM (which can be a pain) then maybe look elsewhere. If you have a preamp already or phono input on your receiver you can pick up a basic one for $200.