Redline wrote:I don't think that's stereo...An old GE WILDCAT is as close as you're going to get. They're out there.The pic you posted looked like my first record player. Many records were worn to a glass smooth finish under its heavy stylus...Thanks. Was looking at some Wildcats earlier today. No big deal if I have to run an out in mono. Pretty much just buying one to play 78s for archival purposes and experimenting with that 16rpm function for making noise. Would not be playing anything on it regularly cause I'm sure the tracking force is insane.

yeah, that's not a turntable, it is barely a record player. as long as you are not going to be using it for actually listening to music, or playing records that you like, it would be OK. Instead of a cheap consumer model, I would lean towards the ones intended for school use, they are likely to be more solid.

ooof ¦This thread is causing an angel to set fire to itself.

motorbike guy wrote:yeah, that's not a turntable, it is barely a record player. as long as you are not going to be using it for actually listening to music, or playing records that you like, it would be OK. Instead of a cheap consumer model, I would lean towards the ones intended for school use, they are likely to be more solid.I stole a portable Audiotronics cassette deck (probably from the 60s/70s) from my high school. Still have it and its still somewhat functional. Its a gnarly lil beast and I'd be willing to give the vinyl equivalent a shot. Dont worry y'all. I play my good records on a nice MCS 6603 direct drive with a fresh, clean stylus plus proper tonearm and antiskate settings. The suitcase guy is for archiving/fucking around only.

UPDATE (if anyone cares):I went with a Califone 1010AV I found on ebay and I think playing random thrift store LPs on 16 RPM is my new favorite thing to do. Wow and flutter is insane on this speed but the others sound okay.

The Grado is better than the Ortofon OM5E they usually put on those. A smart upgrade.

I saw several people asking about U-Turn, I just received one yesterday after using an Audio Technica low end model for a year or so. My AT was pretty wobbly, so definitely not a fair comparison. That said, this thing seems to be very well built (heavy, nice finish, simple) and sounds very nice. I got it with the built in preamp, acrylic platter and Grado cartridge options FWIW. One thing I'm noticing is that the preamp seems to be significantly lower output than the one that was built into the AT. Of course this doesn't make it worse, but it's been kind of a pain in the ass if I forget to my master volume down before switching to another source.

As some of you may know from a thread I created in the autumn, I'm currently using an old JVC AL-F3. Last fall, the auto return had stopped working, so now I must cue it manually. No big deal. Also, the power doesn't turn off unless I physically unplug it from my receiver. Slightly bigger deal but remedied by a power strip or just a gentle unplugging. It's not a very sexy turntable, but I've had it forever and it sounds fine.Today I stumbled on a Technics SL-B101, going for $80 at a local electronics shop. I know nothing about this deck.And a Technics SL-1300 MK II, for $300 at the same place. Have read that the tone arm on these tends to crap out pretty easily, despite them being lovely machines.Both serviced, new cartridges, etc.Still, prices seemed a little high to me. Guy was firm. Your opinions? Move on and keep looking?Thanks.

OrthodoxEaster wrote:As some of you may know from a thread I created in the autumn, I'm currently using an old JVC AL-F3. Last fall, the auto return had stopped working, so now I must cue it manually. No big deal. Also, the power doesn't turn off unless I physically unplug it from my receiver. Slightly bigger deal but remedied by a power strip or just a gentle unplugging. It's not a very sexy turntable, but I've had it forever and it sounds fine.Today I stumbled on a Technics SL-B101, going for $80 at a local electronics shop. I know nothing about this deck.And a Technics SL-1300 MK II, for $300 at the same place. Have read that the tone arm on these tends to crap out pretty easily, despite them being lovely machines.Both serviced, new cartridges, etc.Still, prices seemed a little high to me. Guy was firm. Your opinions? Move on and keep looking?Thanks.the SL-1300 is a semi-serious piece of kit. I don't consider it a true hi-fi turntable because I hate tonearms that have removable headshells. Its more of a consumer version of a DJ style turntable. And the tonearm is not removable or replaceable, so you can't upgrade to a good one. With that said, it will last you a long time. Of course, $300 is getting into the range where you can get a low-level Rega, Music Hall or Pro-ject turntable. I have not compared these tables to the technics, but I prefer belt to direct drive, and the tonearms on those guys do not have removable headshells, which I see as a positive. I would bet money that a used Rega 2 or 3 would shit all over the Technics. https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9c ... turntablesSo, bottom line, its a decent turntable that will last a long time, but it may not be the best sounding option. If the rest of your system is sort of middle of the road, and you don't have plans to upgrade, then the $300 technics is probably a good move.

OrthodoxEaster wrote:motorbike guy wrote:So, bottom line, its a decent turntable that will last a long time, but it may not be the best sounding option. If the rest of your system is sort of middle of the road, and you don't have plans to upgrade, then the $300 technics is probably a good move.Massive thanks for your perspective. It'd been serviced and looked like it was in beautiful shape. Yes, most of my system consists of durable, decent, but by no means audiophile Japanese stuff from the early-to-mid 1980s. Tape deck is a JVC KD-D4, for example. I'm guessing that you don't think $300 is steep for the used Technics? (Another benefit, of course, being that I could return the thing if it were fucked and also that I can walk it back to my apartment from the shop.)yeah, if the cartridge is decent, that's probably worth $100 by itself. and having nearby service is always great, as is supporting local shops.$300 seems to be the going rate on ebay.