Tag: turntable

March 28, 2022 – More Techno-junk

March 28, 2022 /

My kids have been into music for a little while now. Recently, they have shown a big interest in vinyl. In fact, the record player I talked about a few months ago was spotted by my son at a second hand store. They have been talking about having their own hi-fi setups in their rooms. During Spring Break, we stopped into a local record shop and one of my son’s bought a record. My other son bought a record at a second hand store.

One of my sons has a periodic appointment. If I get the chance, I slink away to the local Goodwill while I am killing time. There is a lot of junk but there is also some really good deals on vintage audio equipment. In this era of sound bars and Bluetooth speakers, quality equipment is passé. I have seen many of stereo receiver for $15-$25, literally pennies on the dollar versus original cost.

I have my eyes open for some alternate speakers and since I don’t really need them, I am being very choosy. When I see the right deal, I will eventually buy them. I have lately been thinking that since my kids are interested, that I could build them their own systems, one piece at a time. I saw this turntable marked at $12 so I thought it was worth a chance.

The last time I hesitated, I missed out on a Technics turntable that only needed a stylus (needle). It was pricey at $100, but I have seen many of them for sale at at least double the cost, depending on the model. So, I grabbed this one when I saw it. Goodwill does a minimal amount of testing. They make sure the device at least powers on. I figured that the price was pretty low risk if it didn’t work.

It turns out, this one also needed a new stylus. I bought a replacement at $22 and then I went for the real test. Setting it up, I found out that the other problem was two of the four rubber feet were missing and the remaining are rotten (bad rubber). That is why I have the clippers wedged underneath the table. I am planning on getting some replacement feet in the $10-$20 range and this old turntable will be back in business.

It played great. I put on Tom Petty and my son’s records and everything was perfect. I suppose all in, this will be a $50 purchase but a vintage player in today’s dollars is a way better than anything I can buy new at the same price.

End Your Programming Routine: I suppose I am in now on building individual stereo setups. This player won’t work without an amplifier. I need a receiver and some bookshelf speakers. Those are both much easier to find than a good turntable. Now, I am in the market for a third turntable as well.

October 20, 2021 – I Am Such a Sucker for Techno-junk

October 20, 2021 /

Over a year ago, I was browsing at a second hand store and I ran across a Technics direct drive turn table. They wanted $120 for it. From what I could see, it was missing a stylus but I was unsure if it was really worth the price. After doing some quick research, it looked like they were going for a couple hundred dollars in working order. I went back two days later and it was gone.

Every since then, I have been looking for that diamond in the rough that I could get for cheap. My wife got this suitcase record player for Mother’s two years ago. We bought some records and I was severely disappointed. The best songs on the used records were ‘worn out’. They look in good condition, so I am hoping that by upgrading the player, I can get better sound out of them.

The other thing that bothered me about the suitcase record player was that it had a pre-amp built in. To plug it into my receiver, I had to use the non-phono jack and that bugged me. Also, it sounded distorted, to high end and not enough low end. I wouldn’t call myself an audiophile. But, I want to really hear what the buzz is about going back to vinyl. From my memory as a child, the sound was always as good as the radio, with more bass and a deeper and richer sound. I should still have some records at my parents house as well. But, as time and technology moved on and so did the record player so I don’t really have a comparison.

My family was shopping at Goodwill on Saturday and my son sent me a text of this turntable. They wanted $40. From what he could see, it seemed like it needed a belt replacement as the platter was not spinning. But the motor was turning. I again did some quick research and saw one was selling on eBay for $200 so I said go ahead. Knowing very little about this, I looked at it the next day and found that it was also missing the stylus.

Belts are cheap $5-10 but replacing a stylus is quite a bit more complicated (and expensive). First of all, the stylus needs to match the cartridge. Having no idea if this is original or not, I am strictly guessing. I looked at the manual and got the specs and ordered what I hope is a match. Otherwise, I am into it probably another $60-100 for a new headshell (that is the stylus, cartridge and carrier) plus I don know what I am doing when it comes to alignment.

I ordered two belts, one stylus and one ground cable. This will probably end up as a video as I get this going. I saw one video on the Toshiba SR230, it was just showing all the features. So, at least I have something to show me how it is supposed to work.

I am not done with the search for more techno-junk. I have always wanted to add a subwoofer to the surround sound setup. I am also on the lookout for a second set of speakers, to put closer to my bench in the basement. If I saw a receiver upgrade or possibly a smaller set of surround sound speakers I wouldn’t pass up if it was the right deal. Since I haven’t quite figured out my final setup, things are still up in the air. However, I doubt that I would pay $40 and another $50 in repair parts like this project but you never know.

End Your Programming Routine: I am looking forward to this, to a point. I like the feeling of taking something that isn’t working, figuring out why and getting it going again. I don’t necessarily need to be spending my time on this as I have lots of more important things to do. But, sometimes you have to prioritize something that you want to do over things that were started first or have a greater impact. It is that irrationalness that makes us human.