xgsjx

There’s a few factors that I have to take into account. Looks: I’d happily spend £500 on a turntable, but the Mrs is big on interior design, so it has to match lookwise with the living room, and a sub £2k Rega or Pro-Ject is too minimalist (as are many decks). Sound quality: This is probably more important for the Mrs, as like you say, being a musician means my hearing isn’t even 80%. 😂 But don’t get me wrong, even us old deafies can tell the difference in quality. We just don’t hear the very top like we used to. Build quality: This has always been an important thing to both of us. I’d rather spend more on one good quality thing where you can see & feel the quality, rather than buy something that feels cheap & probably have to replace it after a few years. I know that there are many good quality turntables to be had for under £500, but I’ve searched high & low for a decent deck that ticks all 3 boxes.

To me, the point of vinyl is as much the physical side as the audible side. It’s the interaction of reading and admiring the art on the sleeve, taking the record out of its sleeve and placing it on the platter, turning it on and placing the needle, then sitting and listening to the first side, then you get to do most of that again to listen to the other side. Sound quality compared to another format is irrelevant. The only other existing formats that have a similar interaction are CD & Cassette.

Direct drive has many advantages for DJs. The near instant torque is more important to scratching rather than just mixing (try scratching on a belt drive deck, after the scratch, when you release to play the track it gives a warble that many lofi buffs would love 😂). Another advantage is the stable bpm. If you’re DJing with a belt drive, then you’re not guaranteed a consistent speed, especially if you’re doing a little scratching. Back in the 80s I had a pair of Citronics (pronounced Shitronics) belt drive decks, they were not fun & took a lot of patience to get a mix to work. 😂

From what I’ve read, both Direct Drive & Belt Drive have pros & cons. Direct drive is more stable, but there can be vibrations from the motor. Belt drive reduces motor vibration, but can be less stable (especially if the belt hasn’t been changed for a while. Technics’ ΔΣ-Drive on the GR2 & G models are coreless, which they say is “designed to seamlessly eliminate even the tiniest vibrations originating from the motor.”, so it should be the best of both worlds.🙂

I used to DJ quite a bit back in the 80s & 90s. The majority of the time was on 1200/1210 decks. I know that they're associated strongly with DJing rather than home HiFi, but from the research that I've done on the Mk7 decks, the GR2 and the G are more aimed at the HiFi market (they do a standard version for about £800, which is more aimed at the DJ market). HiFi shops sell the GR & G, but rarely the standard & DJ shops rarely offer the GR or G (some do, but not many).

A wee twist in the turntable hunt… Mrs saw the Technics SL 1200GR2 today & loves it. So that may be sitting in my living room in the not too distant. 😎

Harry Spyles 😮

Yes, there are scandals in many churches and organisations, and if it was caused by just one or two individuals, then as long as they’re dealt with appropriately, then I can move on with them. But when it’s systemic & part of their culture, to still support it is complicity. CCW is a massive business & has more to do with selling to an audience rather than praising god. Especially when it’s coming from a mega church. You can’t separate a creator from their product unless the product has been separated from the creator. I boycott a lot of products (some of which I really miss) because of who their creator/owner is and what they do. I’m not one for knowingly funding atrocities & will try to encourage others to look to their own morals & do the same. There’s plenty of options. Don’t be force fed into funding the worst.

Sorry, but that sounds like a lame attempt at defending corruption, slave labour & paedophilia. All heinous crimes of which Hillsong have been found committing. They've been caught multiple times over the years, yet still continue to act like a trump. And yes, there are many companies, artists and organisations that I steer well clear of because of similar issues. More people should too, instead of turning a blind eye & letting them away with it. What you have to think of, is that playing or buying these songs is funding them to do more of the same. Would you go & help fund another convicted assailant such as Gary Glitter because you like their songs? There is no excuse that can validate and nullify crimes against children.

Yeah. I don’t quite understand that. Why would anyone still want to follow anything or anyone that’s been involved in paedophelia?

Didn’t a lot of people stop playing Hillsong stuff because of the corruption & kiddiefiddling?

Very hard for me to choose just one. Nathan East’s playing on Random Access Memories is fantastic. But then so is the bass playing on Automaton by Jamiroquai. But there’s too many great albums for me to choose just one for bass playing.

I agree. So many do look much of a muchness, that is until you start spending £5k+ & my ears won’t justify that. I didn’t really want to pay more than £500 for a turntable, but it turns out that all that £500 will get me is a nice sounding deck that looks the same as every other £500 deck. It’s not that they are ugly, just that they don’t appeal to my visual tastes. This visually ticks my boxes… This doesn’t & would look out of place (though in my last house, it would have went well)…

I’ll definitely take a look at as many turntables as I can find in the @£1500 area. The Clearaudio Concept looks like a nice deck & I’ll show the Mrs it too. The problem we have with most new turntables that we can afford, is that they all follow this “minimalist” design approach. If you took the badge off of a Rega, a Pro-Ject or a number of other brands, they all look like they’re from the same template. The Linn ticks a lot of boxes. It’s made locally to me, it fits in with our decor, it apparently sounds good (even with entry level tonearm/cartridge), it’s upgradable, and it holds it’s value (should we decide to sell). I’m still open to finding alternatives to it though.

I like the 1210 & used them many times back in the 80s & 90s when DJing. Great sounding solid decks, but the looks are not to the Mrs’ likings.

Well, after taking on board what everyone’s said on here & having another think, I’ve decided that I’m gonna save a bit more & invest in a Linn LP12. I’ll likely buy from a shop such as HiFihub.co.uk They have a good selection around £1500 and being a shop, I feel like I have some sort of reassurance that it’s going to be in good working order (they give them a full service).

Hardware wise, he’s using a mix of Roland TD30 module, SPDSX Pro, Yamaha DTX 12 & occasionally pulls out a rather nice kit of triggers that look like maple drums. We both use Logic to host our software. My MacBook is running the bulk of the synth stuff & we slave his Logic to mine (I hit play, his runs in sync). I’ve no recordings of our stuff with the singer that I can share as yet, but I’ll try & get something up soon.

My goals for this year is to get my new band gigging & release an album. Over the course of the latter half of last year, we’ve almost finished writing 6 songs & have a good number of ideas ready to write some more. We’re a 3 piece electronica outfit. I do most of the synths and play bass on some of the tracks (others are synth bass), with an edrummer who does some synth stuff, and a very talented female vocalist brings us all together. For now, we’re called Euphon8. I like it, but sometimes think it sounds a bit like Euthanate. 🤣

Have you tried throwing it in the river? Worked for my bagpipes.

Tanking Heads

It’s fairly solid where the unit is sitting. It’s wood, but right next to brick wall. Not much of a dancer.

Cheers guys. It’ll mostly be albums that we play. I’ve got a couple of 45s, but chances are, they’ll rarely get played. Not got any 78s. The turntable will be going on a floor standing sideboard style cabinet, so would a suspended plinth be the better option?

I’m looking for a good looking & good sounding turntable, so thought I’d get advice & suggestions from the knowledgeable folk on here. I’d like to keep it to around £500 including the tone arm & cartridge. I don’t mind going a little over if it’s something that my wife approves of (it is for both of us). New, I’ve spied a Pro-Ject 2XPERIENCE, a Pro-Ject Elemental special edition, and the Rega Planar2 - all around £500. There’s also the Technics SL40 on sale for £610, which is very nice. Vintage, I’ve been looking at a couple of Thorens decks. There’s a TD-125 available that’s just in budget, but considering they go for between £500 & £5000, it’s at the bottom end. Also saw a Systemdex iiX for sale not too far from me. I know it gets great reviews, but I’m not sold on the looks (it’s the black finish). Anything else I should be looking for? I don’t need a phono stage, as it’ll be hooking up to a Ruark R410 system.

RC-20 Retro Colour available this weekend for £34. https://www.xlnaudio.com/products/addictive_fx/effect/rc-20_retro_color?utm_campaign=2025_q4_rc20-flash-sale&utm_source=xln&utm_medium=newsletter

The Cure - Mixes of a Lost World. I’ve been going to listen to this album for yonks, but never did until today. Why didn’t I listen to it much sooner?! The remixes are fantastic.