One Turntable and a Microphone

[Christien Murawski]

Need two recommendations. Well...two and a half.

1. I'd like to buy a turntable. Doesn't have to be super high quality. I'd like to spend about $100, but I could go higher. Doesn't matter if it is component or standalone.

I just got a catalogue from this company called Crosley that has a cool turntable/cd burning unit that's a bit out of my price range. Has anybody here used any of their stuff?

2. I'm in need of a microphone, mainly for my video camera. I hate the audio quality of the built in mic. I'd like to spend about $100, but if this seems unreasonable, let me know.

1/2. Tips on buying an A/V receiver would be appreciated as well. What to look out for connection wise. What to ignore. Etc. I've got a couple of old, crappy receivers that I'm getting by with for now, but eventually I'm gonna switch to an HDTV and will need something better.

Thanks.

"We're no longer called Sonic Death Monkey."

-Amanpour

[Lunch of Kong]

Can't make specific recommendations, but do you want a directional or an omni-directional microphone? If you want to hear yourself behind the camera, you want an omni. If you want to hear what's in front of you, get a directional.

Craigslist for turntables. It *may* matter if it's component or standalone, because standalone turntables don't have line-level outputs. You usually need a receiver that can accept the very weak outputs of a turntable (called "phono"). A component turntable that's part of some other device may already have a pre-amp, negating the need for a receiver with phono inputs.

[tromik]

Really depends what you plan to do with the turntable. Sounds like you won't be beatmatching or scratching, so a good belt drive turntable would be good enough. The good news is that they're cheaper at the lower end.

As for brands, I have no idea. The industry standard for DJs are the Technics 1200 turntables. But when it comes to belt drives, the ones out of Germany with glass styluses or some other crazy crap. I'm sure you can get a single belt drive turntable for $100 that would be pretty decent. Not fantastic, but decent.

You will need a decent amp. Not just a home theatre receiver, but a home stereo amp/receiver with phono-line inputs. My dad has about twelve of them, because he'd always bring one home that he'd found on the side of the road.

That is, unless you do plan to beatmatch, then you just grab a mixer with a crossfader that you can hook up some up audio source to.

[Christien Murawski]

Um...yeah. Boy do I feel like a dork.

Perhaps the title I gave this thread gave the wrong impression. The only reason I need a turntable is to play records. I've got a stack of records that have been sitting on my shelf forever that I'd like to play again. I'm not a DJ. I'm so far from hip it's not even funny.

So I just need a record player for to play some records.

That said, these two posts intrigue me because I had no idea just how ignorant I was about this stuff. What tromik says about needing a decent amp, not just a home theatre receiver. And what Roger Wong says about the phono inputs. I thought buying a turntable would be just like buying any other component...just hook it into whatever input in the receiver and voila. I thought all receiver inputs were basically the same.

So I'll dig deeper. Thanks for the heads up, guys.

As for the mic--I don't need to hear myself behind the camera. The microphone is for picking up on camera performances. So I guess I'll need a directional.

Thanks for your input.

-Amanpour

[Chris Nahr]

In addition to what Roger said, turntable outputs come in two variants, neither of which are compatible with standard receiver inputs. They're moving coil (MC) and moving magnet (MM), referring to the cartridge technology (the thing with the needle at the tip of the arm that touches the disc).

MC cartridges are generally higher quality but their output is even weaker than that of MM cartridges. Both require special phono pre-amplifiers that not just boost the output level but also un-distort the signal.

When I still had LPs I played them on a Linn Sondek LP-12, generally considered one of the best turntables, though probably way above your price range.

[Hans Lauring]

I don't care what you need, your title had me humming this:
"Where it's at!
I got two turntables and a microphone
Where it's at!
I got two turntables and a microphone"

Anyway the Technics 1210 is also a great turntable if you only get one.

Both Sennheiser and Shure makes fine microphones within your range.

[Brad Grenz]

I got a Numark PT-01 portable turntable for Christmas. It's pretty cheap but has a good feature set including a built in phono preamp with RCA, 1/8th inch and 1/4 inch outputs, tone and pitch controls and 33/45/78 RPM modes. I have mine hooked up to my computer right now playing the new Elliott Smith LP. Since it's designed to be portable it's easy to pack up when I don't want it taking up space on my desk.

[Christien Murawski]

Thanks Brad. Just found it on Amazon for $80. Simple piece of equipment with some very good features. Great user reviews too.

Whew. My long national nightmare is over.