Just bought a cheap record player ...

... so after more than 15 years of vinyl abstinence ... I'm back!

Now in order to spark some really nasty comments from my audiophile friends ... let me show you which model I bought:

Dual CS 410

http://dual-reference.com/tables/cs410.htm

Quite an entry level model for 130€ ... but I only have a cheap Harman-Kardon amp and Elac cabinets, so from an audiophile standpoint I'm a hopeless case anyway!

don't worry olivier ... *you* won't have to listen to it!

I had been thinking about buying a turntable for a few months ... then today I sold a big part of my collection (>100 CDs, 50 Maxi CDs, 20 DVDs) and thought - hey, there are so many cool out of print vinyls in this used items store, why not buy yourself a cheap player and get some vinyls again!

I'll see how it goes - if I enjoy putting on vinyls at home, I might end up buying a better turntable around christmas. 

^ I must admit that they definitely look way better than any CD. I think I'll buy some new vinyls (Opeth, Porcupine Tree) and many many used ones. I still have 100€ left over from the sale I mentioned in the previous post. The albums cost 4€ on average, so I can buy more than 20 albums!

Of course with vinyls there's a greater risk involved in used items ... I guess that most really cheap vinyls will be scratched or damaged.

For the time being I'll stick to my favorite 2nd hand music store - it's the biggest in my town, and it has relations to stores in 3 other towns and every 2-3 weeks they swap all the items.

^ thats an advantage of this cheap player - the stylus is quite inexpensive (20€) and widely available. And I'll definitely not buy really worn albums ... I *hate* scratches! 

    


...2000 lightyears further....


Arm RB 300



Deck Planar 3



Dynavector moving coil






    

Edited by oliverstoned - September 22 2006 at 10:13

MikeEnRegalia wrote: Of course with vinyls there's a greater risk involved in used items ... I guess that most really cheap vinyls will be scratched or damaged.

   


MAIN TIPS FOR KEEPING AND CLEANING VYNILS

First, a tool to use each time you play your record, is the felt brush, like the one pictured below. It's much better than the cloth cause it doesn't loose it hairs. This kind of brush removes both dust and static electricity.
There's no specific brand, but the one provided with the "Metanac" (see further, and picture below) is good.


TO CLEAN THE VYNILS:

There are many products. The "Metanac" is a good and efficient product that you simply apply directly on the record with the felt brush.

Another way is to do his own cleaning liquid, proceeding as follow:

-1/3 90°c alcohol
-2/3 distilled water
-A few drops of neutral soap (without detergent, very important).

You have to wash your records with that liquid, using a soft matter to softly rub, or throwing the liquid on the vynil using a kind of water gun. Then there's the drying issue, which is to find a way to remove water without adding hairs by rubbing with a cloth.


Then, for the cartridge keeping, there are two things:

-Cartridge demagnetizer (any brand, make a search on the net). You have to do it from times to times.

-Cartidge stylus cleaner liquid (any brand, make a search on the net). You have to do it from times to times.


Here are the main products to start, considering that there are many products, solutions for it.
There are even sophisticated and expensive record cleaner machines.


Metanac record cleaning product with its felt brush:


    

Eetu Pellonpää wrote: oliverstoned wrote:   Deck Planar 3     I can't say anything about the technical qualities of that player, but I wouldn't want such candybar to my house!

I agree with you!

Fortunatly, it's available in a wide colour range: