Inherited 100s of records, what kind of record player should I get?
I'm not too savy when it comes to turntables, but I'd like to get one that doesn't need seperate speakers. I'd like one that has them built in, and I don't want any modern players with it (cd/ipod) just a plain ole record player. Where would be the best place to find one, antique stores, ebay, craigslist, and what do I search/ask for?
If the albums you have are of good sound quality you will likely want to keep them that way. The stylus or needle should ride in the record groove and do no damage. This means that the downward pressure of the stylus needs to be extremely low and the compliance (ability of the stylus to track the movement of the grooves) of the stylus need to high.
Unfortunately there is not an all-in-one record player out there that has those characteristics. If you play the LP’s on such a record player they will sound increasingly worse every time.
My suggestion is to get an inexpensive DUAL turntable and a fairly inexpensive cartridge (contains the stylus). Maybe one of the 500 series Duals like the 508. These excellent turntables are belt drive and have fairly low mass tonearms that track well. The RCA outputs from the turntable can be plugged into most audio devices and adapters are available for inputting directly to the soundcard of your computer. Using free software from Audacity you can burn your own CD’s.
From brochure:
http://www.dual-reference.com/Adverts/dcs508.jpg
Here’s one on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/Dual-CS-508-W-upgraded-gold-plated-RCA-jacks_W0QQitemZ280443771079QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Electronics_R2?hash=item414bc058c7