A friend just shared some tips on how to choose the “right” turntable. With 40+ years experience with these players, I am confident the advice given by this expert will be useful for all of us. 😀
- Direct drive for “heavy” music, belt drive for “light” music
- Manual is king. No frills, just pure music
- I’d like mine HEAVY, thank you!
- Go vintage. Great sound, great looks!
- Upgrading? Cartridge, cartridge, cartridge!
Direct drive for “heavy” music, belt drive for “light” music
If you like rock, pop, and/or electronic, a direct drive turntable may suit you better. They tend to have fuller sound profiles, and deeper and heavier bass. Belt drive ones, on the other hand, tend to have brighter and more detailed sound profiles—making them better suited for jazz, vocal, and/or classical.
Manual is king. No frills, just pure music
Manual turntables (e.g. no auto play, no auto return) have very simple constructions, with minimal parts and simplified circuits (if any). Their raison d’etre: play music, and play it well. Thus, they usually have better sound quality than their semi-automatic or automatic counterparts. Just make sure to jump up and run to the turntable after the side of your record finishes.
I’d like mine HEAVY, thank you!
All else equal, go for the heaviest one possible. You want your brows to sweat, biceps to burn and your back to ache when you carry your turntable into your house and placed in your favorite listening corner. The platter (that round plate that the vinyl sits on) is the core of a turntable, and makes up a big part of the weight. The denser and heavier the platter is, the greater the spinning momentum and hence the more stable the rotational speed.
Go vintage. Great sound, great looks!
Plastic? What plastic? Lightweight composites? Save those for something else. Turntables from the 60s, 70s, and 80s had wooden cabinets, aluminum die-cast platters, alloy tonearms, etc. Build was sturdy, materials were chosen for quality over costs, and build quality was out of this world. To get comparable sound quality, you would need to spend 10x the price on a modern player.
Upgrading? Cartridge, cartridge, cartridge!
Already have a turntable and want to upgrade? Before considering buying a new one, consider upgrading the cartridge. If your current turntable already ticks all the boxes above, investing in a higher-quality cartridge may give you better sound-for-money than investing in a new turntable. As it handles the sound reproduction, the cartridge has a big impact on sound quality (if not the biggest). Some would even argue that one should spend 50% (or more!) of the turntable’s value on the cartridge. Whether that’s your preferred path in your quest for better sound, we leave it to you.
Any other thoughts? We would love to hear from you!