Turntable as a gift...
Discussion
My wife has this idea of getting her old man a turntable for christmas. We’re in our 20’s and such have little experience with turntables…
Father in law is a casual listener and hasn’t really got a hifi, although he does have an AV Amp with a Tannoy Mercury V4 speaker set up which he uses for Movies and music.
The turntable she has been looking at is this Ion thing - https://www.amazon.co.uk/ION-Audio-Air-LP-Conversi...
She thinks it looks awesome as its has a timber finish and can be connected via Bluetooth….
Now whilst this all sounds very modern, I cant help by assume it will sound terrible via Bluetooth and from what I hear Vinyl is all about the sound and depth. Surely this turntable via Bluetooth or even aux leads is going to sound no better (and potentially worse) than any old phone/mp3 player?
Therefore I am thinking its a load of cods wallop, unless we were to buy him a decent music amp and pair of speakers to go with.
Over to you...
Thanks.
Father in law is a casual listener and hasn’t really got a hifi, although he does have an AV Amp with a Tannoy Mercury V4 speaker set up which he uses for Movies and music.
The turntable she has been looking at is this Ion thing - https://www.amazon.co.uk/ION-Audio-Air-LP-Conversi...
She thinks it looks awesome as its has a timber finish and can be connected via Bluetooth….
Now whilst this all sounds very modern, I cant help by assume it will sound terrible via Bluetooth and from what I hear Vinyl is all about the sound and depth. Surely this turntable via Bluetooth or even aux leads is going to sound no better (and potentially worse) than any old phone/mp3 player?
Therefore I am thinking its a load of cods wallop, unless we were to buy him a decent music amp and pair of speakers to go with.
Over to you...
Thanks.
A bit pricey but this levitating turntable is beyond cool - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/245727224/mag...
Mmmm these other ones look cool but it's just bringing the price up. He's not short of a few quod either, so wouldn't buy cheap? Therefore if we can't get something decent within our budget we may as well look for something else...
On a side note has anybody used one of theee ion Bluetooth things, if so how terrible are they? (My mrs is dead set on getting one, so want some ammo!)
On a side note has anybody used one of theee ion Bluetooth things, if so how terrible are they? (My mrs is dead set on getting one, so want some ammo!)
Quite apart from the sound quality, those turntables have non adjustable tone arms and ceramic cartrdges.
What this means, in real terms and without getting all audiophile about it, is that they will wreck his records as the needle presses incredibly hard into the groove.
Ion, Crosley and so on are really to be avoided.
Project debut, Rega et al are to be encouraged but need amp, phono stage and so on.
Honestly, it's really not worth it...
What this means, in real terms and without getting all audiophile about it, is that they will wreck his records as the needle presses incredibly hard into the groove.
Ion, Crosley and so on are really to be avoided.
Project debut, Rega et al are to be encouraged but need amp, phono stage and so on.
Honestly, it's really not worth it...
Project Primary or Elemental if sound is top priority. £160-£170.
or a decent SL-1200/1210 copy if reliability / ease of use / robustness are factors. Will still sound leagues better than an ION.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Numark-TT250-Professional...
or a decent SL-1200/1210 copy if reliability / ease of use / robustness are factors. Will still sound leagues better than an ION.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Numark-TT250-Professional...
Just been through this with a friend's other half who wants to buy him a turntable for Christmas. She got him a Crosley or similar last year and ended up taking it back as it sounded crap. After consulting yours truly she has now bought him a Planar 1,(could have been Pro Ject or equivalent but she went to Sevenoaks Hifi and they had the Rega in stock)
jmorgan said:
Disastrous said:
Project debut, Rega et al are to be encouraged but need amp, phono stage and so on.
Could get an phono stage and feed it to the AV amp?I'm not keen on the look of that Ion - I think it is the rounded lid that looks rubbish.
For similar money Richer Sounds have a Sony, Marantz and Audio Technica. They are a bit plasticy, but I'd prefer them to the Ion, and they have built in phono amps, meaning that they can be plugged directly into any AV amp that doesn't have a dedicated phono input.
The other option is to go second hand - stuff from the 70s and 80s looks so much better with strobe lights and metal tone arms, but they might take a bit of TLC and tinkering to get them looking and sounding spot on.
For similar money Richer Sounds have a Sony, Marantz and Audio Technica. They are a bit plasticy, but I'd prefer them to the Ion, and they have built in phono amps, meaning that they can be plugged directly into any AV amp that doesn't have a dedicated phono input.
The other option is to go second hand - stuff from the 70s and 80s looks so much better with strobe lights and metal tone arms, but they might take a bit of TLC and tinkering to get them looking and sounding spot on.
Disastrous said:
Quite apart from the sound quality, those turntables have non adjustable tone arms and ceramic cartrdges.
What this means, in real terms and without getting all audiophile about it, is that they will wreck his records as the needle presses incredibly hard into the groove.
Ion, Crosley and so on are really to be avoided.
exactly thisWhat this means, in real terms and without getting all audiophile about it, is that they will wreck his records as the needle presses incredibly hard into the groove.
Ion, Crosley and so on are really to be avoided.
Tom_C76 said:
That Ion won't be great. Have a look at either a ProJect or Rega turntable, plus a phono preamp. Then connect to the amp he's already got. Problem is that'll triple the cost...
This. Buy him a Rega Rp1 or the Pro-ject equivalent and it may well be the only turntable he'll ever need. The Ion thing will probably put him off the idea of vinyl, wreck the shiny new 180g records he buys and end up in the bin.
Disastrous said:
jmorgan said:
Disastrous said:
Project debut, Rega et al are to be encouraged but need amp, phono stage and so on.
Could get an phono stage and feed it to the AV amp?ed to add that's what I use as my 8 year old Cambridge Audio amp lacks a built in phono preamp. Most do these days.
OP, if buying 2nd hand isn't an issue for you, have a look on Ebay - there are loads of decent Pioneer turntables for around £100.
Of course you'd still need a phono preamp - but you could always see which make / model receiver your FIL has and then see if it by some slim chance already has a phono stage.
Of course you'd still need a phono preamp - but you could always see which make / model receiver your FIL has and then see if it by some slim chance already has a phono stage.
To be honest I am just recommending my wife buys something other than a Turntable as Id like to get it right. She wanted to get him a full set up so he could literally plug and play that day - but its not going to be straight forward or realistic whilst remaining in our gift budget! (We're being tight this year!)
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