Turntable Recommendations?

_A_me_ · Oct 4, 2012

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to buy a second-hand vintage record player. My budget isn't very big, and right now I'm looking at the HMV Minigram MK2. Portable record player. I know the portable aren't nearly as good, but I'm not after anything amazing. Just something that can play decently.
I also looked at the dual 1214 but with buying the amp and speakers, it would most likely be out of my budget.

Would the Minigram be sufficient for what I'm after or does anyone else have any other recommendations?

Thanks.

GaryProtein · Oct 4, 2012

Have you done a Google search and eBay search?

What is your approximate budget?

HMV Minigram MK2 does get results on the searches.

Dual turntables also gets results.

_A_me_ · Oct 4, 2012

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I've searched on eBay and google but there's not a lot said about the Minigram however (performance wise) so I was hoping someone here could give me some more information on whether or not it is any good.

GaryProtein · Oct 5, 2012

I'm not really familiar with those models.

If you weren't familiar with them, how did you become interested in them?

There are also plenty of other options for those vintage Dual turntables.

kach22i · Oct 5, 2012

What country are you in? This could determine your choices.

I'd stay away from portables as a rule unless there is something unique about it.

The Dual you were looking at appears to be an Idler Wheel Drive. This type seems to be all the rage right now.

Most Duals are belt drive, and a new belt does wonders, it's pretty freaking amazing how important the right belt is. There is a supplier on the east coast USA, I have the phone number somewhere if you end up with one.

Cartridge alignment is critical for good sound reproduction. If you don't have an alignment protractor I suggest you budget for one, or borrow one. There are free cartridge alignment protractor PDF's you can find on the Internet and print out, but I have not tried using one of those myself. Better than nothing I guess, maybe you glue them to cardboard or something.

I just picked up a direct drive turntable including Grado cartridge for $45.00, not a bad deal.

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?8027-Technics-SL-3200

Johnny Vinyl · Oct 5, 2012

kach22i said:
What country are you in? This could determine your choices.

I'd stay away from portables as a rule unless there is something unique about it.

The Dual you were looking at appears to be an Idler Wheel Drive. This type seems to be all the rage right now.

Most Duals are belt drive, and a new belt does wonders, it's pretty freaking amazing how important the right belt is. There is a supplier on the east coast USA, I have the phone number somewhere if you end up with one.

Cartridge alignment is critical for good sound reproduction. If you don't have an alignment protractor I suggest you budget for one, or borrow one. There are free cartridge alignment protractor PDF's you can find on the Internet and print out, but I have not tried using one of those myself. Better than nothing I guess, maybe you glue them to cardboard or something.

I just picked up a direct drive turntable including Grado cartridge for $45.00, not a bad deal.

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?8027-Technics-SL-3200

I've used the ones you can downloads from Vinylengine and they actually work quite nicely. Just print them out on a heavy card stock and you're good to go.

_A_me_ · Oct 5, 2012

Thanks for the replies

kach22i said:
What country are you in? This could determine your choices.

I'd stay away from portables as a rule unless there is something unique about it.

The Dual you were looking at appears to be an Idler Wheel Drive. This type seems to be all the rage right now.

Most Duals are belt drive, and a new belt does wonders, it's pretty freaking amazing how important the right belt is. There is a supplier on the east coast USA, I have the phone number somewhere if you end up with one.

Cartridge alignment is critical for good sound reproduction. If you don't have an alignment protractor I suggest you budget for one, or borrow one. There are free cartridge alignment protractor PDF's you can find on the Internet and print out, but I have not tried using one of those myself. Better than nothing I guess, maybe you glue them to cardboard or something.

I just picked up a direct drive turntable including Grado cartridge for $45.00, not a bad deal.

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?8027-Technics-SL-3200

I live in Australia in the country so its been hard trying to find decent ones where I live because most people dont want to post their players (ebay etc.) Im moving in the next few months to NZ, so I was thinking about getting the Dual 1214 and as far as preamps and speakers, I was thinking about getting an old stereo system that has a turntable/phono preamp input section with the attached speakers and amp. Would this work? The only reason im thinking about doing this is because I cant take the speakers and integrated amp with me when I move, so i can always get a much better setup when Im in NZ and i dont want to spend a lot of money on something that i cant take with me (which means more to spend on a better record player). I know this isnt a conventional setup, i just need to know if it would work in the short term

If it helps, here is the auction page of the dual 1214 that I found.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Dual-121...ltDomain_15&hash=item3f1d3f2456#ht_3079wt_932

Thank you for all the help so far, its really appreciated

_A_me_ · Oct 7, 2012

Anyone have any feedback to whether this setup would work as long as there is a phono input on the stereo system?

Imperial · Jan 13, 2013

Yamaha used to make a small Turntable called the TT 400u.
That one can be had for say $50 in decent shape.
Fit it with a say Shure 97xe cart' and you've got a basically $100 setup that will play pretty decent.
I owned one of these in the early 90's. Had a Ortophon PU on it, but the Shure is reportedly better.
As far as really cheap ones go, that one, the Yamaha really is not bad at all. Had it for a couple of years, it was lost in a move, never did get a new vinyl player..
Maybe I should hunt for one myself? Maybe I should..

http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/yamaha_tt_400.html

Imperial.

Turnedu · Feb 16, 2016

Recommandation

Well, it really depends on your budget and what you want to do with it. If you just want a mid tier decent turntable, the Pro Ject Carbon DC is a great one. If you are looking for something to listen to, the Electrohome Wellington is another option. I prefer the Carbon DC as a compromise if you are unsure of what specs you want. You can also get some more expensive ones that are used but who knows what the previous owner did to them so its a risk altogether.

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