My first thought too. I love records, my record setup is where nearly all of my hobby money goes into, but I’d never recommend a suitcase player to anyone. I don’t have a ton of hobby money to spend so my setup isn’t super expensive or anything but I did make sure to get a nice player at least. Low-to-mid range speakers and pre-amps and stuff can still be okay, especially these days the lower end is getting a lot better, but a cheap player can do actual damage to a record over time.
If someone reading this is looking to get into the hobby, do yourself a favour and save up a bit for the player. You can get cheap speakers and all that and upgrade later but a bad player can ruin your records over time, especially if you spin them regularly. I personally have a Pro-Ject Debut III, you can switch between a built-in pre-amp or an external one, so you can start with the built-in one and then get a dedicated one later on to help with initial costs, and Pro-Ject makes excellent players. Zero plastic anywhere except the dust cover, European company and hand made in Europe, so you’re not supporting American business if that’s important to you, and even their lower end players are still very well made with all the features you’d want (adjustable anti-skate and counterweight, switch between 33/45/78 rpm, soft drop for the needle so it doesn’t hurt the record, high quality materials, comes with a pretty decent diamond cartridge, etc) plus they tend to be pretty easily upgradable. Audio-Technica is also supposedly pretty good at that price range but I never found one I loved, meanwhile every Pro-Ject I’ve messed around with has been a genuine pleasure to operate. I’m not an expert but I do have a bit of a hobbyist knowledge and experience if anyone has questions.
The cheapest “audiophile” record player they have is probably the Debut Carbon Evo, but even the cheaper ones, especially with an elliptical stylus, are are excellent. You can get their cheapest turntable, the E1, with a 60€ Ortofon OM 5E cartridge (elliptical stylus) for only 230€ in Europe. I’ve tested it and it punches well above its weight. The only thing missing is tracking force control and anti-scating control, so you’re a little limited, but who can complain at that price.
The one thing I’d note for people considering adopting the hobby is the importance of a good phono preamp. Most cheaper or built-in ones are wildly inaccurate and will intensely misrepresent your records. Always make sure to look up the frequency response and how well it matches RIAA from a third party’s measurements! A good phono will do wonders for audio quality compared to one of lesser quality.
Mhm but aren’t suitcase vinyl record players pretty bad?
My first thought too. I love records, my record setup is where nearly all of my hobby money goes into, but I’d never recommend a suitcase player to anyone. I don’t have a ton of hobby money to spend so my setup isn’t super expensive or anything but I did make sure to get a nice player at least. Low-to-mid range speakers and pre-amps and stuff can still be okay, especially these days the lower end is getting a lot better, but a cheap player can do actual damage to a record over time.
If someone reading this is looking to get into the hobby, do yourself a favour and save up a bit for the player. You can get cheap speakers and all that and upgrade later but a bad player can ruin your records over time, especially if you spin them regularly. I personally have a Pro-Ject Debut III, you can switch between a built-in pre-amp or an external one, so you can start with the built-in one and then get a dedicated one later on to help with initial costs, and Pro-Ject makes excellent players. Zero plastic anywhere except the dust cover, European company and hand made in Europe, so you’re not supporting American business if that’s important to you, and even their lower end players are still very well made with all the features you’d want (adjustable anti-skate and counterweight, switch between 33/45/78 rpm, soft drop for the needle so it doesn’t hurt the record, high quality materials, comes with a pretty decent diamond cartridge, etc) plus they tend to be pretty easily upgradable. Audio-Technica is also supposedly pretty good at that price range but I never found one I loved, meanwhile every Pro-Ject I’ve messed around with has been a genuine pleasure to operate. I’m not an expert but I do have a bit of a hobbyist knowledge and experience if anyone has questions.
Plus one on Pro-Ject. Excellent record players.
The cheapest “audiophile” record player they have is probably the Debut Carbon Evo, but even the cheaper ones, especially with an elliptical stylus, are are excellent. You can get their cheapest turntable, the E1, with a 60€ Ortofon OM 5E cartridge (elliptical stylus) for only 230€ in Europe. I’ve tested it and it punches well above its weight. The only thing missing is tracking force control and anti-scating control, so you’re a little limited, but who can complain at that price.
The one thing I’d note for people considering adopting the hobby is the importance of a good phono preamp. Most cheaper or built-in ones are wildly inaccurate and will intensely misrepresent your records. Always make sure to look up the frequency response and how well it matches RIAA from a third party’s measurements! A good phono will do wonders for audio quality compared to one of lesser quality.
yeah, especially any made this century. complete shite.