Captain Kinopio wrote:£150 is a bit more than I want to spend really, would be good to see some pictures of your setup. Do you have an opinion on what type of music sounds better/best on Vinyl.
Long time record buyer here, so happy to help if I can.
Firstly, forget the 'vinyl sounds better' argument. Many records from 30 years ago can sound better than their CD pressings, but that's because CDs were an emerging technology and were badly mastered for years. Nowadays most CDs are well mastered (assuming you avoid
overly compressed releases) and, as the record studios are digital, the records are often just the CD files etched into wax. They can sound terrible. There are exceptions, but often you'll find that the sound produced by CDs/high quality downloads is at least equal to the vinyl pressing, if not significantly better.
Secondly, this is especially true if you're spending anything less than £300 on a new system to listen to records on. You'll need a good turntable that isolates motor vibration well with a good cartridge/stylus, you'll need a decent amp/preamp, and you'll need good speakers. I have a
Rega RP1 turntable and a
Marantz PM5004 amp and that's still considered low end. An all-in-one solution like a Crosley will have tinny speakers, won't take into account the varying weights of records, and will have a cheap needle on the end. Some say that those players can actually wear down your records over time (although I'd imagine that's the case with all record players to some degree).
(My speakers are old and gooseberry fool. Let's gloss over them quickly.)
Thirdly, and most importantly, none of this really matters. Records are great because you are paying for music. Music nowadays is almost infinite and free; by paying a couple of quid for a record, it has value to you. I find that if I'm sent an MP3 album by a record label it's highly unlikely that I'll listen to it at all because it's all but worthless. If I spend £10-20 on a new LP, I will listen to it intently. It's a piece of art that I'll pay attention to and want to get the value out of it that I've spent on it. Sometimes I've bought an LP, listened to the actual record maybe a dozen times, but listened to the included MP3 version over and over again. Many people don't get that at all. It's an expensive habit.
I don't think there's a right or wrong way to buy records. I've heard tales of people buying records who don't own a record player and don't ever intend to; they get them because they're a physical object and, with the included downloads, they can still hear the music.
If you want a £50 Steepletone with a tinny speaker to play a scratchy copy of The Maccabees, that's totally fine (on't go in expecting amazing clarity if you do that, mind). Do figure out why you want to buy records and go from there.
If you want to get a proper player, I'd suggest looking at a Sony PS-LX300 turntable. They can be plugged into almost any speaker system, they have USB out so you can record to your computer if you like, and they're relatively easy to pick up. Think I saw them in Clas Ohlson for about £100 a few months back.
Any questions, drop me a PM.