How to Choose a Turntable

Playing music on vinyl has remained popular among the audiophile community long after the advent of cassette tapes, compact discs, and digital music. Vinyl is prized for its warm sound and faithful reproduction, and choosing to listen to music on vinyl means building a stereo system designed for the medium. The crux of this system is the turntable - the actual component used for spinning the records. Turntables have been around in their modern form for decades, and are still produced today at a variety of price and feature points. Knowing how to choose a turntable involves assessing your needs and knowing what to look for.

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Steps

1. 1
   Determine your budget. Turntables are available across a huge spectrum of prices, so establishing a budget will help narrow down your search. Reliable vintage turntables can be had quite cheaply, and can generally be found in online auctions or at specialty stores. Newer turntables are generally more expensive, because they are designed to cater to the high-end audiophile niche market.
2. 2
   Choose between a belt drive or direct drive turntable. The platter (the part on which the record rests) of a turntable is rotated using a motor. This motor can either be mounted directly under the platter (called "direct drive") or located off to the side (called "belt drive").
   • Belt drive turntables are generally preferred by the audiophile community. The rubber belt which joins the platter and the motor absorbs shock, keeping the motor's vibration from causing noise in the electric signal.
   • Direct drive turntables are preferred by disc jockeys (DJs). On direct drive turntables, the platter can be rotated backwards by hand without harming the turntable, which allows for interesting audio effects. Direct drive tables also offer very consistent rotational speed.
3. 3
   Choose between a manual or automatic turntable. Turntables are classified as either manual or automatic based on the process used to set the tonearm onto the record.
   • Manual turntables require the user to lift the tonearm and place it onto the spinning record by hand; this process is sometimes aided by a "cueing" function that lifts and lowers the tonearm slowly. Manual turntables are prized by audio enthusiasts because they have fewer parts which can cause vibrations in the tonearm.
   • Automatic tonearms can play records at the push of a button. The tonearm rises from its rest, moves to the side, plays the record and then returns to its rest all automatically. This type of turntable is suitable for novice users.
4. 4
   Determine whether you need a built-in phono preamp. Because the signal produced by the stylus is so quiet, turntables require what is called a phono preamp to bring the volume up to a manipulable level. Many modern receivers will not have a dedicated "Phono" input jack, which means that your turntable will need a built-in preamp. As an alternative, you can purchase an external phono preamp.
5. 5
   Evaluate the cartridge included with the turntable. The cartridge is a small component that connects to the tonearm and holds the stylus. When buying a vintage or used turntable, it is generally a good idea to purchase and install a new cartridge. Worn cartridges can reduce sound quality and cause premature wear to your records.

 Tips

• If you plan on playing 78 rpm records, you will likely need to buy a vintage turntable designed specifically for playing this speed.