You already know that everything old comes back into fashion. Sometimes, as we remembered, and sometimes with an aspect very similar to that in the past, but with more current touches. The same goes for record players, devices that are once again in great demand among music lovers. Today we will explain Everything you need to know before buying a turntable In addition, we show you a selection of the most interesting.
How to choose the best record player
The first thing you should know about these devices that allow us to listen to “old-fashioned” music is what they are made of. They focus on the main thing and are composed of:
- Arm : It is this “limb” that we see on one side of the record and that must rest on it when listening to music. There are 2 different types: mechanical (more comfortable and with a better calibration) and manual (we have to press it against the CD ourselves, but this offers a higher precision and makes the CD suffer less when changing songs).
- Needle : If you call it that, it will surely seem more familiar, but it is actually located in the pickup capsule , which is responsible for “reading” the discs. There are 2 different types of this cartridge: magnet (cheaper) moving coil (more accurate). If both models are well calibrated, only the experts on sound issues will notice slight differences.
- Base : the part with which we support the turntable on any surface. This usually includes rubber feet to prevent the unit from moving when touched.
- Record : place where we “drop” the CD. There are 3 different types of turntables: belt (They slowly reach the rated speed for playback and deteriorate faster, but on the other hand are cheaper), direct drive (more expensive, but with the advantage of deteriorating slowly because they lack parts mechanically) and pulley (they are more easily damaged by their number of parts, but in return quickly reach the rated speed and their price is affordable).
- Motor : Responsible for driving the entire turntable mechanism. In current models, it is most common that it is a DC motor.
Now that you know what parts make up a record player, it’s time to talk about essential details that you should consider before buying. In addition to considering the differences that exist between the different types of components (with their advantages and disadvantages) that we have already mentioned, you should consider the following:
- Weight : Weighing like this may seem old-fashioned, but in this case, “If it weighs, it’s good.” This is because due to the way music is played on a turntable is strongly influenced by vibrations . The heavier this device, the better it absorbs them.
- Disc diameter : Depending on the disc you want to use in this device, you can find sizes of 7 “, 10″ or 12 ” . It is very important that the turntable accepts all these sizes so that you can reproduce the vinyl you put on it.
- Vinyl angle speed : This parameter is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm) and the usual values are 33, 45 and 78 rpm . As you can imagine, it is essential that your turntable is compatible with these values to be able to use it.
These are the basic characteristics that your turntable must have yes or yes. Then there are others that can be a good addition in some situations:
- Speakers : Some models have 1 or 2 speakers attached to the body of the unit. These are usually not of great quality . However, if you want portability and practicality, this can be a good aspect.
- Connectivity and connections : As mentioned at the beginning, some things from the past certainly return “Modern” details that are intended Improve our experience with them . In this case, some turntable models include Bluetooth connectivity, USB ports, audio connector or S / PDIF connector, among others.