anyone here listen to vinyl? what's your record player?

[cafenurse]

Recently I bought my first ever vinyl record because it was a very pretty 10th anniversary release of one of my fav albums that came with a poster and stuff. I've never paid any attention to vinyl and record players before so I wasn't sure how to go about getting a record player. I swooped a crosley cruiser up off of mercari since it looked nice and I could afford it. I read that because theyre cheaper theyre not high quality, but I don't consider myself to be an audiophile at all so i thought I wouldn't mind. But like, turns out theyre REALLY bad. I was expecting it to be okay just not ~~ crisp ~~ and ~~ clear ~~ but it's like the equivalent of listening to music through cheap earbuds that arent even in your ears, you have them on max volume laying next to you and you hear them dissonantly playing in the background.
So, now I'm on the hunt for a new record player. But I don't really know much about record players and all Ive seen online has been crosley cruisers or $500+ players that audiophiles will say is the only real way to listen to music. I just want something inbetween

So if anyone else here listens to vinyl, what record player(s) do you use? I want to broaden my horizon so I can research more brands and models. If you have any recs for middle-of-the-road players that aren't too fancy but at least don't totally majorly suck, thatd be nice. I swear Im usually not very picky about audio quality, the crosley cruiser is just like...real bad

 

[inactive]

If you're up for an adventure, try checking out some thrift stores and get something from the 1980s. Of course, you'll want to replace the drive belt because those turn to mush over time; and you'll want to buy a new needle. Both will cost some extra money and time, but if you strike lucky with your purchase, you could have something that better than many modern day record players. On the other hand, you could end up with a turkey, but at least you had an adventure!

If you are going for new, avoid this mechanism (although I think you may have already experienced it):

 

[cafenurse]

If you're up for an adventure, try checking out some thrift stores and get something from the 1980s.

Alas, I have to take the bus everywhere and unless I come across a super-compact one I could wiggle into a tote bag I don't think I could take one home from the thrift :( I'll see if I can convince a friend with a car to go with me though.

 

[MillyAqualine]

Oh man, the one we have at home is an oooold one ; not oldie as in from the 1960's-1970's but still around my age so at least the mid-1990's (and the stereo my dad bought back in the time and kept since is from 1983 -btw it still works great as I've tested some Cds into the CD player part) so sadly, I am not sure if they remade it or not =S though with the new vinyl fever that timidly kicks back, they may have remade this model under a new form

I'd need to check tomorrow below it but I know it's a Sony one we have (then other "old" material was the Akai ) but I couldn't see if th
ere was the model's name on it =C

 

[Stigbn]

Remember that older record players need a RIAA connection ( preamp) in your amplifier, or else it will sound weird (without bass). So if you buy an older record player you may have to invest in another amp or a RIAA preamp, as many new amps don't have RIAA.
Many new record players have integrated RIAA preamp so you can connect them directly to any amp.

 

[inactive]

Remember that older record players need a RIAA connection ( preamp) in your amplifier, or else it will sound weird (without bass). So if you buy an older record player you may have to invest in another amp or a RIAA preamp, as many new amps don't have RIAA.
Many new record players have integrated RIAA preamp so you can connect them directly to any amp.

Yeah, that's an excellent point. My parent's 1980s linear-tracking turntable needs an external pre-amp. And because their new(-ish) amplifier doesn't have a phono input, they use some dongle-like preamp that dangles behind their shelf.

For those unfamiliar with why this is necessary, Wikipedia may help:

RIAA equalization - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

But if you don't like reading long articles, it's essentially another reason why records aren't as good as some people would have you believe.

 

[cafenurse]

updateee, following some recs from other sites and the advice to look out for that cheap record player piece thats used in a lot of lower end record players, i ended up with an audio technica and some a hundred dollar speakers off amazon lol. It was all a little under 300 after tax and it sounds GREAT!!! <3 so thanks yall :-)