Vinyl records sound great, are fun to collect, and are just plain cool. Having said that, the investment is a bit more than your Spotify premium subscription and a random portable Bluetooth player. Before diving in it can be helpful to understand some of the key terms used when we talk about turntables that will help you make a great first pick, or even help you know what to look for when you are ready to upgrade.
Before we jump into things a quick disclaimer. Audiophiles and collectors can get pretty passionate about this stuff, and there are some fine and damn expensive record players (and parts) out there that definitely improve audio quality. That said, you don’t “need” the best gear just to listen to a record. The cheapest turntable we stock will sound just as good coming out of the same speakers you use for playing Spotify. If you are not fussy and just want to start, grab yourself an LP60X and start by buying some records!
If you want to understand why that’s a great choice to start or would like to make a more informed decision, read on.
Let’s start from the ground up.
The feet
You know what these are. The little feet on the bottom of your turntable. Are they important? A little bit. Most of a turntable's construction is about minimising unwanted vibrations so that the sound transmitted to your speakers is as pure or accurate as possible. Vibrations can travel through the feet. Some cheap suitcase style turntables don’t have feet and have speakers underneath that will not only allow vibrations to affect your turntable, but actually cause them. Ideally you want to look for adjustable feet to keep your turntable level on any surface which is important for both the sound consistency and taking care of your records.
The Plinth
This is the actual table part of the turntable. The key term here is anti-resonance. Generally speaking, the heavier the better, mdf is better than plastic, solid is better than hollow. It’s important to note that the plinth or turntable body is often the housing for all the other parts of your table that move or cause heat and vibration. The better it is able to minimise those effects, the better your records will sound and the longer they’ll last.
The Motor - Belt Drive Vs Direct Drive
Other than being manual or automatic the other key phrase you will see in turntable descriptions is either belt drive or direct drive. This refers to the type of motor in the turntable. The bit that actually does the spinning. A direct drive motor is attached directly to the platter, a belt drive is separate and uses a belt connection to make the platter spin. Neither are a massive point of concern though most higher end turntables designed for high-fidelity listening use a belt drive. This is because again, the motor not being attached to the platter means less vibrations. Direct drive turntables do start and get up to speed quicker which means they are a better choice for DJ’s. After extreme use you may need to replace a belt on a belt drive turntable to keep the spin speed consistent.
The Platter
We mentioned it before, this is the spinning bit that your records actually sit on, usually with a mat in-between. Similar to the plinth, key factors that affect sound are the density and material used. Again, you are looking for a low level of resonance. All good platters are roughly the same size as a record. This keeps everything flat meaning that playback is consistent and won’t damage your records. Some cheap players have small plastic platters that aren’t great for sound or taking care of your records. Most good entry level models are dampened, die-cast aluminium and moving up the range your start to find some solid acrylic platters.
Speed Control
We have already spoken a few times about “consistent playback”. Records are designed to be played back at certain speeds, most commonly 33 1/3RPM or, especially in the case of 7 Inch singles, 45RPM. For Belt drive turntables you will either have to move the belt on to another ring that the motor spins or use a switch to select the speed at which the motor spins. Neither will have a dramatic impact on sound, though some enthusiasts prefer the manual method. Be careful not to stretch the belt and the switch method is undoubtedly more convenient.
The Spindle
You’ll have guessed this. The pin in the middle of the platter that your record will slot over to hold it in place. Most 12 Inch records fit over the standard spindle though lots of 45RPM records have a larger hole which needs an adaptor. These can be quite cheap if your record player doesn’t already come with one. A neat feature now is a small cut out to store your adaptor on your turntable when you aren’t using it.
The Tonearm
Straight or bent, tonearms are one of the most crucial pieces to your turntables sound and the proper care of your records. Contrary to almost everything else we are looking for light material though we need it to be strong and stable. From the mid-range up you’ll most commonly find carbon fibre tone arms. Features you’ll want to look for are cueing levers that will lower the tone arm gently onto your record so it’s not thumped on damaging either your record or the stylus attached to the tonearm.
The Headshell, Cartridge and Stylus
Much to the dismay of serious enthusiasts we will lump these three separate, but often confused parts together for now. Simply, the headshell attaches to your tonearm and holds a cartridge which then hold a stylus which you probably think of as the “needle” that actually reads the record. Prices of all of these parts can vary widely, almost as much as turntables. Even within the Audio Technica brand you can get cartridge and stylus combo for $60 or $6000. What you need to know is that you want a diamond stylus. Some turntables or have replaceable parts, others don’t. Styli do need replacing eventually with most manufacturers recommending after about 1000 hours of play time or more. This will be likely a few years so shouldn’t be an issue for most.
Counterweight
All manual tonearms will have a counterweight at the opposite end to the headshell. You’ll need to set this up at first so your tone arm balances by itself. This will need to be adjusted again if change out your headshell or cartridge. Too much weight and your stylus will bounce out of the grooves, too little and it will grind too heavily. This can sound intimidating for those new to turntables but set up on most turntables is very straightforward as long as you follow the instructions.
Anti-Skating Control
When your record is playing, physics dictates that the tonearm and stylus are going to be dragged towards the centre of the record. This is called skating force. Obviously, this will happen as the record plays and we go through the tracks, but to ensure this is happening at the correct speed we need to apply some “anti-skating” force. This is usually easily set with a dial or weight that will be dictated by the amount of counterweight needed. Again, follow your turntables instructions and this is a very simple process that you can forget about until upgrade your cartridge.
That about wraps up the main parts of a turntable. There could be much more to go into with each component and the affects it can have on the sound but hopefully this will give you enough to decide what’s important to you so you can either get your first turntable or make the call to upgrade. If you are in the market for your first turntable you can check out our top 3 recommendations for starter turntables.
Before we wrap up, a quick word on two other key elements that aren’t necessarily involved in the anatomy of a turntable but play a big part in your set up.
Turntable Mats
Platter mats or slip mats are what sit on top of your platter in-between the platter and your record. Their job is to make sure the record stays in place. Slipmats are technically the domain of DJ’s and allow them to "scratch" the record back while the platter continues to spin at the correct speed. These terms are often mixed up however. Typically most entry-level to mid-range turntables will ship with felt mats. You don’t have to through these out but a cheap upgrade to your table could be to replace the felt mat with a cork, leather, or rubber mat. We will go into these in another article but they offer different resonant qualities as well are reducing static build up and a potentially more stable grip.
Outputs and High Fidelity
Most, but not all turntables will have a Simple RCA output, two differently coloured outputs for a left and right channel. Ideally you will pair your turntable with some powered speakers or amplifier with matching outputs. If not, you’ll likely be looking for a dual RCA to 3.5mm cable to plug into and aux input (presuming your turntable has a phono pre-amp). If you are not familiar with Hi-Fi systems this will help you get listening to records with a minimum of fuss.
Another key piece of advice is that your speakers are just as important as your turntable, if not more so. Usually, you want to be spending about the same on your speakers as you would be on your turntable. If you plug a $1500 turntable into a $200 portable Bluetooth speaker you won’t be able to tell the difference between that and Spotify. Be careful though, you might have a great Bluetooth speaker at the moment, as soon as you hear even a 4-inch driver through a semi-decent hi-fi set up it’s going to be hard to go back.
Happy Listening,
Paul – Bendigo Vinyl
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