Guide to buying a record player turntable

Yesterday's technology still has many fans. If you have records that you love to play or that you have found in someone's attic, you might find that a record player turntable is harder to find than the records themselves. You can also find a turntable to move your old records to more modern formats, such as CDs. Some CD players with turntables will allow you to record vinyl to a CD.

Playing music on a classic turntable

Playing vinyl on a turntable
If you want a classic sound, play your vinyl on a turntable. You can get phonograph players and vintage record players on eBay and other used-goods shops. There is a 1921 HMV table grand gramophone on eBay.co.uk for
£139.99 (as priced on 19/06/11). Turntable cartridge You can also find bits and pieces, such as turntable needles to repair and maintain a record player. Specific name brand turntable cartridges can sell for well over £50 for vintage turntables, but eBay had several cartridges available for £10-15 for repair parts (as priced on 19/06/11 for eBay.co.uk). Record needles sell for under £10. Neetstuff.net Neetstuff.net has many different types of turntables: there are retro turntables, vinyl players, and modern Hi-Fi turntables. They stock an electric mix, so you can check often to see what appears.

Buy a new turntable

Hi-Fi turntable If you want to buy a new record player that will have a warranty, you can get a Hi-Fi turntable that is part of a larger system. The Zyon wooden record player looks something to play a classic phonograph record on, but it has an AM/ FM cd/radio combination and a cassette player. The Zyon sells for £119.99 (as priced on 19/06/11 at Amazon.co.uk). LP to CD converter You can also get an LP to CD converter, which works like a tape to CD converter. You play the LP and it is recorded to the CD. These systems cost several hundred pounds: the ION LP to CD Turntable with CD recorder is £329 from JB's Music Store online (as priced on 19/06/11). Some people have such a discriminating hearing that only a turntable playing a record will do, especially if the various sounds evoke memories of listening to vinyl music in decades past. The turntable technology is available to keep listening to records well into the 21st century.