For Certain Reasons

It's been a while since I've posted about my continuing endeavor - or at all, for that matter - and there have been some substantial developments recently.

With child expenses, car expenses, and an upcoming trip to Costa Rica for my brother's wedding, I haven't exactly had the funds to grow my record collection lately, especially given my taste for rare albums.  However, I have been able to address an issue I didn't discuss in my first post:  once I get all of this vinyl, how am I going to listen to it?

Building a decent hi-fi turntable-receiver-speaker setup can be an expensive proposition on its own.  At the high end, there are items like this masterpiece turntable from Avid:

Sitting down?  Good, now take a deep breath:  This gorgeous piece of musical machinery can be had for a cool $19,995.00.  Assuming you'd actually like to listen to something on it, as opposed to occasionally wiping the drool off with a million-threadcount Egyptian cotton rag, you're also going to have to spring for a tonearm and cartridge, not included.  Buying two such items commensurate with the quality of the turntable itself will likely add at least $6,000.00 to the cost - adding a proper power supply and going completely high-end would probably double the cost.  This is before even considering pre-amps, amps, receivers, speakers, and so forth.  All told, the highest of high end turntable setups could easily hit 6 figures in the price department. 

Ok, let's return to planet earth for now.  Eventually, I'll probably be looking for an entire setup in the $1,000-$1,200 range.  What I have in mind is something like a Pro-Ject Debut III turntable (in my signature green, natch), a Marantz PM5003 integrated amp/receiver, and a pair of Paradigm Atom V-series speakers.

Alas, even the "budget" system I've just described is out of my price range for the moment.  Even if it were in my price range, it's not the kind of system I'd want anywhere in the vicinity of a curious 2-year-old.  The final nail in the coffin is that I don't really have a good place to put such a system right now. (Did I mention that even the shelving for this stuff can be outrageously expensive?)

When I started this project, I anticipated purchasing about 20 albums before worrying about a turntable.  However, as I talk to more and more people about my collection, I'm actually finding low- or no-cost alternatives to get started right away.  The first thing I found was a turntable.  It happens that my dad has been storing a Technics SL-220 for a friend in his storage unit for a few years now, and that friend apparently no longer wants it.  Unfortunately, it had been stored without a dust cover, so it was pretty dirty.  It also had a few dings on the corners, was missing the "Cuing" slider, and the paint failed in two places on the sides where someone had ostensibly taped the missing dust cover to the plinth.

Before I made any attempts to clean, repair, or power up the turntable, I decided to let an expert have a look at it.  In the back (northwest corner) of the Speedway Flea Market, there's a gentleman named Mark who sells records and reasonably-priced vintage hi-fi equipment.  His booth is very clean and well-organized, and he's very knowledgeable when it comes to playing vinyl.  (I purchased my Foreigner "Records" and Huey Lewis and the News "Sports" albums from him, along with two milk-crate style cases.)  I wish he had a website, but for now I just have his first name and a cell phone number.

Mark was kind enough to hook my turntable up to his equipment and spin a few records.  He walked me through the esoteric parts and dials, explaining the function of each.  I was pleased to discover that I didn't really need to purchase any parts to make my turntable operational.  He also mentioned that I might have some difficulty finding a dust cover, but I was able to purchase an original on eBay for $5.00.  Other than that, Mark recommended I clean the plinth and whatever surfaces I could easily reach with a standard bathroom cleaner, which worked pretty well.  I should have taken a "before" pic for better effect, but here is the finished product:


Before I left Mark's booth, I picked up my first album specifically for my son - the TV soundtrack to Fraggle Rock.  I also grabbed a copy of the music from Jesus Christ Superstar.  The set was in excellent shape, I actually like the music, and for those who know me well, it's deliciously ironic that I would own such a thing.  Mark wanted $5 for the pair, but settled for the $4.80 I had in my pocket.  What can I say; I drive a hard bargain. I've just updated my collection post to reflect the new additions.

After I cleaned up my turntable, my friend Tom came through with a receiver.  His dad had an old Pioneer SX-251R that hadn't been used in years.  It was a 1992 model, nothing very fancy - but I was glad to find out that it had a dedicated phono input with a ground.  My original plan was to wait until I had speakers to test everything out, but I got impatient and decided to try it with my Bose headphones.  I was still a little cautious about the record player, and I didn't want to risk one of my pristine new albums testing it.  Instead, I used the oldest, most beat-up album in my collection - Fraggle Rock.  The turntable started up perfectly, I dropped the needle, and....no left channel.  Thinking maybe it was the headphone jack, I scavenged the speakers from my Philips micro system.  Again, no left channel.  I swapped the speakers, switched from "A" speakers to "B" speakers; still nothing.

Even though I only had the right channel, I could already hear a big difference in the richness and fullness of the sound.  In fact, it was so great a difference that I've listened to a couple of albums all the way through on my crippled system.  Last Sunday we enjoyed a lazy afternoon in the backyard, my son alternating between splashing happily in his pool and coloring with sidewalk chalk while Wilco's "Sky Blue Sky" played through a window.  I had to flip discs 3 times, but this has quickly become an endearing ritual.

I'm expecting a little windfall here shortly, and with it I will likely pick up a decent vintage receiver, maybe an older Marantz or Fisher, and a pair of vintage speakers.  Mark at Speedway showed me a nice pair of Motorola speakers in the $20 range.  If I have anything left after my Super-Ultra-Budget/Vintage System, my collecting will resume in earnest.