Vinyl rules: shopping for turntables in the digital age

By Steve Guttenberg on 06 March 2006
Remember the old record player that you put out to pasture 15 or 20 years ago? Turns out that that "dead" technology offers the potential for sound quality that's far superior to what you're hearing from your CD collection or your MP3 player, so much so that the joys of vinyl are being rediscovered by a new generation of music fans.

The past decade has seen digital media almost completely subsume the consumer entertainment world. HDTV is an all-digital standard; DVD has all but killed off old-fashioned analog VHS; mobile phone networks have long since gone digital -- the list goes on and on. The music industry was a trailblazer in digitisation, with the compact disc laying the groundwork for the current MP3 era. But this seemingly inevitable march toward the digital future has prompted a widespread misunderstanding; while digital media is undeniably more convenient than its analog equivalent, it is by no means guaranteed to be superior. And there's no better example of this than the vinyl record.

Sony PS-LX250H turntable
Sony's nifty PS-LX250H turntable is a great way to get into vinyl and can be used with any receiver, HTIB or computer sound card.
Click to read the review

The LP is fast approaching its 60th birthday, but audiophiles insist that the medium's sound quality remains unmatched by any CD, MP3, or other digital audio technology to date -- it's the next best thing to being there, with real live musicians. That superior sonic fidelity is why this decidedly analog technology has maintained a devoted niche market in this digital age. According to industry stats, sales of LPs doubled in 2004 -- all the more impressive because this growth came at a time when CD sales are headed south. Of course, you'll need a turntable to sample the glories of analog sound. Whether you're an avowed vinyl aficionado looking to upgrade your aging turntable, you're itching to unleash that old collection of records boxed up in the basement, or you're just interested in dipping your toe into the vinyl pool for the first time, a modern gramophone such as the Sony PS-LX250H will be sure to get you spinning.

Turntable basics
Turntables are, in fact, record-playing systems made up of three parts: the main housing, the tone arm, and a phono cartridge. The main body includes the base, the motor, the drive system, and the platter. It supports the tone arm, which in turn holds the phono cartridge. Phono cartridges have a stylus (a.k.a. a needle) that traces the LP's grooves and converts them into an analogous electrical output signal.

Each subsystem plays a part in the quality of sound you hear. The cartridge's micro stylus traces the groove's wiggles, some of which are smaller than a wavelength of visible light -- and it's that degree of required precision that separates cheap models from higher-end phono cartridges. But all cartridges are supersensitive vibration detectors, and they can't distinguish between the music encoded into the LP and any noise or vibrations that are generated by the turntable's motor, the tone arm's bearings, or the sound filling your room. Higher-end turntables provide superior isolation from those noises and decode more of the sound of the record itself. It's the same deal with the tone arm -- it always moves on some type of bearing, and better tone arms have quieter bearings. Add it all up and the best turntable systems dramatically reduce the apparent surface noise -- the clicks and pops associated with vinyl records -- making it less intrusive so that it fades into the background.

Turntable setup typically involves putting the platter on the bearing or spindle, slinging the drive belt over the motor pulley, and mounting the counterweight on the tone arm. None of this requires great dexterity or mechanical ability, but it's more hands-on than plugging in a DVD player. This is, after all, a high-maintenance medium; many current turntables require users to manually move their drive belts when switching from 33.3rpm LPs to 45rpm singles. But if you fully appreciate the analog sound, it's definitely worth the extra effort.

The Sony PS-LX250H is an automatic turntable; after you place the record on its platter, just press the start button, and the turntable's tone arm lifts from its rest, moves into position over the record, and gently lowers the stylus onto the record. Once the PS-LX250H has played the entire side of the LP, the arm automatically raises and returns to its rest, and the turntable turns itself off. Other modern offerings are manual designs, meaning that you must jockey the arm up and down yourself. Virtually all higher-end turntables are manual models, while budget models tend to be automatic.

Hardware and software
Before you buy a turntable make sure your receiver has inputs labelled phono. If it does, you're set; but if not, you'll need to either buy a turntable with a built-in phono preamp such as Sony's PS-LX250H or buy a separate preamp to hook up between the turntable and your receiver or HTIB.

Once you have the hardware nailed down, of course, you'll need some actual records to play. That can be a challenge in today's iPod-ified world, but persistent shoppers will find a treasure trove of music. We've bought hundreds of used LPs for less than a buck apiece at yard sales and thrift shops, and online markets such as eBay are always a rich source for good deals and expensive rarities alike.

And you're not just restricted to decades-old music for your turntable: recent albums such as the Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang are out on LP, as are new releases from many of today's top artists, including Beck, Cat Power, Death Cab for Cutie, John Mayer, Sufjan Stevens, the Strokes, Lucinda Williams, and the White Stripes -- just to name a few. You won't find these LPs at your local K-Mart, but larger media hubs (think Virgin Megastore) still tend to have a section for vinyl.

The analog advantage
It's easy for the cynicism to kick in: quirky manual operation, delicate scratch-prone media, a limited selection of music, and no portability option. If you already have thousands of your favourite songs on your iPod, why bother?

The answer is, quite simply, you don't know what you're missing. Why vinyl sounds better than CDs and MP3s is an ongoing debate, but we think it's a question of resolution of fine detail. Real, live sound has infinite resolution, but digitalised music contains a finite number of samples. For CDs, it's 44,100 samples per second. That might like an adequate number of samples to reconstruct the sound of a piano or a guitar, but when you stop and consider that the distinctive sound of every instrument and the human voice is produced by a fundamental frequency and a complex series of higher-frequency harmonics, you might see that's where digital falls down on the job. The number of samples available to faithfully reproduce the shimmer of a cymbal or the sweetness of a violin are too few. That accounts for digital's harshness compared to sample-free analog, which can capture music's harmonics with ease.

In recent years, more obscure digital formats -- SACD, DVD-Audio, and lossless digital codecs such as FLAC -- have narrowed the sound-quality gap with analog to the point at which only golden-eared audiophiles could even hope to hear the difference. Be that as it may, LPs retain a retro appeal and a visceral aural aesthetic that an endless stream of bits and bytes will never be able to equal. Rather than fade away and die like 8-track, audio cassettes, and (soon) VHS videotapes, the vinyl market seems to be on track to maintain -- and even expand -- its boutique appeal as the best way for discriminating listeners to enjoy music.

Have your say! Turntables: is the better sound quality worth the extra effort? Share your thoughts below.

Topics: digital, sony, player, ps-lx250h, lp, turntables, records, vinyl, turntable

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Comments (10)

  • zak17 commented on 27/10/2008 22:11 Report abuse

    There's absolutely no doubt that vinyl 'sounds' better than any digital media currently available. The process of digital conversion of an unlimited analogue source will always mean some loss of detail. Whether the listener can appreciate the differences makes all the difference. While alot of the comments regarding the joys of vinyl seem to be aimed at clearly pre-digital aged listeners, I must say that musicians are not so similarly handicapped. Listening to Goldfrapp's 'Supernature' on vinyl is a real experience! But, I think spending $500 on a turntable is money thrown in the air.... To get an idea of the ball park I'm referring to, my 22 year old turntable was assessed, and if I wanted to do better in the current market of what's available I was quoted of needing of upwards of $3500... That's an awful lot of digital media!

  • STUART commented on 26/05/2008 17:01 Report abuse

    I HAVE AN OLD TURNTABLE I WISH TO USE WITH MY NEW SONI SUROUND SOUND SYSTEM - HAVE YOU A BLACK BOX TO CONVERT THE SIGNAL TO DIGITAL

  • Mike commented on 30/01/2008 03:15 Report abuse

    Absolutely pro Vinyl some CD versions are fine but I would like to use some of The Rolling Stones tracks eg Brown Sugar, Respectable, Miss You, to illustrate a few points. The divine squeak of the snare drum on its stand as Charlie Watts seems to marvellously produce, does not come out on CD. Hi-hat and cymbals are disappointingly
    mute. The studio acoustic ambience discernible at the end of some Stones tracks is also lost on CD.

    These to me are subtle but profound parts of the listening experience that, in my mind bring you so much nearer to the original performance and performers.

    Another case in point sammy Davis Jr Live at the Cocoanut Grove (circa 1961?) The CD version again misses
    the nuance of the brass section, and
    the 'off stage' quiet vocalisations. The LP allows you to hear the soft
    'soft shoeing' of Sammy on some sections.

    One final non audio point made by many others - reading 'sleeve notes' on a CD are not the same as reading from the LP. I also liked to peruse the ads for other artistes on LP inner sleeves.

    I will desist further comparison before I bore!

  • Ray commented on 06/11/2007 18:36 Report abuse

    I have always kept my turntable and records I also have cd s and a very good quality hi fi system. but in the last few months I have ungraded my amp to valves and bought a new turntable and speakers. Now my records sound different it is a much better sound now than ever before I have always looked after my records and I still buy them through the internet.

  • anonymous commented on 27/06/2007 18:24 Report abuse

    dont be too quick to judge a generation.
    im only eighteen and while i have a few ipods and soon an iphone, i still am intelligent enough to realize the superb sound quality of vinyl, and have a rather extensive collection that i have been working on since i was in middle school, and if i really enjoy a new album i make sure to always track it down on vinyl.

  • Anonymous commented on 03/04/2007 10:40 Report abuse

    I guess it's the change in the generation of music technology. I think for young people, they'd prefer the Micro or Mini Hi-Fi systems, the MP3 or the ipod. But for the older generations who have vinyl and record players then that's a different story. Also if you're a DJ, then you'd prefer vinyl because jockying discs is your job

  • James Roberts commented on 13/09/2006 10:19 Report abuse

    I just attached a new stylus to an old Empire cartridge onto my Thorens turntable and put on a pristine U.S. pressing of Steely Dan's Aja.
    Perfect sound stage, clear read on all instruments and voices, but the cymbals,
    sooo real.
    Digital can't get near it. I'm talking real world affordable hi-fi not the rarified and expensive domain of the rich audiophile.

  • Nathan Hughes-Johnson commented on 17/04/2006 09:53 Report abuse

    Yes, to my mind there is a major difference between CD and record. My records sound more real, less harsh. You can hear each instrument more separately.

    Digital is more convenient, but what about the luxury of listening to the full sound?

    Any comments on DVD Audio format would be appreciated as am looking at that to superceed my cd collection (never my records!).

    Cheers,

    Nathan

  • neilo commented on 25/03/2006 02:39 Report abuse

    Yes, it's worth it.. but i guess it's up to how you enjoy your music, some people swear by vinyl because of it's warmth and emotion that just can't be had with CD's nearly as often and the sound quality is just something else! (by sound quality, i mean the ability to reproduce the emotion, feeling and playing style etc. of the musician(s), not so much the presence of distortion, "cracks" or "pops")I've listened to few records in my life, but i still remain hooked on it, but let me give a few things to consider:

    1. Vinyl is great... no doubt about it. If you're like me and like to feel your music more than just listen to it, it's a great way to go, many people still swear by vinyl and are willing to put up with the maintenance that comes with the format maybe it has dropped out of the mainstream a fair bit because of this minor hitch, who knows? I still think it's worth it myself, but then again I am an audio enthusiast and I'm picky...

    2. Price... for a *new* turntable that is somewhat decent and will last will cost you around $250-300 or so, records range from 50 cents up to about $40 for brand new releases and $10-$15 for singles, In this world of cheap mini systems and bargain basement DVD players it seems a bit of an investment to some, to go out and get one... but consider this: there are turntables out there that cost $2000, $3000... and all the way up to about $100,000... so $300 doesn't seem so scary to get into vinyl, does it?

    3. Analogue audio is superb and if done well is like nothing else in the audio world. at the end of the day it's up to you what you want to listen to and how you want to listen to it, but give vinyl a try, whether it be going into a proper hi-fi store, picking up a cheapie from a pawn shop or adopting one from someone, don't be afraid to give it a try.. happy hunting!

    One love...
    -Neil

  • marke commented on 07/03/2006 15:54 Report abuse

    I'm old enough to remember when CD players first came onto the market. The notable feature was how much better the sound the quality was.

    Records have a different kind of sound, usually described as "warmer". However you need to spend a fair bit of money to get good quality sound out of a record. Most people would be better off spending money on a decent CD Hi-Fi system

    PS: Sales of CDs are still increasing according to ARIA.

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