How Expensive Turntables Make Vinyl Sound Better
Personally, I find the argument according to which vinyl audio sounds better than CD or unconvincing high quality digital streaming. However, what is undoubtedly true is that the quality of the vinyl audio, more than any other existing physical medium, is affected by the quality of the plate you use.
Due to the nature of the functioning of vinyl technology, the quality of the platinum and its support components have a great effect on the quality of the record. A bad platform will not make your music sound like a waste, it can even damage your record. Although not everyone has to spend thousands of dollars on a plate, it is worth exploring exactly why opt for a more expensive plate has a clear advantage for your listening experience.
Vinyl renewal and price issue
The vinyl is back in a huge way. What was once a clearly obsolete way to store and play music underwent a renewal, partly as a rebellion against digital music without physical media. It is not only hipsters who are looking for a “simpler” time, but a wider audience of people who have attached themselves to the vinyl fandom for various reasons.
These reasons are not necessarily linked to audio quality. Vinyl was kept alive by audiophiles in the meantime, praising the dubious and entirely non -scientific advantages of the format. However, these modern albums that Swifies like to collect are all recorded digitally anyway, so these arguments do not apply. No, it is more likely that other factors such as the ritual, collection and beauty of the object itself play a more important role. It is a cultural thing.
You can buy a platinum for less than $ 100, and I’m pretty sure that is what most of these modern vinyl buyers use, if they listen to their recordings. Is there nothing intrinsically bad with a cheap plate, but what to spend more to spend more?
Quality and vibration control
The first thing you notice when you go from a cheap hub to something more expensive is that high -end models have the impression of being cut with a solid wood or metal slab. It is important to have a heavy base and a dense tray to absorb unwanted vibrations.
Remember that the music is stored as a small cut groove, and you reproduce it by amplifying the noise of a fine needle (the stylus) dragged along the hills and valleys of a physically frozen wave wave in plastic. Any unwanted vibration reduces the loyalty of contact between the needle and the recording surface, and you will hear this as audio artefacts.
Cheap turntables, often in clear plastic, can resonate like a drum, pick up engine buzzing or even steps in the room. High -end models use amortization materials, isolation feet and even suspension conceptions to keep the lens locked in the groove without interference.
Precision engineering of reading and bearings
The arm is the bit that brings and maintains the stylus in place, is the place where most of the engineering goes in a platinum. On a budget plate, the turn arm often has the bad amount of friction and imperfect geometry. This means that it does not follow the groove as precisely as more expensive models. This can cause distortion, inner groove follow -up errors and even long -term wear on your files.
The arms of your high -end use better machining, balance, tolerances and materials as well as better conceptions to avoid or minimize these problems.
Cartridges and upgrades of the stylus
The cartridge is the transducer which transforms tiny wiggles into the groove into electrical signals, it is therefore not surprising that quality counts here. Many expensive platforms are shipped with better cartridges already installed, while budgetary decks are often delivered with something entry-level, you will want to exchange quickly.
The cheaper tray trays tend to come with a mm cartridge (moving magnet) which allows you to replace the stylus without removing the cartridge. However, they can offer as much quality as MC cartridges (moving coil). However, they cost more and you need to replace the whole cartridge once the stylus wears out. There are also many MM options which offer more than enough quality for most people, so it is not an absolute rule that MC is the way to follow if quality is your goal.
The stylus itself also counts. A simple conical stylus is cheap, but advanced profiles like elliptical, nude elliptical, shibata, hyperelliptical or microline deeper into groove and eliminate more musical details. The high -end arms also facilitate the exchanges of cartridges, giving you an upgrade path on the road.
Speed precision and engine design
One of the least glamorous but the most important aspects of a platinum is how regular it turns. Cheap engines can introduce WOW (slow height variations) and floating (rapid instability of pitch), which makes the notes supported sound.
The more expensive decks tend to be driven by the belt, because the belt helps to isolate the tray of the vibration of the engine. However, a good direct drive design can cause better and more consistent speeds. The best plates use electronically controlled controlled motors which guarantee that height and timing remain true.
Noise floor and signal clarity
Just as OLED televisions improve an image by offering perfect blacks, rather than ugly ugly gray from an LCD screen, plates with low noise soil make music more dynamic. By having a protected wiring, a good earth setting up and a versatile design and a choice of components that minimizes buzzing and hissing, the whole experience is high.
Improve paths and longevity
It is a platform less than $ 100 is actually available, but more expensive decks are designed so that you can replace or upgrade almost everything. At the upper end of audio equipment, the idea is to make you a customer for life, and therefore the whole philosophy of design is different. If you are going to enter vinyl, then consider that by the fifth cheap plate that you throw, you could have bought something that can last a lifetime with good maintenance.
The law of the decrease in yields
Although it is hardly a doubt that a better platform leads to better audio of your recordings than a cheap model could, there is a decreasing point of return. There are audiophile decks that cost as much as a second -hand car, and it is questionable that what they offer is worth it.
Going from a plastic bridge to $ 100 to a mid -range model from $ 500 to $ 700 is a huge performance jump. But go from $ 5,000 to $ 10,000? There East Certainly a difference, but is it worth doubling the price of this additional 1% of quality and performance? You alone can answer this question, but if you were born with “golden ears”, then you already know the price they order.
The Sweet Spot is generally in the mid -range. So buy the best platform that you can reasonably allow yourself, then associate it with a good cartridge, a phono preamp and speakers. After all, your system is as strong as its weakest link.
- Pre-amplier
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Yes
- To drive
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Belt
- Bluetooth
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Yes
- Speeds (RPM)
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33 1/3 rpm and 45 rpm,
- Relations
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RCA, USB
The hub of the reader of the Sony PS-LX310BT belt combines wireless Bluetooth connectivity with user-friendly automatic reading, offering a transparent listening experience. With an elegant design and superior sound quality, it is perfect for vinyl lovers and modern music lovers.
