A few years ago I worked at an Overstock & Liquidation "firm" (read: I worked in a one story building with a warehouse in the basement, and my job was to 'fix stuff'). A lot of what I worked on (other than laptops) was audio equipment.
My favorite things were musical instruments (particularly the ukulele) and turntables. Usually we got in Audio Technica AT-LP60s or AT-LP120s. Sometimes we'd get the odd Pioneer turntable, and sometimes we'd get a really nice Niles amp or some other expensive (for me) equipment. I, being the cheap and generally broke person I am, would set aside a decent setup for a week to "test" as I worked on other stuff. I only had one record: the Goldfinger LP that I'd pulled out of a used and defeated AT-LP60. Eventually I found others (my first actual purchase was "The Big Come Up" by the Black Keys, as shown in pics below).
I bought an AT-LP60 with a cracked lid, I was able to get it cheap because of that, and I quite enjoy it. When I moved to Chicago, however, it didn't make the trip with me. Since I've been back home, it's been sitting upstairs connected to a stereo from 2005 with a broken speaker.
Today, I went and got it.
I was pretty sure I didn't have the wiring I needed when I noticed my speaker setup actually has a 3.5mm input I didn't know about. BAM - inspiration. I pulled it all down this morning and set it up on my writing table (I'll find another).
I don't have an amp or anything else I may "need" - but it works just fine. I've been thinking of buying an Orbit turntable because I love how they look. But for now, I'm going to enjoy what I've got and funnel some money into buying some old blues and jazz albums. Any recommendations?
All I got thus far, from combination Amazon/eBay and trolling Goodwills and Salvation Armies:
As a long time vinyl enthusiast I'd really recommend saving up for a decent turntable. These cheap plastic turntables not only sound bad, they completely destroy records. It just pains me when I see some kid who's spent $400 on records over a year or so have them all completely trashed because he didn't bother with his setup.
Suggestions? I really don't like the look of some of the big and expensive ones I've seen in the past. If there's a "good" one in the same style as an Orbit, I'd save up for that, and something under $300. I'm a hobbyist, I really don't need anything expensive or fancy. Also, I've never read anything bad about the AT-LP60. It's what pretty much every site suggests grabbing as an "intro" turntable, it's got favorable reviews all over the internet and reddit's more elitist subs as "entry" level turntables. It's fine for what I need, I'm just looking to get something within the next few years that isn't cracked.
I've never heard of Orbit turntables but it looks like they put out a cheaper version of the Pro-ject Debut, which is usually what I recommend as a top of the line hobbyist turntable. Record collecting is on of those this where certain circles will just toss around the same opinions as fact. Some sites will profess those crosley turntables are a great buy, and other sites will criticize your $500 phono preamp as a terrible match to your $400 cartridge. Point being, go out of your way to really learn about what's best for you.