Picked up a brand new Victrola stereo turntable for $30 at Marshall's

[Justin]

 

Hey guys, thought I'd share this with you. I picked up a new record player, a "Victrola Modern Bluetooth Stereo Turntable" with speakers, for $30 at Marshall's, marked down from $100. I saw these over the Christmas shopping season for $100 at Dillard's, which is a department store similar to Macy's which you'd find at most malls in this region of the country. Dillard's had an entire section set up just for vinyl during the holidays, and they had a pretty decent selection of new vinyl records. It was a nice mix of classic and modern music, and I thought it was really cool that a department store chose to have a seasonal set up with vinyl records and record players as gifts. Nearby Dillard's also had Atari Flashback consoles and handhelds, which was extra cool to see.

 

Dillard's had two styles of record players, the first was the cheapy, retro-themed, all-in-one record player for $60 that opened up like a small piece of luggage, with an internal speaker built-in. The other was the Victrola for $100, which was a traditional turntable with stereo speakers and the ability to stream the music via bluetooth to your computer or other speakers. I stopped and looked through the records at Dillard's three or four times over the holiday shopping season, chatting with the sales clerk and came really close one day to buying one of these record players. I decided against it though, thinking that $100 is a lot of money for what most audiophiles would classify as a "junk" turntable. I thought that if I were going to get into vinyl I should do it the right way, get a quality turntable and start a real collection. That was the plan anyway, until I found the same exact turntable at Marshall's for $30.

 

Let me relate this back to video games. You see, growing up I always had this habit of saving up my money to get a new video game system, but then running out of money and only getting a few games for it, before saving up to get the next game system. I wanted 7800, Lynx, Jaguar, TurboGrafx-16, then it was TurboExpress, Super NES, Sega Game Gear, Sega CDx, and on and on. I wanted access to all of those little worlds of adventure, and I had to pay for all of that. So it’s like once I got my Lynx, did I really want to spend $49 for Super Asteroids / Missile Command when I’m already half way to saving up for my TurboExpress? The end result is I was able to save up and pay for most every game system that I truly wanted growing up, but there were always a ton of games I wanted for them that I never had.

 

And that brings me to vinyl. I’m just getting started. I’d really like to spend some money exploring vinyl, buying some new records and collecting some old ones, before plunking down a more serious amount of money on a top quality turntable and speakers. Taking all of that into context, I think dropping $30 at Marshall’s on a record player and speakers sounds like a good deal, and a good entry into the new world of vinyl. Now I have some extra cash to spend on records, and if I build up a nice collection and I'm really that into it, then it would be worth upgrading to a higher quality turntable later on.

 

For $30 I think this is awesome 

[RickR]

You got a steal at that price.  That's a pretty nice entry price point to get back into vinyl.  It's small and doesn't take up much space too. 

Check out mine:  http://forums.atari.io/index.php/topic/1067-thrift-store-finds/page-28?do=findComment&comment=35002

 

Mine is the kind that has a built in speaker.  That works fine, but it also has traditional audio out jacks, so you can play it through an external speaker set or stereo.  And it's got a USB thing, so you can record records into MP3 files using Audacity.  Frankly, I've been amazed.  I'd buy one new if I had to. 

 

The really cool thing about records is that they are collectible...but frankly they just aren't that expensive.  That makes them a lot of fun to collect. 

Enjoy it Justin, I'm sure you'll have some fun with that turntable. 

[dauber]

Must be New Turntable Season. My wife and I bought an Audio-Technica LP120 after Thanksgiving. As far as I'm concerned, it has the works: 3 speeds (missing 16rpm, but I've never, EVER seen a 16rpm record in my life! I know they were typically spoken-word recordings, but I've never seen one), stroboscopic light, forward and reverse, USB out, direct drive, priced at $300. And what killed me: the vinyl nerds think of it as a BUDGET ENTRY LEVEL TURNTABLE. Uhhhh......$300 is budget?!?! Good God...what would they think about those $80 and $130 turntables that were in the store!?! With two speeds, no strobe, etc. ! Ended up taking it back and swapping it for another of the same model because there was excessive flutter and wow. My wife couldn't tell, but my anal retentive ears sure could hear! Anyway...I do love me that turntable!

[Atari 5200 Guy]

Allow me, Justin, to introduce you to Discogs.

 

https://www.discogs.com/

 

You will find individual and record stores selling vinyl records there.  Some can be found new while others are in good used condition.  Just read the descriptions of any record you are interested in to see the overall condition.  I have ordered lots of records from individuals there with great results.

 

As for turntables...what you found is nice but it will eventually ruin your record collection.  The reason being is because of the amount of tracking weight (amount of pressure) that stylus will place on any record you put on that turntable.  I highly recommend eventually getting a turntable where you can adjust the tracking weight of the stylus and tone arm.  Goodwill and second hand stores are a good place to start and often times you can find a really good one for a great deal.  You will, however, also need a receiver from around the same era because a turntable will require an amp with phono inputs and a place to put the ground wire.  

 

I don't have pics of mine yet but I have two.  Both were purchased from Goodwill's auction site for about $40 each and in non-working condition.  Both are Technics models SL-D2 and SL-B35.  The SL-D2 is a direct-drive, semi-automatic TT and the SL-B35 is a belt-driven, fully-automatic TT.  Both have identical styluses and cartridges so I can interchange them if I have to.  The only thing I don't have is a 45 RPM adapter. 

 

I'm more into rock so I try to find albums from Boston, Kansas, Journey, Styx, and other 70's and 80's rock groups.  But there are also new records from new artists being put on vinyl still.  Check out Best Buy's record selection online sometime.  The more recent Kawai Metal band BabyMetal has put both their albums on vinyl which I would love to get.  But, for the time being, I'm keeping my eyes open for any K-Tel albums I don't already have. 

[Justin]

Hey that's super cool kaz! I just clicked over there and fell down a rabbit hole for about 20 mins. Great post!

[Atari 5200 Guy]

Hey that's super cool kaz! I just clicked over there and fell down a rabbit hole for about 20 mins. Great post!

Only 20 minutes?!?  I usually spend hours there when I visit the site!  You can also create want lists and Discogs will tell you when members have items on your wish list for sale.  You can even use it to keep track of your vinyl collection.  Pretty cool, dependent on member entries similar to RF Generation but a better maintained database.  Once you start entering your collection it will sometimes state the min, middle, and max value of each individual vinyl and your collection as a whole. Yep...serious vinyl collector here and I'm picky on my turntables.  I've had one since I was a kid and only had Technics turntables.  I miss my first one but it gave out.  The direct drive system stopped working and I couldn't figure out how to fix it. 

[Atari 5200 Guy]

As someone once told me ...  "It's dangerous to go alone.  Take this!"

 

https://www.lpgear.com/

 

I'm posting this as well should you ever need a new stylus for your turntable.  But I still recommend investing in a slightly better turntable sometime.  Your record collection will thank you for it and will last a lifetime if you did.  Please, take my advice on that if you want your records to last and sound their best.  You have a nice setup for the price but it will eventually ruin any record you play on it.  I learned that one the hard way.  I would recommend something like:

 

https://www.lpgear.com/product/ATLP120USBHIFI.html

 

This is a similar Technics model Technics quit making.  Audio Technica makes them now.  It's pricey but you will notice the difference as soon as you play a record.

 

Also...before you put any used vinyls on that turntable please clean them.  You can actually use a soft sponge, dish soap, and warm water to remove almost all trapped dirt and debris.  Most of my collection is used and I've done that many times with great results in bringing a record back to almost like new sound.  Dry them really good and then enjoy.  Use either a microfiber cloth you have not used for anything else to dust a record clean every time you go to play them.  I would recommend trying to find something like a Discwasher as well.

 

And the best advice I can give you...do some research and see if you can find any record stores close by or locally.  Some record stores will actually have turntables setup where you can listen to some records before you buy them.  If you have a local record shop by all means support them by dealing with them first.

 

Oh...and if that doesn't spark your interest...I don't know of any other musical format that can do things like this:

 

 

Also check out Styx's Paradise Theater album.  The B-side has no label but if you get the light to hit the vinyl just right you can see the Styx logo and some artwork laser-etched into the vinyl.  Then you have picture discs so don't pass up on Boston's first album.  And, yes, vinyl is still being made with only one record pressing company still in existence here in the States.

 

Welcome to the world of vinyl and pure analog audio!  I believe once you hear what vinyl can really sound like you will be amazed.  You can get better audio from vinyl regardless of what reviews and tests show.  But...you may have to invest in the gear to get it.  That's where vinyl collecting can get you.  You have been warned my friend.