Turntables, Phono, Phonograph, Record Players and Vinyl

Since the invention of the CD, there have been those in the business, mostly audiophile types, who say they can hear the difference in things like patch cords and speaker wire. They have have said that CD’s were clearly inferior to well pressed vinyl or LP’s (long play). And yes…they were, and still are, absolutely correct (at least about the vinyl).
There has been resurgence in the vinyl market with a good deal of new albums coming out on the trusty 33 1/3 RPM format. I think it also looks great when you are watching the Tonight Show and they hold up the vinyl record cover, as it makes for a much more engaging video shot of the band’s latest offering.
I have gone back to my vinyl as well; too bad my hair cannot come back in a similar fashion. I guess it could if I simply pulled it of a shelf. Back to vinyl, I purchased a classic turntable that I found on E-bay; one I always thought was a really cool looking table by the Danish manufacturer Bang and Olefsen, called the Beogram 3400. It has a sloped front with controls located outside the dustcover, a conventional tone arm (non tangential tracking) and a floating table and tone arm design which B&O was famous for. Playing some old records is not only a fun and interesting change, but the warmth and overall easy to listen to sound of the LP’s is outstanding. I do admit to having some rather warm and outstanding British speakers as well.
Interested? Most new systems do not have a phono input; this has been a level of confusion for 50 years or more. Record players output only a very tiny signal way short of the common .75 volts peak to peak used in most consumer grade equipment as the input signal level from things like CD players and tape players or VCRs.
Back in the early days of my electronics playground, we built things like Moving Coil battery powered (to avoid power supply noise) phono preamps.
Today, if you want to buy a vintage record player to use with your system, you will need a “Phono Pre-amp” which you can buy on Amazon or many places online. They can range from $20-$2,000 dollars. Buy a vintage one built by one of the good manufacturers from the day on E-bay for less than $200, same goes for the record player.