Good price for a turntable with free shipping. Analog, USB and Bluetooth outputs.
I asked JB Hi-Fi to price match and they did so I was able to use my perks coupon for $30 off and my JB gift cards for $515 + $10 delivery.
Last time this was on sale was $524.30 which was 4 years ago so the price is quite good accounting for inflation.
Might be better to look at the second hand market? You could upgrade the needle after that. That’s what I did, but my LP player is one of them wide floor standing antique AM radio/vinyl players. Muddy sound but it’s good - enjoyed my new Nirvana - Nevermind on it yesterday!
I bought a near new (non BT version) one of these on market place for 200 bucks a couple years ago. Worth having a suss
The main difference would be not having a counterweight on the tonearm. This creates less force on the needle and thus the record being played. (So no counterweight = more potential damage to records)
This turntable would also have a better needle/cartridge so it would sound better.
Seems like a safe bet that the difference is in the quality of components. Cheap stylus, cheap preamp… the Fenton has little built in speakers, which you just know are going to sound like tin cans. When you think about the parts that go into a turntable (motor, plinth, tonearm, stylus, sometimes preamp) it makes sense that $500 is a good starting point.
Your records will last longer if you set this one up correctly. Really depends on your needs, if you have rare or collectable records then you might be better off with a model like this.
When I first started I had a cheap AIO player, it worked but, after inheriting my great uncle’s opera collection, I wanted to treat them right so upgraded to the LP120 (second hand for $300 IIRC), got some speakers from cashies and haven’t looked back!
Best of luck and enjoy the hobby (^ω^)
I'd say the best beginner turntable would be the LP60X. There was a great deal from The Good Guys recently.
When viewing the Audio Technica, related products below shows the The Pro-Ject Xtension 9 Evolution Turntable for $6299 reduced from $6999.
I wonder how that compares to the $99 Fenton?
It's $6900 better. That model is only meant for rich audio snobs who have money to burn. You're not going to notice the difference on $150 pair of JBL/Edifier speakers. It has some funky tech (been awhile since I was into vinyl, will have to research again) but if you're pairing it with substandard speakers, it's not going to matter. People who buy that turntable are rocking $25,000/$50,000 home audio speakers and live in mansions near the beach in Point Piper.
At a bare minimum get a TT that lets you adjust the needle/tracking force, you don't want to be grinding away at old records.
But can I scratch on it? Unlikely.
this is modelled after the technics SL-1200, considered the ubiquitous dj turntable and aside from not having quite enough torque as the 1200, you do basically get the 'platform'. in that it has a lot of the controls/features you'd want for scratching, dir, pitch etc. definitely wouldn't be your first recommendation though. you'd go stanton or something similarly priced, that'll do it easily.
This is a quality T/T that comes with the Audio Technica VM95E Cart/stylus.My Yamaha T/T came with the same…I've kept it for use with my older LP's and upgraded to a Moving Coil version (VM95EN/H)for those albums in better condition…the best part is that you can swap headshell/stylus combo's without needing to make any adjustments to counterweight,stylus pressure etc.
Buy once,Cry once .
For a complete beginner in this, what's the difference between this deal and say a cheap $99 one, like the Fenton RP102B?