Platter Up!

 Record players.

Let's talk vinyl

Got the record bug this month.

And ended up with two record players and small collection of records.

I'm no record noob. My mom had a player and a decent collection

of rock records that I played a lot as a kid. I even recorded songs

over onto cassette tapes to make my own mixes.

The first player I picked up was a pick of a half-serious purchase.

I ordered a Victrola Journey model from their website.

It arrived well-packed, and worked right out of the box, with not much fuss.

It's adorable, honestly, a suitcase design. I chose the retro light blue.

Unfortunately, it immediately skipped on my new Blackstar record.

Oh no. Should new records skip?

So, I took to the InterToobs to find a solution.

And ended up ordering another, slightly more expensive record player.

As you do.

An audio-technica Bluetooth equipped turntable.

Particularly, the AT-LP60XBT model.

Leave it to the Japanese to produce quality electronics.

This model is by no means high-end, definitely at the 

entry-level of the quality scale.

But compared to the Victrola, it's amazing.

When it arrived, it was also well-packed for shipping, and also worked wonderfully 

right out of the box, with just a few extra steps to get it ready for a record.

But it needed a speaker.

I now had a use for the Bluetooth speaker (Insignia) I'd picked up

a few weeks ago (that I bought for different purpose, which turned out

it did not work for, but the speaker wasn't too expensive, so

I kept it, figuring that a wireless speaker is a handy thing to keep

around anyway, and hey, now it is useful!)

I set up the turntable, loaded up Blackstar, 

got the Bluetooth connected, and gave it a listen.

No skips!

As I write this, the little speaker is in the room with me and

the turntable is in the other room. Pretty sweet. 

Listening to the B Side of Bowie's Low album. 🎶

Cover is nice to keep dust off of arm and parts.

And protect from people or objects when not in use.

I like the compact design of this unit. Not a lot of free space in 

my little apartment, so everything I own needs to earn its place.

This fits neatly atop of a shelf, near a power source. 

The aforementioned wireless speaker solves the output issue that

comes with the AT, versus the Victrola, which has its own

built-in speakers. 

Play on, bro

Some ultra cheap records from the thrift store.

If these skip horribly, no great loss.

If not, polka tunes for cheap!

So, what to do with the Victrola?

I do actually love the design, so gave it another chance with Nina Simone's record.

Played perfectly. So, maybe just certain records give the little guy problems?

I'll reserve it for lighter stuff, or the less expensive albums.

Would I recommend this player? Sadly, no.

Just spend a bit more for a better player. 

Less hazardous for your records and less frustration for you.

And that's my record player adventure, for the record.

🎧🎧🎧