Turntables and DJ's

[drifts135]

I have some super n00b retarded questions for people that own turntables or DJ. Ever since I've stopped drifting I have been trying to come up with a new hobby, or something to do/collect. I'm a huge fan of punk music and a lot of what I hear is that vinyl has a much better sound than digital audio because of the way it is recorded. So that has really made me interested in picking up a turntable and starting to collect my favorite albums on vinyl to enjoy them.

Also, my parents entire music collection is primarily vinyl, but none of which is on their computer or ipods so they have a limited amount of music they listen to. This got me looking into vinyl to digital recorders, and specifically, the Numark TTXUSB. Here's more information on it: TTXUSB PROFESSIONAL DIRECT-DRIVE TURNTABLE WITH USB (http://www.numark.com/ttxusb)

Pretty much my questions lies within this: With this setup, what else do I need to get audio output? Can I bypass an amp/preamp to connect directly to a speaker? Do I need to just connect the turntable to an amp, and then connect my stereo setup to the amp? Will the quality of the amp affect the sound quality?

I'm trying to pay fairly reasonable prices for stuff given the cost of the turntable, and I'm not looking for a full blown home audio setup as I don't have the space for something extravagant in my house at school. I'm pretty much just trying to get the bare bone basics.

Thanks for the help guys, I'm generally an audio idiot and solely rely on my laptop.

[HyperTek]

what are you trying to do?

[drifts135]

Listen to music through the easiest and most basic setup possible. Interested in this turntable though because I can convert my parent's vinyl to digital audio for them so they can start listening to their music again.

[HyperTek]

get a regular turntable
plug it into ur mic input on ur soundcard and use software to record... cheapest/simplist.

unless your parents can operate a usb turntable and computer.. usb turntable will probably be detected like a mic on ur computer im guessing

[drifts135]

Alright I guess I wasn't clear. My concern isn't at all within getting music converted to digital audio, I'm just trying to get an idea of basic way of hooking up speakers/amp/whatever I need to get sound from turntable to sound out of speakers (not computer speakers).

[swiftdrift]

I heard music from vinyl can sound good to a certain extent. If you're dealing with a strong amp and good speakers that pump out some decent bass, the sound coming from the vinyl to needle can be affected causing a noticeably unpleasant hum. That's why many DJ's today go with CDJ's or digital audio.

If this isn't the case, I'd side with what HyperTek was proposing.

Edit: Just realized I didn't answer your question lol. You could find some self powered speakers? If not, to get decent sound from some speakers you'd need some sort of amp to power them. I'm pretty sure there's cables that go directly from turntables to amp, bypassing a mixer.

[drifts135]

Thanks for the edit. Where would I go about looking for these or what would I want to search for exactly? I really have no idea what I'm looking for. Or do you have any recommendations as far as cheap/good amps are concerned?

[swiftdrift]

GUITAR CENTER IS YOUR FRIEND!

lol

Crown 602 amp and JBL JRX125 speakers are what i run. My buddy and I DJ house parties though. A 602 may be a little more power that what your looking for. The Crown 202 amp should be adequate.

Ask them about cables though. Speak-on cables are what we run from amp to speakers. You need to take into consideration also the amount of watts you're going to be pumping so you know what gauge cables to get.

[TravisSW]

Just get some powered speakers like mentioned above.

My setup is:
Two Stanton ST-100s
Pioneer DJM-300S mixer
Two JBL speakers (dont know what kind, my friend used them at his club for a while, Focus at Tapas)

[S13E]

To just listen to vinyl at home and nothing more, you can just about get any turntable and hook it up to a receiver that is made for PHONO INPUT (only OLD receivers made in 1980's and 90's had phono input as a standard, anything in 2000's must be a high end receiver say from BOSE or Sony that cost more than $500.) Just about all traditional and todays modern turntables will use RCA cables. Turntables output is ALOT lower than tape decks, CD players, ipods, ect... so the "phono input" on the receiver is specifically for the turntable to boost its signal. Otherwise you will need a pre amp'd "phono to line" coverter that will boosts its sound signal to a standard LINE level that you can plug into just about any input as if it were an ipod or cd player.
Us DJ's use DJ mixers we can plug CD decks, turntables, mics, auxilary devices like ipod all at once and can control volume and eq's that all feed out to one RCA (or XLR for more professional mixers) that runs to an amp or receiver. As for recording vinyl to digital, you definatly want a turntable that is "Direct Drive" opposed to having a "Belt Drive." Direct drive turntables have way more less Wow & Flutter. That is the abilty to spin the record dead on at whatever speed you select without much fluctuation. Think of it as a Quartz watch, its ON TIME. The Technics SL-1200 MK2 and its many variations is the industry standard.

You can record through the mic/input of your computer just to port it to a .wav or .mp3 or the easiest way IS to get the USB turntable (just the usb table connected to pc via USB cable and the software to record it.) Most mp3's are converted at 128kps-192kps @ 44100khz. If you were to rip an Authentic CD you just bought at Best Buy to an mp3 and have sound exactly like the CD, you'd have to rip at 320kps. The average listener cannot tell between 192kps vs 320kps unless you played them back to back in good sound cancelling headphones. I personally use 2 ways... at home, I use turntable through DJ mixer into a ASIO sound card (M-Audio Audiophile 2496) or on the GO, say I go to a friends house and use HIS turntable and convert one of HIS records, I would use my apple iBook and Serato Scratch Live ASIO Hardware interface.

I will not get into the whole Vinyl analog sound vs CD digital sound. The both have pros and cons. But with vinyl, physical condition of the vinyl and the type of needle/stylus also come into play.

As far as DJing for hobby and wanting to play like a house party.... the EASIEST is getting the pre amp'd speakers. Examples, the JBL EON G2 Line or Mackie SRM-350/450. They just have a powercord and you run the wire from dj mixer straight to speaker, thats it. If you plan on doing the size of a basketball gym... CROWN amps it is.

[HalveBlue]

Turntable -> Mixer -> Amp -> Speakers.

That's how it'll work 90%, unless you got some fancy self powered speakers.

Also, since all you're really worried about is music playback, as opposed to beat matching/mixing, you don't need to worry about spending hundreds of dollars on a good direct drive turntable or a mix pult. Instead, find a good amplifier (I used to use an old surround sound receiver) and plug straight into that.

Now, if you're thinking about "deejaying" then other stuff comes into play.

Make sure you get some decent needles though.

Because vinyl produces sound through the stylus "reading" the record groove, every time you play a record the needle will destroy minuscule amounts of material from the record. After years of heavy playing a lot of vinyl sounds muddied and you'll start noticing more pops and hums.

Shure makes some quality cartridges.

Good Luck!

[somovr4]

thats super intelligent dude!