The previous 15 years have seen the vinyl format climb its approach out of the dustbin of historical past and change into a $1 billion class throughout the digital age. Individuals bought over 40 million new information in 2023 (PDF), and entry-level audiophile turntables are in every single place. In the event you’ve found a newfound ardour for the vinyl expertise and also you wish to enhance your turntable’s efficiency—with out spending a fortune on new gear—just a few well-chosen equipment could make a optimistic distinction.
A $500 turntable won’t ever sound like a top-shelf audiophile turntable with a state-of-the-art phono cartridge, however its sound may be improved with some tweaks. Even small adjustments—like upgrading your phono cartridge and platter mat, eliminating static, minimizing the warp of your information, and maintaining every little thing clear—can have an effect.
Vinyl playback equipment can vary in value from very low cost to somewhat costly. Our suggestions are all reasonably priced, tried-and-tested equipment designed that will help you get probably the most out of your present turntable and file assortment.
Phono cartridge
Most turntables bought for lower than $600 include a preinstalled moving-magnet (MM) phono cartridge from Ortofon, Sumiko, or Audio-Technica. These are a tremendous start line for most individuals, however within the huge image of phono cartridges, they’re simply average-sounding fashions designed to work with the widest vary of audio receivers or powered audio system obtainable.
One of many three under-$200 choices listed under will provide higher readability, element, and determination, and better-defined bass efficiency. A greater cartridge will allow you to expertise extra of Amy Winehouse when she leaves all of it on the stage, or hear the decay when Miles’s horn fills the air. All phono cartridges have a millivolt score: The upper the quantity, the extra quantity you’ll get out of the cartridge. It’s frequent for MM cartridges to have a mV score within the low single digits.
Grado Labs Status Red3: The Status Red3 is an MM cartridge that delivers the trademark Grado “home” sound, with a heat, punchy midrange and a robust low finish. The treble is ethereal and not rolled-off (or diminished on the larger finish, which was a attribute of earlier generations of this cartridge). The Red3’s 5 mV of output make it appropriate with any MM phono preamp obtainable.
Goldring E3: A smaller British producer of phono cartridges, Goldring is probably not as effectively often called Danish rival Ortofon however has been in enterprise nearly as lengthy. The E3 sounds impressively clear for the value, with glorious tempo and simply sufficient top-end power to maintain issues fascinating. The three.5 mV output just isn’t particularly excessive for an MM cartridge, however this cartridge ought to nonetheless work effectively with most any MM phono preamp.
Nagaoka MP-110: Japanese producer Nagaoka has been making excellent MM phono cartridges for nearly 70 years. The entry-level MP-110 is a superb tracker—it performs worn-out or soiled file grooves with higher stability, and it delivers a really open and detailed presentation throughout the complete frequency spectrum. The 5 mV output makes it appropriate with a variety of phono preamplifiers, too.
Platter mat and cleansing wipes
Cleaner information sound higher, they usually additionally protect the lifetime of your phono cartridge. Mud, grime, smoke, meals, and pet hair magically work out easy methods to land on the floor of your information, and your cartridge pays the value for it.
Past dealing with your information correctly (strive to not run greasy fingers over them after one too many beers on the Fourth of July), one useful strategy to defend them and to enhance efficiency is to discard a budget felt mat that got here together with your turntable. Not solely does the fabric act like a mud magnet, coating all sides of your file with gadgets that may find yourself in your stylus, but it surely additionally shifts round throughout playback and does nearly nothing to maintain your file flat.
Higher platter mats are machined from all kinds of supplies: cork, carbon fiber, copper, rubber, silicone, and even leather-based. The extra unique the fabric, the costlier it turns into. Does it make sense to place a $500 mat on an entry-level turntable? In no way, however there are extra reasonably priced mats higher than the one which got here together with your turntable.
Analog Restorations All Platter Mats: Have you ever ever questioned the place folks on Instagram get these unbelievable customized cork-platter mats? They arrive from Analog Restorations in New Jersey. Not solely do these mats look nice, however they’re additionally manufactured from the highest-quality cork utilized in wine bottles, they usually create a really secure, dust-free floor in your information. The cork-platter mat begins at $35, and you may have it personalized together with your identify, a brand, or a picture. It’s like giving your turntable a tattoo.
The corporate additionally sells record-cleaning wipes. The worth ($22 for 50 wipes) is costlier than that of your common wipes, however they work higher on soiled information you may decide up at a used file retailer than the cut price variations. A fast wipe removes a shocking quantity of filth and dirt from the floor with out utilizing any chemical substances that may injury the file.
Document-cleaning machine
In the event you actually care about preserving each your file assortment and the lifespan of your phono cartridge, a record-cleaning machine is a worthwhile funding.
Spin-Clear Document Washer MKII Deluxe Package: The Spin-Clear has been round since 1975, and this handbook record-washing machine will survive nearly something. The Deluxe Package is the good purchase as a result of the corporate consists of extra of its alcohol-free washing fluid, and sufficient rollers and brushes to maintain you going for some time. The yellow development makes it simpler to see filth, and also you simply want to wash it out regularly. One other benefit? Zero noise.
Document Physician VI: Whereas not as fancy because the pricier automated record-cleaning machines from VPI or Professional-Ject, the $300 Document Physician VI will get the job performed—and it’s additionally much less noisy. (The vacuum that sucks off all that filth and record-cleaning fluid may be actually noisy on different items.) It is a dependable and compact machine that may final via 1000’s of file cleanings.
Document clamp
Document clamps or weights have one job—to maintain your file as flat as attainable towards the platter. I’ve bought quite a lot of costly new pressings that had seen warps, and it’s good to reduce the affect of that on the stylus as a lot as attainable. These clamps and weights come threaded or non-threaded. The threaded selection screws down onto a turntable’s threaded middle spindle, however they will put plenty of pressure in your platter bearing if it’s too tight or heavy. The non-threaded selection can sit on any middle spindle and assist stabilize the file in your platter.
Professional-Ject Clamp It: The non-threaded Clamp takes seconds to put in and works nice. The construct high quality on this file clamp is superb, and the 5-pound weight is unlikely to be a problem in your platter—however you must examine with the turntable producer first. The worth is actually on the upper aspect, however this clamp just isn’t an inexpensive piece of plastic.
Viborg Document Stabilizer: At 280 grams (0.62 kilos), the non-threaded Viborg just isn’t the heaviest file weight round, however that makes it a greater possibility for belt-driven turntables that don’t essentially need all that added weight placing pressure on the platter bearing and the motor. The highest contains a spirit degree to make sure that your turntable is degree.
Anti-static device
Mud and filth are the enemy on the subject of vinyl playback, and static attracts each—so that you wish to reduce it as a lot as attainable.
Milty Professional Zerostat 3: The Zerostat 3 produces optimistic and damaging ions that cancel out the optimistic and damaging costs on the floor of your file. It sounds loopy, however after 5 years of utilizing one, I’ve concluded that the absence of ticks and pops throughout playback is tough to disclaim.
Document brush
Audiophiles like to debate which sort of record-cleaning brush is one of the best, and you may spend the equal of 4 to 5 new information on one for those who’re seduced by the lure of unique supplies and guarantees of constructing your $400 turntable sound like a $4,000 mannequin. Come on—it’s a file brush, and it has one job: eradicating mud or particles from the floor of a file earlier than you play it. You possibly can go for both a dry or moist brush; the latter requires a record-cleaning answer.
AudioQuest Anti-Static Document Brush: AudioQuest has been promoting iterations of its dry Anti-Static Document Brush for over 35 years, and the most recent model makes use of tremendous carbon-fiber bristles and a better-made deal with that helps create a greater electrical connection to your hand—which acts as the bottom for static electrical energy. It’s reasonably priced and efficient, and it’ll not injury your information.
This text was edited by Adrienne Maxwell and Grant Clauser.
