Hrmm... I'm leary of the NuMark table. Not that I have any experience w/ them beyond clicking on yer link - but I am generically leary of the one-size-fits-all, integrate the hell out of things approach. I suppose my specific concerns would be the quality of the tonearm and the cartridge; the RIAA preamp and usb A/D sections are well-understood and easy to implement on the cheap. Mostly I guess it's that NuMark is DJ gear and therefore the province of the record-ruiners....

What about tracking down the well-regarded $30-ish "Lil' Rat" phono stage from Radio Shack, and running that into the back of a cheap but decent soundcard, like a Chaintech (AV-710?) and finding a used TT that some over-rich magazine-reader is selling to finance his next upgrade?

Two sheets of glass is like $5 at the hardware store, and is your best bet. Otherwise, you're fidddling with reflex clamps which require a threaded spindle, or peripheral weights, or other cures that are worse than the disease. I should also point out that a good quality tonearm, properly set up (natch) will track all manner of warps - you'd be surprised.

Admittedly, my standards are skewed. I run a homebrew TT based on Teres parts, through a rewired Rega tonearm to a DIY tube-based phono stage, to a Slagle autoformer volume control, to a pair of DIY 2A3 SET monoblocks with cobalt OPTs, to a pair of vintage Altec 605A duplex speaks.

I have TWO Numark turnatbles and think that they are awesome. The tonearm is fine, the needle you might want to invest in something high-end on. With the right amp and mixer you could DJ like mad with these - I do! For the price they're actually quite good.

(ps - I also have a Rega, the simple flat one color one for my listen to jazz/not DJ:ing days)

oh and ps - the Rega can play records that are almost bent into bowls, it's amazing really.

Thanks for the tips! I'm thinking I'll have a look at going the cheaper route and have a look at running the turntable through my soundcard, which I'll probably have to upgrade. What I'm really trying not to do is get back into records as they're heavy and take up space, so dropping CAD$250 on that Numark TT makes me hesitate. RadioShack (which is now called The Source, in Canada) has a USB TT for $200, and a normal one for $99, though you do get what you pay for. Hmmm. Lots to think about.

I don't think CAD 250 is even near expensive for a decent turntable + USB, but maybe I'm not converting it right in my head. Though, I'm the eeediot who blew my entire summer-job salary (three months of work) on that Rega, a NAD amp a pair of schwweeeet technics speakers and a stanton pick up. So I might not be the best person to ask.

Then again, that was 15 years ago and I still have both the Rega and The NAD. Think about it, you'll be dragging it for a long time. :)

Checked a currency converter: 250.00 CAD = 1,629.80 SEK (1.00 CAD = 6.51920 SEK). It's not super-expensive, but it's not something I'm going to continue using unless I start making trips to thrift stores and picking up all those cheesy lp's that people have given away. Which'd be dangerous, as I'd start taking up space in my apartment with records - not a bad thing, but I'm not keen on having a lot of stuff (he said, hoping his resolve holds out).

I already have a turntable so I am investigating getting one of these so I can start importing my vinyl to my computer.

Keep in mind that what you'll be importing is 2 WAV files for sides A & B. There is software that will look for the standard 2-second silence between tracks and split in to files accordingly. I've been happy using "CD Wave"

Bookmarked. Thanks Triode.

I've been recommending Audio-Tecnica's AT-PL120 (a total 1200 rip, and that's a good thing) (available all over the place, though Amazon's often cheapest) like crazy lately--if you decide you want to start mixing/scratching, it's as good as anything that's not a Technics or a high-end NuMark or Vestax, and the cartridge is easily upgradeable; if you're more likely to head in an audiophile direction, though, a low-end Music Hall (or something similar, or something vintage) is a better choice (let me make it perfectly clear, though: if you anticipate, even once, even just to experiment, backspinning or scratching or doing anything but just listening to the record, you need a 'DJ' turntable (like a 1200 or a NuMark), not an 'audiophile' one (like a Music Hall or a Rega)). If neither of those things are going to happen, and/or if the PL120 seems too expensive, you might do well to look at the belt-drive offerings from Technics, Audio-Technica, etc. Wow, that's a lot of parentheses.

If you're really trying to avoid getting back into records, and you've only got 200, you might even consider paying somebody to digitize them for you, then getting rid of the whole lot. If you were in Arkansas, and the records weren't awful, I'd probably do it. Since you're not, it seems like it would make a good AskMe question.

I love my Audio-Technica turntable.