You want to start listening to vinyl records, but aren’t sure where to start?
You’ve come to the right place. As your local electronics store, we see it as part of our mission to make sure that all of our customers have access to the information they need to make informed purchases – and to follow their passions!
Music is a huge passion of ours as well, and we’re excited to see that the hi-fi medium that is vinyl records is getting another chance in the limelight. But unlike just streaming something on Spotify or from your phone, there’s a little setup work that needs to be done before you can properly enjoy vinyl. So, this week on the blog, we’re going to take a look at those initial steps needed to get you well on your way to enjoy records whenever you want. Get those ears ready to rock!
Get Physical
The first thing you need to listen to records is, well, a record player.
Prices for record players can run all over the place, but you at least want to get something a little bit above the lowest quality model. This will help not only make sure that your records sound good, but also goes a long way toward giving you a good first record-listening experience.
If you aren’t sure what to go with, give us a call! Our experienced staff can give you recommendations and help you navigate record player options to help you find the best one for your unique needs and space.
Get Power
There are different ways you can go about listening to records. You can have a system or speakers with integrated amplifiers, or you can go the route of getting a pre-amp.
It can be a bit more investment, but we are always going to recommend the pre-amp route to power your listening. This cuts out a lot of beginner record players and speaker options that try to handle everything themselves, but also gives you a chance to have more control over your system by picking out a good pre-amp. Your pre-amp is just as important as the record player’s cartridge, stylus, or turntable, so getting a quality component here is very important in getting good sound out of your record player.
Sound Check
You might be sitting there wondering about another important part of the music experience that we haven’t mentioned yet. No, don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about speakers.
Of course, if you are going to be listening to your records, you need someplace for the sound to come from -- you need speakers! Things get a little complicated here as well, because you are either going to need to get powered speakers that come with their own amplifier built in, or get passive speakers that will require a standalone amplifier. Since we suggested a pre-amp, we are going to stay consistent and recommend an amplifier and passive speakers as the way to go.
Speakers are another area that we are more than glad to help you with! Whether it’s speakers for your record player, TV, home theater, or entertainment center, you’ve come to the right place in town. Give us a call or stop by today and we’d be glad to go over all of our current speaker options.
Records! Vinyl! Music!
You’ve done the hard work. Now comes the fun part: Collecting music!
Now that you have your set up ready to go, you can actually go out and buy records. One of the many good things about records making a comeback is that you can buy a wide range of new and modern music on vinyl – and there’s the decades-long back catalogue of records you can enjoy, as well.
And remember: If you are having problems getting your record player set up, connected to your home entertainment system, or are just having other generic electronics problems, give us a call! We’re proud to be the best electronics store in the area, and we’re always here to help all of our customers with their electronics and technology needs!