Vinyl today: turntable, preamp and the way into the streaming system

Records are selling in the millions again, and in many living rooms a turntable stands next to the streaming speaker. The technology is old, the questions are new – above all how vinyl fits into a modern system.

Why vinyl

Not for the sound alone – good streaming is measurably cleaner. Vinyl is a ritual: choose the record, put it on, listen, turn it over. Anyone who listens to music as background does not need a turntable. Anyone who wants to hear albums from start to finish will hardly find anything lovelier.

The turntable

For getting started we recommend Pro-Ject (Debut series), Rega (Planar) and Audio-Technica: turntables that treat the record gently and run for years. Technics, with the legendary SL-1200 and the SL-1500, stands for direct drive and robustness; Thorens for the classic with Swiss roots. We advise against cheap units with built-in speakers: they wear the records out.

Belt drive is quiet and widespread in hi-fi; direct drive gets up to speed faster and is the legacy of the DJ world. Both are good; more important are a clean tonearm and a decent cartridge.

The preamp

The signal from the cartridge is tiny and has to be equalised and amplified. That takes a phono preamp: built into the turntable, into the amplifier or as a small box in between. Many modern turntables have one inside and can be switched over. MM cartridges (moving magnet) are the normal case, MC (moving coil) the finer and more expensive tier with its own preamp.

The way into the streaming system

This is where most people get stuck. Sonos, Bluesound and other systems have speakers and amplifiers with a line input; the turntable with preamp connects there, and the music plays over every speaker in the house. At Sonos that is the Era speakers with adapter, the Five and the Amp and Port amplifiers; at Bluesound the Node and the Powernode amplifiers. Bluetooth turntables work too, but compress – the wired connection sounds better.

Care

A carbon fibre brush before every play, a record cleaning machine for the collection, clean the stylus regularly and replace it after a few hundred hours. Store records upright, not in the sun. That is the whole effort.

The system to go with it

Anyone who takes vinyl seriously listens over a stereo system: two speakers and an amplifier, ideally with streaming built in. An active speaker pair with phono input – from KEF or Dali, for instance – is the compact variant. And a place for the collection: a sideboard with suitable compartments is part of the planning, not of chance.