As a kid of the 80’s and 90’s, I really only purchased 1 or 2 vinyl albums in my life time. My parents bought me one of those all-in-one audio systems which weighed about 3 oz., had a turntable, duel tape-decks, and AM/FM radio all in one plastic, faux mahogany veneered box. It was kick-ass back then but as the medium of choice changed it soon lost its luster. I am pretty sure I threw it out the window of my dorm room at the end of my sophomore year in college in pure unadulterated “frat boy”.

The funny thing is that I don’t have one audio tape left in my collection let alone a way to play them. I do on the other hand still have my original Beastie Boys “License To Ill” on wax that I bought in 8th grade. At the ripe age of 34, the short roots I grew with my limited vinyl purchases are finally evolving into a deep desire to hear music the way it ought to be heard. I am finally going Back To Wax.

A while back I put a shout out to y’all to see if you had any recommendations on how to go about buying a turntable. Since then I have been poking and prodding around the net trying to educate myself on the art of the purchase. With the dawn of the “dime a dozen” dj scene and the mp3 revolution, researching turntables is pretty time consuming. Here are a few things that I found on my own but most are from the great folks over at Audio Lab Hi-Fi in Cambridge, MA who’s patience with this vinyl dunce was legendary:

• The fewer moving parts the better the sound is.
• All the best turntables have manual tonearms.
• Direct Drive Turntables are for DJ’s who beat on their gear.
• Belt Drive Turntables are for home audio listening.
• Plastic anything is not a good sign. Look for wood or metal bases.
• Don’t go cheap but you don’t have to break the bank.
• A USB link is a nice to have but should not be the driving force in your decision.
• The Europeans know what they are doing.
• Go talk to someone IN PERSON who knows what they are talking about.
• Avoid big chain stores (i.e. BestBuy) for this purchase of most importance.

Here is the process someone goes through when they don’t know those things:

Purchase #1 - Ion TTUSB:
The Ion TTUSB is the talk of the town. It is inexpensive in relation to other home audio devices, is belt driven, has a manual tonarm, is “DJ” cool looking, and has a USB connection so you can rip your wax to MP3. The number of positive reviews out there outnumber the bad and people genuinely seem happy with this turntable. As someone who likes to test things out before making a final decision, the Ion seemed like a good place to start. The first thing I ignored was the fact that I was driving to BestBuy to make this purchase. Just try asking one of those blue-shirted commission jockies about the sound quality of a turntable and you will understand my mistake. But one must learn the hard way in some cases.

When I got home I dug into the box. Once again, I should have been worried when I unloaded the turntable and found that it weighed less than my niece 2 minutes out of the womb. It was thoroughly plastic and hollow and felt more like something made by Playskool than a home audio manufacturer. Anyways, after 15 minutes of putting the bitch together, hooking it up to my office receiver, and taking a couple of proud shots of my new component, it was time to play something. I threw on The Budos Band’s “The Budos Band II” which just came in the mail a day ahead of my purchase and was pleased with the sound. As someone so used to digital tunes, I definitely took a kick in the pants by the richness and tones coming off the grooved wonder. Hell, I was able to even quickly demo the MP3 ripping capability of the turntable in conjuncture with the open source Audacity software that came with it and it worked like a charm.

But…of course there is a but….there was something wrong. At first it was in my gut. I knew this thing was a piece of shit at heart and it bothered me. I was now in the unconscious mode of finding reasons to take the thing back. Then I saw it. The straw that broke the camel’s back and then kicked back, packed some dip in his lip and proceeded to spit on the wound for an hour had just entered the picture. The actual turntable was warped! I thought it might have been my brand new album, but no, it was the poorly pressed PLASTIC platter that came with this crap. I shut it down, walked out of my office, and didn’t touch the thing for a week. I knew it was going back. It was only a matter of when and what it was going to be replaced with.

Enter an extremely cold Saturday in December and a wonderful store in Harvard Square called The Audio Lab.

Purchase #2 - Pro-Ject Debut III/Phono USB:
I decided it was time to stop playing around. The first debacle was going back to BestBuy and I needed some help with my next purchase from a real human being. After an hour of figuring out how to use Google to find a local store that specialized in high-end audio solutions I finally found what I was looking for. I got in my ride and headed to The Audio Lab.

As someone who knows about things like high-def and surround sound I am usually pretty comfortable in a place like this. But, because of my lack of turntable knowledge I walked in a bit like a dog who was about to get reprimanded. From the moment I said in a not so confident manner, “Hello. I need a turntable” to when I walked out the door with my new purchase, the guy at Audio Lab was nothing less than unreal. He held no ego. He held no contempt for my lack of knowledge and stupid questions. He was my guide with a smile because that is what he loves to do. It was a refreshing throwback to what customer service used to be.

I started by explaining my first purchase. He smiled and said lets take a look at what we have for you. He showed me the Pro-Ject Debut III and I was inspired by its simplicity. As someone who tends to look for all the bells and whistles when making a purchase, the clean lines and lack of fluff was surprisingly appealing. It was perfect. It was as much a turntable as a turntable should be. A wooden base, a belt driven platter, a manual tonearm, and an off-on switch. What more could a piece of vinyl need. Nothing. I was sold. He motioned me over to another version of the same player and said I could have the same USB connection of the Ion built into this beauty for another $90 or so. Without hesitation I said, “I will take it” and within 5 minutes I was the proud owner of a turntable I could be proud of and would be used for a long, long time. As I was about to walk out the door he reached out and handed me a slip of yellow paper and said, “You will probably need this.” and smiled. He had handed me a list of the best Used Record shops in the Boston area (I will post this list very soon). Kick Ass I tell you!

Mr. Audio Lab, you couldn’t be more right. 10 minutes later I walked into Stereo Jacks on Mass Ave. in Cambridge and spent an hour finding sustenance for my new purchase.

When I finally got home, I gently (notice I did’t say dig into this time…there was an inherent respect for this turntable that did not exist for the Ion) opened the box and put the turntable together. This time I did not think my office system was worthy of such beauty so I cabled it directly to my home theater system in the living room. Oh how proud I was when I finally flicked the switch on the Pro-ject and dropped the needle on Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”. I definitely wish you could all have been there. I laid in the middle of my living room floor for the next hour just listening, listening like millions of others had before me, in a way that I had only imagined. I had reached the end of my journey to buy a turntable and felt a need to thank those that hyped vinyl and the importance of a good turntable.

I now understand why Vinyl is important, why it is making a comeback, and why mp3’s are great for portability but truly rot when it comes to the sound and intimacy of music. Albums are meant to be listened to as a whole, not as a bunch of singles that you can easily skip over. Albums are meant to be enjoyed, learned, explored, felt, and heard as the artists meant them to be…on Vinyl and on a turntable made by a company like Pro-ject and sold by a grandmaster like The Audio Lab.

Enjoy. I know I will.