When the time comes to buy a record player, whether this is your first venture into a decent turntable set up or you’re upgrading to a new system, of course you want to buy the best for the funds you have. Often this means buying second hand. In reality, with a turntable setup, the technology hasn’t really moved on much in the last 20 years.
Vinyl records are still a small part of overall music sales, but they’re definitely on the rise, there’s no doubt about that. Beyond that, many people have had records for years, or have had them handed down to them, or love to shop for old recordings in thrift stores – but you still need a good player.
The disc phonograph record was the dominant audio recording format throughout most of the 20th century. From the mid-1980s on, phonograph use on a standard record player declined sharply because of the rise of the cassette tape, compact disc and other digital recording formats. Records are still a favorite format for some audiophiles and DJs. Vinyl records are still used by some DJs and musicians in their concert performances. Musicians continue to release their recordings on vinyl records. The original recordings of musicians are sometimes re-issued on vinyl.