Our pick for entry-level: Pro-ject Debut III

A friend asks:

"I really want to get into vinyl and I'm looking for a decent, entry level turntable. What should I get?"

It's a great question and one we (and I'm sure many of you fellow vinyl lovers) get asked often. After inquiring more about needs, uses, existing setup, and budget, we find ourselves recommending the Pro-Ject Debut III most often. While it does start at a higher price-point than most of the entry-level automatic, DJ, and Crosley turntables, we think it's worth starting off with a solid model that you can upgrade and enjoy for many years.

The Debut III comes in two distinct flavors and here's how they break down:

Debut III
Available for $349 - $379

Made for:

Someone that wants to get started with a simple, solid turntable and have options to upgrade their pre-amp in the future. Also, for an extra $30 on the basic black model, you can have choose silver, yellow, blue, green, red, white, and piano black.

Thinks to know:

If your receiver does not have a "Phono" input, you'll need to pick up a phono pre-amp. I've this entry-level one from Music Hall which is available here for $150.

Debut III Phono / USB
Available here from Music Direct for $499

Made for:

Someone that wants the features of the Debut III, doesn't want to think about pre-amps, and has plans to convert their vinyl to MP3.

Things to know:

Since it comes with a built-in pre-amp, if you want to upgrade to a better pre-amp in the future, you may be better off starting with the standard Debut III and an entry level pre-amp.

If you have any suggestions on brands and models (that are generally available) at lower price points that you have found to work well, let us know in the comments.

Comments

[Nathanrtaylor]

Also recommended are the Music Hall turntables. Pro-Ject manufactures them for Music Hall, so they are almost the same specs. Cartridges are slight upgrades from the ones that come on the Pro-ject Debuts, but the differences are minimal.

I am very satisfied with my Music Hall.

[jim]

Wow...entry level is still some serious dough. I must have a sub-sub entry level one...