I was going to tell you about all the great websites that detail how to setup a turntable, but I couldn’t find any. I looked and looked, and Google issued up a lot of text-heavy, poorly organized sites that did little to really explain the basics of setting up turntables. I did find a lot of references though to a DVD released last year called 21st Century Vinyl: Michael Fremer’s Practical Guide to Turntable Set-Up [@ Amazon.com & MusicDirect]. It was put together by Michael Fremer who you may know as a vinylist from the pages of Stereophile magazine. The three-hour video includes a whole host of information – including a lot of specifics about setting up turntables. He walks through the setup of three different turntables (Pro-Ject RM-5, Rega P5, VPI Scoutmaster) that one can generalize on and use in your own setup. Reviews of the video are here, here, here, and here. Based on what people have said, it sounds like a pretty thorough treatment of the topic of turntable setup. I think a DVD too would do more for showing you the setup process than the spartan text-only websites I came across. Personally, I would like to see a nice treatment online — complete with photos and/or illustrations, etc. There’s a need. Anyone game?
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Thanks for referencing my turntable set-up DVD. There's also a 21 page PDF file on the DVD-ROM section of the disc that goes into greater detail about certain aspects of turntable set up. Everyone seems to love the disc, which has sold more than 5000 copies and continues to sell. Mr. Stout is correct about one thing: nothing beats seeing the process and I took great care to make sure that all aspects of turntable set up are covered in detail and are easy to see.
Thanks, Mr. Fremer. I'm looking forward to watching it. There's definitely a dearth of good information on turntable setup.