I’m not a deep knowledge kind of guy. I have a really wide, shallow pool to draw from. Part of that is a memory problem. I don’t know what it’s called or if it even counts as a thing, but I can’t remember stuff. When I was a kid, I thought I was bad with dates and place names. Things that required rote memorization. 

As an adult, I can see there’s more to it. I can’t remember the name of my favorite author a lot of the time. People I meet are just familiar faces for a very long time. I have a coffee grinder I use twice a day – no idea who makes it. Two bikes I adore, but I can’t tell you what kind they are.

It’s a real hurdle when trying to get into a hobby. I have to look at my turntable and speakers to tell you what I ended up with.

There are, basically, two ways to make a record player system work. Turntable into preamp into amp into speakers or turntable into powered speakers. I took the second route. It’s cleaner, simpler and easier for someone without the knowledge or interest to develop that knowledge.

The major drawback is upgradability. I can’t swap out one of four major components (not counting lots of other pieces not captured in that chain that are also major components) to upgrade the system piece by piece. If I want better sound, I’m going in for a pretty major upgrade. 

There’s also something to be said for the way it used to be, which is largely that first component chain. You can find old, excellent speakers and recreate a retro vibe. You can get deals on stuff that needs work or skills to make it shine. With my setup, I’m pretty reliant on the market rate and having other people fix what’s broken.

All of that is preamble to the setup. I have a Denon DP-300F turntable with the stock stylus and a pair of Kanto YU6 speakers. The whole thing is one a single shelving unit (frowned on) and the speakers are on monitor pads to absorb the shakes they would otherwise pass along to the turntable.

Apart from the shared surface, the major drawback to my current setup is its location. Space is at a premium in my home and the speakers are playing a few roles, so they need to be near stuff. I can’t just carve out a niche in my listening room or anything. 

It’s all crammed in with the TV so the speakers can be used for a rare movie night. I also wanted the setup to be in a commonly used room so we could actually enjoy the music, instead of making it some special, reserved thing. 

Unfortunately, the turntable is tucked kind of behind the TV? Also there’s a pretty substantial PC on the floor in front of the whole thing, limiting the space to address the turntable from. Plus, my kid’s little table is in that corner, too. So, you know, Lego mishaps abound.

Space issues aside, it’s great. I can get to and use it. Now that I’ve gotten the monitor pads in, I can crank it up without creating feedback/distortion. I just got all my albums (30ish) into outer sleeves and I’ve started pulling the actual vinyl out into static-free sleeves to store alongside the cardboard inside the outer sleeves. That makes getting a record out much easier, but also lets me keep everything together and protected.

I’m a fan of hype stickers (the little things on the shrink wrap telling you why this album is cool) and I’m trying to keep any record with them in the original shrink. Pulling inner sleeves out of the main sleeve is a miniature nightmare when the shrink is on, so storing the discs outside of that sleeve is a trouble saver.

On my list of things to get. A brush for cleaning off the vinyl before I play it. A slipmat for the turntable. I have no idea what they’re supposed to do, but they’re cheap and everyone seems to have one. A thing to display or hold the sleeve for whatever’s currently playing. I’m propping the sleeve up in front of the TV right now – not classy.

Right now, I’m listening to Spotify. Having the speakers in the main living area and having a Bluetooth enabled pair has been a real boon. Even though It’s not the same as listening to the work on vinyl, hearing a really rich version of The Mix-Up is pretty amazing.

As I said before, I’m just not a person who’s going to get into the weeds of an audio setup, so my focus has to be on practicality. How can I generate the most happiness out of these wires and magnets? Beastie Boys is a good answer. To almost any question, really. What’s cooking? Beastie Boys. What’s your weekend look like? Beastie Boys. Do you know why I pulled you over? Beastie Boys? No, sir – your dog is driving.

Someday, I’ll expand. Or have a better plan for managing all of these pieces in one small spot. Until then, I’ll enjoy The Rat Cage pumping out of the corner.