Pimp Your Crosley! How to make your suitcase record player less terrible.

Рет қаралды 8,504

Жыл бұрын

If you wind up with a Crosley Cruiser, Victrola Journey or similar cheap “suitcase style” portable record player, follow these steps to turn horrible into acceptable.

Пікірлер: 46

@vwestlife Жыл бұрын

As equipped from the factory these suitcase players track at around 5½ grams, which is correct for the CZ-800 cartridge they come with and will not destroy your records as long as you replace the stylus when it's due. Too light of a tracking force actually causes more damage than too heavy, due to skipping and mistracking. The Banpa cartridge is heavier so you may need to add a counterweight to stay within the recommended 4 to 6 gram range, but I would not go below 4 grams. Also what it calls a 78 RPM stylus is actually a mislabeled 0.7 mil LP stylus (1 mil = 1/1000th of an inch, not a millimeter). To get a true 3 mil 78 RPM stylus, replace it with the Pfanstiehl 274-DS73 stylus.

@bavideomaker29 Жыл бұрын

I feel like I just saw a celebrity! Love your videos…from NJ

@lincmerc1581 Жыл бұрын

@@bavideomaker29 VWest is in the house!

@GamingKing545 Жыл бұрын

My vpi signature 21 is better than a crosbley shitbox

@jro7075 8 ай бұрын

that was a stupid reply anybody who knows about turntables knows that how can u compare a vpi turntable which is a great TT to a crosley type record player come on ,such arrogance !!!!!@@GamingKing545

@draxoronxztgs1212 3 ай бұрын

So the logic in this case is like, the lighter you drag your keys over a lacquered surface, the deeper the damage will be? My vintage turntables use styluses made for a tracking force of 1,8 grams, therefore are equipped with something called Anti-Skate for that reason, that should be set to the same number as the tracking force to ensure no skipping. These modern and old cheapo record players you are reviewing doesn't have that feature as they are garbage from the very start by the factory, as you did said in one of your videos they were rather made as an afterthought which means the manufacturers have cut them down in quality to the lowest possible point to be usable at all, that later became the new standard of making record players in. Put an anti-skate calibration record on it and I bet the tonearm will go inwards or all over the place, also making a new groove at the same time into the record due to the heavy weight of the stylus.

@Gigidag77 Жыл бұрын

The Banpa 78 Stylus is actually not a proper 78 stylus. it's just an LP ruby stylus for some reason. But you can replace it by a genuine replacement flip stylus from Pfanstiehl and such.

@ssnoc 5 ай бұрын

You are the only person that explained why the sound is thin because more bass would make the needle skip when they made it - makes perfect sense, but still sounds like thin crap :)

@pcallas66 Жыл бұрын

The old Califone school record players had a decent amount of bass for what it was and had a much larger speaker with no impedance mismatch. It didn't have the skipping issues that you said would probably happen. The insulation is a great idea and changing the cartridge is a great idea, too. I'm glad they're compatible. One of the issues that I've seen is if the amplifier is very powerful underneath is some level of feedback. Cool video.

@KRAFTWERK2K6 Жыл бұрын

yeah there are a lot of older compact suitcase turntables that in many cases sound WAYYY better than these modern day counterparts.

@acerbt 9 ай бұрын

4 grams is actually a tiny bit light for that cartridge. Usually around 5-6 grams as the optamal range.

@JHrndz209 6 ай бұрын

Just stumbled on the channel. Love the demo with lynch hung. I have Season of da sicc on vinyl but now i need to find 24 deep. I own the cruiser and have it in my bedroom setup along side my Sony receiver and Sony CD player. I have 2 sets of speakers and the receiver has a A and B channel to switch from either set of speakers or use all 4 at once. I think the Crosley sounds good enough with this set up i own but i have upgraded to the dimond stylus and added cork and rubber pads to the feet of the cruiser to help with vibration and reduce some of the humming. These things get a bad rep but with some decent equipment you can get some good sound and enjoyment out of these players.

@johnruschmeyer5769 Жыл бұрын

I'm wondering if the bass could be improved by adding a bass port or a passive resonator to the bottom of the suitcase. Probably instead of the insulation.

@KRAFTWERK2K6 Жыл бұрын

Not only do the speakers have little to no low bassy frequencies, the actual phono preamp inside does not even have a proper impedance and EQ for the Pickups it uses. So even with the headphone and Line Out you still get a pretty flat and dull sound. Even if you switch the pickup cartridge and stylus with something better. I have yet to figure out how to bypass that and modify with something selfmade but sadly the Phono-preamp and bluetooth and USB audio is usually all on one single PCB inside this thing.

@richardblayneamerican8149 Жыл бұрын

I experienced a strange phenomenon with a Crosley turntable, maybe someone can explain. Yes, the so-called speaker sounds terrible. But when I plugged my headphones into the jack, the music sounded amazing. How is this possible with such a low-end cartridge? Are we being conned when we pay big money for high-end cartridges? Thank you. Sorry if you explained this in the video, I'm watching with no sound right now.

@Lukronius Жыл бұрын

To answer your question, yes, in many ways people are being conned about almost every possible aspect of the audiophile industry. Cheap cartridges can sound absolutely awesome. Expensive cartridges that haven’t been precisely aligned and calibrated can sound worse than something 1/20 the price that just works. So much of it is silliness. “You didn’t spend $5,000 on the power cable to your amp? How can you even listen to music?” These are literally the types of attitudes out there today, based on nothing but placebo and snobbery. There is terrible info in this video all over the place. You don’t need your stylus to track at some super light weight, no matter what. You need it to track at the right weight for your specific cartridge! Also, diamond styli don’t sound better, they last longer… that’s it! I’m glad you’re enjoying your records!

@christianchapman9799 Жыл бұрын

Basically answered it yourself, the built in speakers are terrible. I have something similar to this but an all in one for cassettes, CDs, and vinyl but same setup for the record player. Use it just for the pretty beat up thrift store finds. Some powered speakers into the headphone jack can make it sound pretty decent compared to the built in ones. Good thing to keep in mind, not all speakers are made equally

@thedinobros1218 Жыл бұрын

I have that same Victrola model.

@eugenegenerally3208 11 ай бұрын

Your kid listens to Brotha Lynch Hung? that some pretty hardcore stuff for a 7 year old lol

@johnb6723 Жыл бұрын

You'd get significantly less playing time with a ruby stylus than you'd get from a sapphire. 15 hours playback is all that can be expected - about 16 to 40 LP sides, depending on the duration. A good nude diamond stylus would give 50 to 100 times the playing time of a ruby.

@thomasmichaelbass 7 ай бұрын

Anyone know if an acrylic slip mat will help

@nickc9092 Жыл бұрын

I was Interested to watch this video. As I have done the same modifications to my Ion Lp Player. Which is the same turntable set in a wooden base as opposed to a suitcase. I also added a counterweight and Bampa cartridge to the turntable. I run it through a Douk Audio valve amplifier into JVC bookshelf speakers. A couple of other tips I would recommend are to put a cork mat on the turntable and if possible earth (ground) the lp player. This will substantially reduce the background hum from the speakers. The overall upgrade in the quality of the audio is amazing. (Even if I say so myself 😉)

@620film Жыл бұрын

NICK C, I have an Ion that hums (badly,) too. I know you connect the one end of the ground wire to the amplifier, but where did you attach it on your Ion? Thank you, in advance.

@nickc9092 Жыл бұрын

@@620film Hi Michael. I used the the USB port to ground the record player. I have no intention of converting any albums to mp3 files. Therefore I plugged one end of the USB cable into the USB port on the back of the Ion. I snipped off the other end of the cable to expose some wire. Which I then spliced into a longer length of cable to reach the nearest ground point. I used the fixing screw of the wallplate of a plug socket (power point?). Hope that helps. Good luck 👍

@mikequinlan9585 7 ай бұрын

I have a Crosley Anthology with MM styles, I’m experiencing a problem where it sounds like the TT is slowing down then speeding up during play back. It makes the notes very muddy. I have tried refitting the belt, as instructed, but that doesn’t seem to fix the problem. What’s sucks,is there are times when it sounds good so if I can correct this problem I would like this turntable. Does anyone know what might be happening?

@SkiBumMSP Ай бұрын

I know this is 5 months later, but is the record you are listening to slightly warped? I've heard that if the record is slightly warped, it can rub against the bottom the lid, thus causing the slowing down and speeding up.

@jungleman4921 Жыл бұрын

Can fitting larger speakers help with sound ?

@KRAFTWERK2K6 Жыл бұрын

yes and no. It all comes down to how good or bad the Phono-preamp Board is inside these things. And there are so many different models it can be either hit or miss.

@LumpyOatmeal Жыл бұрын

Talking about how this is for you 7 year old son, then throwing on Brotha Lynch Hung absolutely sent me lol

@GodzillaKaijuGK 5 ай бұрын

I took the lid off mine lol

@theartofwanderlust Ай бұрын

Your fixating, what do you think we listened to all our records on growing up in the 60's and 70's. basic cheap players without the high tech stylus. we played them over and over again, and they still played fine.

@Ecksterphono Жыл бұрын

Pawnshops 5 bucks

@EA-58 Жыл бұрын

Save money..buy a real turntable.

@draxoronxztgs1212 3 ай бұрын

Pimping a modern Crosley record player (or any kind of the cheapo class), is like pimping a Yugo car thinking you get the best out of the best to show off.😄

@andrescadabid3022 6 ай бұрын

😂😂😂

@scrunts666 Жыл бұрын

Step 1, throw it in the bin, step 2, buy a real turntable, step 3, enjoy records properly.

@cereal334 Жыл бұрын

dude im poor what do you want me to do 😭😭

@KRAFTWERK2K6 Жыл бұрын

Step 4: completely disregard the whole stylus turntable crap and get an ELP Laser Turntable. Step 5: sell your kidneys and your firstborn to afford half the retail price for one of these.

@scrunts666 Жыл бұрын

@@KRAFTWERK2K6 They are crap, don't bother.