Crosley Taking On U-Turn
- Thread starter leemelone
- Start date
dynodog
New Member
If the tracking spec is still 5 grams then the Crosley will still ruin vinyl at a much higher rate than a nice old Vintage TT or a new TT from a reputable company .... I understand buying new/cheap to a point, but like buying 'white Van speakers' i don't think us older guys n gals that have been around and know what is good vs bad should encourage younger gens to buy cheap just to get into the hobby, and it encourages the crimminals and junk makers to keep working on ripping off people !!!.. My advice would be save up a little more $$ then buy better.. With the price of new Vinyl what it is you wont be doing this 
very long when the Crosley wears out the Album after 20 plays ..
very long when the Crosley wears out the Album after 20 plays ..
Worried Man
Super Member
Well said. One can buy a decent turntable for not a whole lot of money without going the Crosley route.
If the tracking spec is still 5 grams then the Crosley will still ruin vinyl at a much higher rate than a nice old Vintage TT or a new TT from a reputable company .... I understand buying new/cheap to a point, but like buying 'white Van speakers' i don't think us older guys n gals that have been around and know what is good vs bad should encourage younger gens to buy cheap just to get into the hobby, and it encourages the crimminals and junk makers to keep working on ripping off people !!!.. My advice would be save up a little more $$ then buy better.. With the price of new Vinyl what it is you wont be doing this
RobRoy
It's just stuff - but fun
I was in north central KY last summer going to one of our plants and I passed a large warehouse building on a "hidden" road that had a HUGE sign on it: Crossley
Who knew?!
BTW, Building a quality turntable is really not rocket science. You just have to have the market to bother with the R&D and manufacturing start-up - and get some good suppliers. I have little doubt that if they wanted to, Crossley could market a U-Turn killer. Anybody remember the first honda cars sold in the US? They got better.
The question is, will Crossley step up to the plate and not try to scrimp where they shouldn't, just to turn a fast buck. We'll see.
Meanwhile, that Heyday TT from Target for less than a hundred bucks is the one that is really turning up the heat, assuming it's as good as some claim it is.
RobRoy
It's just stuff - but fun
Yep. We'll have to see if they are upping their game, or just trying to make it look like they are upping their game. Time will tell.If the tracking spec is still 5 grams then the Crosley will still ruin vinyl at a much higher rate than a nice old Vintage TT or a new TT from a reputable company .... I understand buying new/cheap to a point, but like buying 'white Van speakers' i don't think us older guys n gals that have been around and know what is good vs bad should encourage younger gens to buy cheap just to get into the hobby, and it encourages the crimminals and junk makers to keep working on ripping off people !!!.. My advice would be save up a little more $$ then buy better.. With the price of new Vinyl what it is you wont be doing this
vwestlife
Super Member
Powel Crosley's claim to fame was making the first radio to sell for under $10, the Crosley Pup. In the 1920s it helped to popularize radio with the general public due to its low price -- much the same as the current Crosley company's record players have helped to popularize vinyl with the general public due to their low price.
The Crosley turntable that is the subject of this thread (the C8) has the Audio-Technica AT3600L magnetic cartridge which tracks at 2.5 to 3.5 grams.
But even 5 grams won't "ruin" your vinyl records. In the 1960s many record companies recommended a stylus pressure of 5 to 6 grams for stereo records and 8 to 10 grams for mono records.
Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
And who could forget the Crosley Hot Shot.....
RobRoy
It's just stuff - but fun
HAHAHAHA! I read your post and said to myself, "That sounds like vWestlife.". Then I looked at who posted.Powel Crosley's claim to fame was making the first radio to sell for under $10, the Crosley Pup. In the 1920s it helped to popularize radio with the general public due to its low price -- much the same as the current Crosley company's record players have helped to popularize vinyl with the general public due to their low price.
The Crosley turntable that is the subject of this thread (the C8) has the Audio-Technica AT3600L magnetic cartridge which tracks at 2.5 to 3.5 grams.
But even 5 grams won't "ruin" your vinyl records. In the 1960s many record companies recommended a stylus pressure of 5 to 6 grams for stereo records and 8 to 10 grams for mono records.
KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
And except for the WLW HiFi Radio, usually made less expensive, but decent radios. Affordable, OK quality. Not junk, but not the best either. Respectable even through the Avco buyout to the brand's end in 1957.
I hope you've not feel bullied. I don't think anyone cares what you buy, if it's a Crosley, enjoy... just having a discussion about the experiences with different brands and options. Personally after having already paid to own a Crosley product...frankly with low expectations as a flea market needle dropper, I was still disappointed and annoyed even with that. I think we all want to see that anyone who queries here gets some good advice...I have also seen and heard the Project and while not perfect it is relatively well built for the $...that perspective is based on 42 years of experience with turntables so one can take it or leave it..it's always better to learn through experience good or bad...it's always more potent to have some skin ($) in the game.
I stand corrected...vintage radios are not my area of expertise.
Not being familiar with Crosley history, but wouldn’t that be in name only? Lots of once respected US product names are now owned and being recycled by non US investors. The Chinese own it all.
Remember the well known Bell & Howell? Chinese crap is now sold here under that name.
vwestlife
Super Member
Most of Crosley's products today are made in China, but the company itself is U.S. owned and operated. They're based in Louisville, Kentucky, and the guy who runs the company collects and restores vintage Crosley automobiles:
https://insiderlouisville.com/econo...the-no-1-turntable-manufacturer-in-the-world/
The Bell + Howell trademark is currently owned by "BHH LLC" who licenses it to various companies. The consumer electronics that are currently sold under the Bell + Howell brand name are licensed by Elite Brands Inc. of New York City.
RobRoy
It's just stuff - but fun
You may have missed where I posted it: I work in Louisville. One day I was headed east about 20 miles east of the Gene Shyder loop to check out one of our facilities and got into an off the main road industrial area and there was this HUGE warehouse building with the Crossley logo in front. Nice building. If I had the time I actually thought about stopping in.
Here it is: https://www.google.com/maps/place/C...c2bb!4b1!8m2!3d38.2174127!4d-85.3421444?hl=en
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MCM_Fan
AK Subscriber
No so sure about that. I had a chance to buy a very slightly used Project Debut Carbon with an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge for $100 and passed after reading threads like this one, and several others both here and on other forums (vinylengine, etc.):
Pro-ject Debut Carbon woes, regret, and acceptance.
I didn't feel bullied by any of those posters. I considered it valuable advice from others who have used the products and are honestly sharing their personal experiences. Same as many of the posters in this thread. None of us own stock in any of the long defunct manufacturers of vintage turntables. We have nothing to benefit from you, or anyone else, buying vintage vs. new. We are all just sharing our own first hand experiences using those tables. No bullying here. Believe what you wish, buy what you wish. It's your money, not ours.
That is a nice looking turntable, has a very clean look.It's not a slight flaw in wording, it's a factual error. Wood veneer is not the same thing as wood grain vinyl, just like stainless steel is not the same thing as aluminum foil. When I read
wood veneer plinth (I see you edited your post to change the wording), I immediately did a google image search to see what it looked like. From the photos, I could see that is is not wood veneer.
My observation wasn't meant to be personal. I didn't know if the wording was yours, or you were rattling off the feature list from the manufacturer's product description.
The reason I focused on that particular "feature" was your assertion that this is a potential U-turn killer. U-turn actually does offer versions of their products with real hardwood bases:
Of course the vinyl clad Crosely costs less. I'd expect it to.
RobRoy
It's just stuff - but fun
I'm not really a fan of Crossley, but I don't think they are complete morons over there. They see which way the wind is blowing and are learning about the power of youtube videos and the publicity they can generate - good or bad. That's why I would not be surprised to see their R&D people come up with something that actually works.
vwestlife
Super Member
In 2014, Michael Fremer famously warned that "Crosley record players are very bad for this business" (the vinyl record industry). But the funny thing is, vinyl record sales have grown steadily in the years since then, with Crosley being the #1 selling brand of record players for most of that time (now eclipsed by Victrola, another resurrected brand name selling nearly identical products). Over 10 million vinyl records are estimated to be sold in 2018. So I guess Crosley wasn't very bad for this business after all.
RobRoy
It's just stuff - but fun
I don't think they are bad for the business. So I'd have to disagree with him. Heck, I was at my sister in law's in Chicago last year and she said she had a bunch of records from when she was in school and a turntable her husband got her for Christmas. She played one of the records and never played it again. She said there was something wrong with the record player. So I asked her where it was and I dug the whole pile of stuff out of her basement. I plugged it in and had to fiddle with something and got it to work great. They have not one single sound system in their house. Only TV's. So I couldn't even have her plug it into anything else. Still, I put it on the dining room table and we all listened to some of her records while we talked. She loved it.
Oh, and it was a Crosley Cruiser. I was actually surprised by how good it sounded compared to its equivalent from my day.
hbucker
Well-Known Member
I currently own the Magnavox Astro-Sonic stereo console that my parents bought new in 1967. The weight on the needle has to be at least 5 grams on that unit. I've never come across a record that it has destroyed. - fwiw
I must admit though, I'm guessing if a record were played 1,000 times on that console compared to 1,000 times on a quality tt with limited weight on the cart, the Magnavox record would surely show more wear.
My only point is that I think it takes more to destroy vinyl than is sometimes asserted.
I must admit though, I'm guessing if a record were played 1,000 times on that console compared to 1,000 times on a quality tt with limited weight on the cart, the Magnavox record would surely show more wear.
My only point is that I think it takes more to destroy vinyl than is sometimes asserted.
Djcoolray
Addicted Member
For those that want better for less, allot of people are going to be doing a U-turn putting the U-turn behind them. This might not be the best table in the world, but if a person has one of those cheap plastic plinth turntables from the seventies....this may be an upgrade. The review should have included the use of decent equipment....
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