Where To Buy A Turntable In Bangkok?

[danone]

hi - I gonna bring all my old music to bangkok. wondering if I also have to bring a turntable from abroad or if there's any specialized shop in bangkok.

tks for any hint! -

[Totster]

I reckon Insight is the man to contact.

totster

[bino]

I've seen turntables in the "High End" stereo shops at Amarin Plaza (Previous SOGO) at Chit Lom, and there is a specialist shop in Fortune City that sells them also.

You may find more information in this recent thread running among the "High End" enthusiasts.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=40631

HTH.

[Crossy]

I'll go with Bino on this one.

There are several high end Hi-Fi shops in Fortune Town, one floor down from the top, walk out of the end opposite Tesco towards the hotel. If you go up the escalator next to Pizza Hut on the ground floor you'll end up in the midst of them (most are shut mondays).

All the Linn, Garrard, SME etc etc you could ever want.

[danone]

tks for the helps so far - any other ideas?

[Insight]

That's the problem with BKK - I've never seen any low to mid range turntable for sale. They've all either been high-end hi-fi or Pro-DJ gear.

Saying that, there could well be something available in Fortune to suit your needs that I haven't spotted yet.

[Tyree D.]

TELL US MORE!!!!

are you looking for a regular belt-drive or a professional Technics 1200? What records you got? what is your story?

[redwood13]

That's the problem with BKK - I've never seen any low to mid range turntable for sale. They've all either been high-end hi-fi or Pro-DJ gear.

Saying that, there could well be something available in Fortune to suit your needs that I haven't spotted yet.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Agree with Insight. Wasted an afternoon in Bangkok last year trying to find the Rega dealer/distributor. Finally found their office and eventually got to talk to a manager who said they didn't have any turntables in stock. In fact during the conversation I began to get the feeling that they were no longer the distributor and more recently I've noticed they aren't. But I did get some good advice.

Go to Singapore!

So I did. Cheap flight and a long weekend in Singapore doing some additonal shopping and I bought a Rega P3. I was concerned about having to pay duty but the Singapore Rega dealer said that Thai customs would consider it "obsolete technology" and there'd be not duty requested. He was correct. I was stopped as I carried the box through the green exit at Don Muang and when I told the officer what I had he just waved me on through.

If you pick up a copy of "What Hi-Fi?" a Thai magazine devoted to 2 channel and home theater audio products you'd think from the adverts that you'd have a vast choice of gear, but in my experience most of the brands are MIA.

-redwood

[tallthai]

There is a shop in the Big C store on LadPrao Rd. in Bangkok that re-conditions and sells turntables as well as tibe-type amplifiers and high-end speaker systems. They guarantee evertthing they sell and they have some stuff there (like Acustic Research speakers) that make my old mouth water.

Bob

[StateSix]

There is a DJ store on RCA near the S&P store. It does look like a Pro DJ shop, but they may have some cheaper decks. If not they will be able to point you in the right direction.

[danone]

TELL US MORE!!!!

are you looking for a regular belt-drive or a professional Technics 1200?  What records you got?  what is your story?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

hi tyree - just some old pink floyd, blues, classics, spheric sounds, all the sound I listened to in earlier days ... 50 kgs in my bags, have to keep some back at the old home, waiting for the next trip ...

dont need a high end turntable, just one with an aux exit and of solid quality ...

[lomatopo]

I did notice a shop in Panthip Plaza that had a lot of older hi-fi equipment, and I did see a few turntables. I think the shop was on the very top floor, in the front, right (if one were standing outside facing the store) corner. Take the elevator (right, front near the S&P restaurant) to the top floor, walk out and it is one of the first shops on the right.

Also in the Fortune/IT Mall there is a huge shop on the 4th floor (walking away from Tesco/Lotus towards the hotel/office towers) on the right hand side. It has a big repair department, and sells misc. electronics gear and equipment. They might have soome used turntables? BTW, they have thousands of replacement remote controls; I found one I needed there for b100.

Vinyl records are heavy, have you given any though to digitizing that content? And you can always scan the jackets/liner notes.

[danone]

tks everybody

went to DJ Shop at RCA - those guys sold me a brand new Stanton - wow, what a sound.

why was I never aware of the much better quality of vinyls compared to CDs?!

amazing, cant stop listening - especially instrumentals like mike oldfield or pink floyd ... wowwowow ...

tks again for your helps!

[wrestler7902002]

Hello danone -

Just an idea - Have you thought of converting your LPs to CD format? I have done this in the past. I have a Alesis Masterlink Digital Recorder with analog and digital inputs and it works just fine.

This way you'll have everything on compact disc, including excellent copies of the cracks, hisses, and pops from the original LPs.

Just a thought.

[lovejoy]

tks everybody

went to DJ Shop at RCA - those guys sold me a brand new Stanton - wow, what a sound.

why was I never aware of the much better quality of vinyls compared to CDs?!

amazing, cant stop listening - especially instrumentals like mike oldfield or pink floyd ... wowwowow ...

tks again for your helps!

if you look out for a spray called "groove glide" it will make your vinyl sound better and protect them for ages

it also makes a big difference balanceing the tone arm and adjusting the height according to the type of headshell you use

[Upcountry]

Wow, this is an old thread. Doubt anyone will see this post.

These days, rather than make just CD's from my record digitization (though I still do that), I archive the results in FLAC format. I'm also making FLAC archives of my CD's, and I have found FLAC versions of my records on the internet (various sources). In the not-too-distant future disc based media will become obsolete.

It's mid 2008 as I write this. My old Thorens 125 MKII needs refurbishment but language problems make it hard for me to figure out what to do with Thorens "authorized service center" at Amarin Plaza. I may need to replace the old classic if it is too hard to clean up, and if that is so, I'll be looking for a Rega P3-24, maybe used if an audiophile has moved up.

Any advice or tips would be appreciated.

UC

[jfchandler]

See this prior thread on a similar subject...

[redwood13]

Lots of interest in Thorens turntables with sometimes silly prices being paid on ebay for items in dubious condition. But also because of the interest there are still parts available and websites for help. Here's a couple:

http://www.retrohifi.co.uk/thorens_125.html

http://www.theanalogdept.com/thorens_dept_.htm

-redwood

[dotcom]

That shop on Floor 5 of Pan Tip is called "Mister Balance" Owner Khun Pawdee.

I have bought lots of hi-fi off him. He will buy it back at a lower price too if you decide to leave.

Khun Pawdee has millions of dollars worth of hi-fi gear in his shop.

I am pretty sure I know every second hand dealer in BKK & Mister Balance would be my first stop. He does have some mid level turnrtable cartridge combos right now.

[dotcom]

Welcome to call me anytime for advice.

Rick 0870486630

[Upcountry]

That shop on Floor 5 of Pan Tip is called "Mister Balance" Owner Khun Pawdee.

Anybody know the phone number to this shop?

I found a website called misterbalance, but it's not very functional and doesn't give a clue about the location of the business.

http://www.misterbalance.com/index.php?cPath=21

I'm a long way from Bangkok, so it would be smarter for me to call first.

-Upcountry

[Upcountry]

I mentioned this in another thread, but just in case, I want to say here that I was very disappointed by my experience with Kuhn Pawdee of Mr. Balance (top floor of Phantip).

He charged an obscene amount of money just to make my turntables look pretty (which I did not ask for), swapped out the new belts I had already installed, and tried to con me into thinking there is nothing wrong with my tables, or that I need to just accept the speed issues I'm trying to fix. Clearly he was not interested in having his tech really try to fix them for me.

I feel cheated and I'll never do business with him again. I would be worried about the quality of some of the equipment he sells, and would not expect his warranty to be worth anything. I've dealt with crooks like this in the US. Too bad the used audio business is polluted with this kind of 'businessman'.

-UC

[henryalleman]

tks everybody

went to DJ Shop at RCA - those guys sold me a brand new Stanton - wow, what a sound.

why was I never aware of the much better quality of vinyls compared to CDs?!

amazing, cant stop listening - especially instrumentals like mike oldfield or pink floyd ... wowwowow ...

tks again for your helps!

You're correct a vinyl record is of a much higher quality than any CD, When you listen to a vinyl record the sound is more warm and richer and transparent, just listen to some jazz or classic records and you will noticed it imideately, I still own an old Revox tape recorder even that sound is much more richer than any CD.

I only use CD's for daily use, but when I have friends who are music lovers I take out my vinyl records and play them.

That's why I will take all my record collection to Thailand.

And putting the Vinyl on DVD you loose all that wonderful quality.