so i recently bought a nameless/brandless player on ebay. it was cheap, i had some old records give too me so i purchased without any research into players. big mistake maybe? anyway, im not sure wether im doing something wrong, but the records seem to be playing slightly too fast, even when played at desired speeds. i have three speed settings, 33,45,78 and even on the 33, the records sound too fast. near the needle, is a round piece of plastic which can be taken off. i have no idea what this is for. anyone give me some help? is this just a case of a cheap player?
The round piece of plastic is most likely an adapter for 45 rpm records.
You don't mention what kind of TT you have, but if it's a cheap POS (no offense intended), then the speed issues are probably due to the lack of a quality motor/ speed control.
Generally speaking (very generally in fact), better TTs regulate speed better. Many TTs even have the option of an external speed controller.