[RUMAY408]

After rolling thru all the issues with DIY and repairing this mess, and a professional repair would cost 1/2 or more than the price of this low budget table.  So any upgrade advice for a new TT $1000-2000.

 

[Destroysall]

  After rolling thru all the issues with DIY and repairing this mess, and a professional repair would cost 1/2 or more than the price of this low budget table.  So any upgrade advice for a new TT $1000-2000.

Where did you purchase the table? If it's from a reliable dealer, just tell them what happened and see what it is they can do for you.

 

[Hi-Five]

  After rolling thru all the issues with DIY and repairing this mess, and a professional repair would cost 1/2 or more than the price of this low budget table.  So any upgrade advice for a new TT $1000-2000.

 
If you have a soldering iron it is really an easy fix.  Just get some copper braid (solder wick) and remove all the solder from the clip and see if you can slip the wire back in.  Pop some new solder on there and you're good to go.  If you've lost strands of the wire then it becomes trickier.  You'd need to trim the wire and insulation back to get an ideal solder joint.  As you said, it depends on how much work you want to put into it.
 
I was a life-long Technics 1200 user until buying a VPI Classic 1 and I haven't looked back.  Techs still have their utility, but the VPI is a lot more fun in my main rig.
 
Hope that helps,
Hi-Five

 

[RUMAY408]

  Where did you purchase the table? If it's from a reliable dealer, just tell them what happened and see what it is they can do for you.

Thanks for the feedback. 
Actually bought off amazon on a sale several years ago. No local dealers in my corner of the world. 
 
You get what you pay for in audio, Pro-Ject makes higher end TT's, but the dangling free weight is annoying and another thing that also broke on my TT and also has to be fixed.  
 
This time around, I'm going either Clearaudio Concept, Rega RP6 or VPI.

 

[RUMAY408]

   
If you have a soldering iron it is really an easy fix.  Just get some copper braid (solder wick) and remove all the solder from the clip and see if you can slip the wire back in.  Pop some new solder on there and you're good to go.  If you've lost strands of the wire then it becomes trickier.  You'd need to trim the wire and insulation back to get an ideal solder joint.  As you said, it depends on how much work you want to put into it.
 
I was a life-long Technics 1200 user until buying a VPI Classic 1 and I haven't looked back.  Techs still have their utility, but the VPI is a lot more fun in my main rig.
 
Hope that helps,
Hi-Five

 
Hi-Five thanks for the advice, I'll fix this eventually. How do you like the VPI?  I think I need to upgrade.

 

[johnman1116]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

  It's a used set, I think it's legit but you will never know how the condition is unless you buy it. Buy used carts if you're adventurous.

 
 

   
China is known for copying ANYTHING - believe it or not, there are clones of better Benz cartridges floating around, originated from China. So - caveat emptor !
 
Regarding buying used cartridges - UNLESS the seller provides a picture of the diamond, similar to what I have been posting, you are gambling. "Stylus looks sharp under tha watchmaker's loupe" simply does not cut it - period. I do ocassionally break my rule not to buy used styli/cartridges with non user removable styli - if the specimenn is rare enough to warrant procuring it at any cost given it is possible to ressurect it by any means available or the price is low enough not to be too painful if it turns out to be a dud. 
 
2M Red costs $ 100 - I am not saying the cart from the link above is a counterfeit, nor I can claim its stylus is worn out.. Whether is saving say 50$ worth taking the risk of inflictiong permanent damage to your record is the topic I have covered many times - NO !
 
One possible exception could have been getting it for the cartridge body and pairing it with a better new stylus ( blue>bronze>black ). The posssibility of fake body still looms. 
 
Suppose this was a rare vintage cart, and suppose you could get it for 50 $ shipping included. Retipping will run you from about $ 100 up to anything to about $ 500. Definitely worth for long out of production fabled for sonics cartridge - but current production readily available cart for $ 100 is not worth it.
 
There is one interesting legit source for rettiping as well as new cartridges from Thailand - RAOS. They are obviously sucessful enough in the local and not-so-local market - google "RAOS MC Cartridge" and you can then "enjoy" online translators. Never saw one in flesh - but they have Micro Linear / SAS stylus pictured as their diamond of choice ! I became aware of RAOS through an ebay auction about half a year ago from England, where the cart looked suspiciously similar to Koetsu and sold for decidedly non Koetsu price. Guinea pig volunteer, anyone ? No risk, no gain - also truism ...
 
Here you go : http://blog.sina.com.tw/raoslei/article.php?pbgid=56415&entryid=577161&comopen=1

 
 

   
The ones iv seen in the past usually get up to the $70 mark.
 
What I want to know is whats up with that fancy tube the 2m is sitting in.   mine from needle doctor didnt have that  

 
 
 

Dang it, well it sold for $50. I asked the seller where and when he purchased it and if I could get high res images of the stylus but no response so... (not sure if he could actually speak english..) no bid. Got me all nervous about this stuff
 

  If you're not in a hurry, order a Denon DL-110 from Comet Supply.  It might take a month or two but they are $85.

Read good things about the Denon and apparently it gets the AnalogueSurvivor Seal of Approval so I will look into that buy. Thanks.
Btw 2M Red > DL-110? (I know its preferences and all that but generally). Apparently its more musical with a higher noise floor? I dont know, user reviews are all over the place.
 
The 2M Red seems to be known as THE go to $100 cart though, along with the Shure.
 

  Help
 
I own a Pro-Ject Debut lll and decided to upgrade the cartridge Ortofon OM5 to the OM20 and carefully pulled out the cartridge clips and the green wire pulled off the clip.  

   Anyone have ideas about soldering or rewiring.  

This worries me greatly... Is there anything I should know in replacing a cartridge? Thought it was just plug in play lol! 

 

[dosley01]

Read good things about the Denon and apparently it gets the AnalogueSurvivor Seal of Approval so I will look into that buy. Thanks. Btw 2M Red > DL-110? (I know its preferences and all that but generally). Apparently its more musical with a higher noise floor? I dont know, user reviews are all over the place.
 
The 2M Red seems to be known as THE go to $100 cart though, along with the Shure.

 
I had the 2M Red and 2M Blue on a few TTs, the Debut Carbon, Xpression III, Rega P3-24 and Music Hall MMF-5.  Personally I didn't see what all the fuss was about, I didn't care for it much and preferred the Denon and Goldring 10x2 line.  That being said I currently run a Grado Sonata and there are plenty of Grado haters out there so take my opinion with a grain of salt.  All I know is once I heard female vocals through it, I had to have it.
 
You also might want to checkout the Nine Cartridge Survey/comparison over on AnalogPlanet:  http://www.analogplanet.com/content/nine-cartridge-survey-produces-audible-results
 
I would download the files and listen before reading the results:  http://www.analogplanet.com/content/nine-cartridges-compared-reviewed-and-voting-results

 

[dosley01]

  After rolling thru all the issues with DIY and repairing this mess, and a professional repair would cost 1/2 or more than the price of this low budget table.  So any upgrade advice for a new TT $1000-2000.

 
AudioClassics has a Marantz TT15S1 over on Agon for around 1K (Offer less).  They say it's used but I'm pretty sure it's a Refurb with a 1 year warranty from Marantz which will come with a new sealed ClearAudio Virtuoso Wood cartridge.  (I bought mine from them).
 
So you get a Clearaudio Emotion with a thicker platter, better feet and IMHO better plinth with a $849 cartridge for less than 1K.  If you want to take it to another level, Clearaudio now offers a CMB upgrade specifically for the TT15S1.  It's $500 and has to be special ordered and ships from Germany.   So then you would have a Emotion SE with awesome cartridge for $1500.
 
http://www.clearaudio.de/_en/lw_Emotion%20SE.php

 

[BLACKENEDPLAGUE]

Are ANY of the <$500 turntables worth the money, or should I stick with my SL-1500? Looking at the specs it seems that my table blows them away (music hall 2.2, raga rp1, pro-ject carbon, etc.) but maybe I'm not reading them correctly?

 

[calipilot227]

Rega RP3 and an Ortofon 2M Bronze or Black would be my recommendation. If you can afford the RP6 and the 2M Black, even better.

 

[calipilot227]

  Are ANY of the <$500 turntables worth the money, or should I stick with my SL-1500? Looking at the specs it seems that my table blows them away (music hall 2.2, raga rp1, pro-ject carbon, etc.) but maybe I'm not reading them correctly?

 
If you have a dealer nearby, go and hear the RP1 if you can. I immediately sold my Thorens TD-145 mkII after hearing an RP1.

 

[Hi-Five]

   
Hi-Five thanks for the advice, I'll fix this eventually. How do you like the VPI?  I think I need to upgrade.

 
I absolutely love my Classic, but I haven't personally heard many of the high end tables so my comparisons are to older tables I've had in the past and a "not-so-great" experience with a Project Xpression 3.
 
I've used 1200 mk3s for DJing and music production for many, many years and had never had a problem with them.  I was curious about belt-drive tables, so after reading many reviews (no local shops to audition here) I decided on the Xpression 3.  I tried it for about a week and hated it.  At the time, I felt that the sound was on par with what I had squeezed out of one of my 1200s with some KAB mods.  It just seemed so lightweight and poorly built for that kind of money (again, purely my opinion only), and I didn't feel that the acrylic platter did great things for the sound.  So I returned the table and kept on spinning my 1200 for another couple years.
 
Eventually I decided to give belt-drive another try, but this time I would go for a "mass-loaded" design with some heft given my unfavorable experience with the Project.  I settled on the VPI Classic 1 and the improvement over my Technics was literally "jaw-dropping" on the first spin.  The weight and speed of the VPI weren't like anything I had heard before.  Bass performance is impressive, tracking is superb and the speed stability seems very stable (I haven't strobed it).  I can't comment on how VPI's other tables sound, but if they have a similar signature to that of the Classic, I think I would enjoy it.  I've actually enjoyed my VPI so much I am considering trying a Traveler or a Scout in my second system.
 
One thing to consider is that the VPI allows for a lot of adjustment.  I don't feel that unipivots are inherently harder to set up than other arms, but individual adjustments seem to have more of a "global" effect than gimbal designs, and may require revisiting adjustments multiple times to nail it down, but that could just be me.  I enjoy making incremental tweaks the to my setup in order to get to the perfect balance, but if that doesn't sound like fun then you may consider a deck like the Clearaudio which can come fully set up from the factory. Judging by the reviews it should be a superb table.
 
If you have a store that is local, that is the best bet.  Do some listening and see what you like.  If not, be prepared to either resell at a loss (as I planned) or order from an outlet that would allow returns.
 
I hope that helps,
Hi-Five

 

[BLACKENEDPLAGUE]

Would it be safe to assume that before "upgrading" my turntable it would be a better idea to get a new preamp? Maybe my table is bottlenecked

 

[RUMAY408]

   
This worries me greatly... Is there anything I should know in replacing a cartridge? Thought it was just plug in play lol! 

 
I've replaced cartridges before, so I was more concerned about alignment of the cartridge and angle of the stylus.  These clips had to be oxidized onto the cartridge plugs. When they wouldn't budge I should have been more patient and slowly worked them off.  I'm avoiding this issue in the future as the needle is significantly easier to replace if I get a better cartridge to begin with.  The problem with the OM 5 cartridge is you can't upgrade the needle, OM 10 and above you can.
 

   
AudioClassics has a Marantz TT15S1 over on Agon for around 1K (Offer less).  They say it's used but I'm pretty sure it's a Refurb with a 1 year warranty from Marantz which will come with a new sealed ClearAudio Virtuoso Wood cartridge.  (I bought mine from them).
 
So you get a Clearaudio Emotion with a thicker platter, better feet and IMHO better plinth with a $849 cartridge for less than 1K.  If you want to take it to another level, Clearaudio now offers a CMB upgrade specifically for the TT15S1.  It's $500 and has to be special ordered and ships from Germany.   So then you would have a Emotion SE with awesome cartridge for $1500.
 
http://www.clearaudio.de/_en/lw_Emotion%20SE.php

I'll check that out, thanks. 
 

   
If you have a dealer nearby, go and hear the RP1 if you can. I immediately sold my Thorens TD-145 mkII after hearing an RP1.

I live in an audio wasteland.  Nashville is not too far away, but the last time I went to Hi-Fi Buys in that city the high end HP's were Bose QC15.
 

   
I absolutely love my Classic, but I haven't personally heard many of the high end tables so my comparisons are to older tables I've had in the past and a "not-so-great" experience with a Project Xpression 3.
 
I've used 1200 mk3s for DJing and music production for many, many years and had never had a problem with them.  I was curious about belt-drive tables, so after reading many reviews (no local shops to audition here) I decided on the Xpression 3.  I tried it for about a week and hated it.  At the time, I felt that the sound was on par with what I had squeezed out of one of my 1200s with some KAB mods.  It just seemed so lightweight and poorly built for that kind of money (again, purely my opinion only), and I didn't feel that the acrylic platter did great things for the sound.  So I returned the table and kept on spinning my 1200 for another couple years.
 
Eventually I decided to give belt-drive another try, but this time I would go for a "mass-loaded" design with some heft given my unfavorable experience with the Project.  I settled on the VPI Classic 1 and the improvement over my Technics was literally "jaw-dropping" on the first spin.  The weight and speed of the VPI weren't like anything I had heard before.  Bass performance is impressive, tracking is superb and the speed stability seems very stable (I haven't strobed it).  I can't comment on how VPI's other tables sound, but if they have a similar signature to that of the Classic, I think I would enjoy it.  I've actually enjoyed my VPI so much I am considering trying a Traveler or a Scout in my second system.
 
One thing to consider is that the VPI allows for a lot of adjustment.  I don't feel that unipivots are inherently harder to set up than other arms, but individual adjustments seem to have more of a "global" effect than gimbal designs, and may require revisiting adjustments multiple times to nail it down, but that could just be me.  I enjoy making incremental tweaks the to my setup in order to get to the perfect balance, but if that doesn't sound like fun then you may consider a deck like the Clearaudio which can come fully set up from the factory. Judging by the reviews it should be a superb table.
 
If you have a store that is local, that is the best bet.  Do some listening and see what you like.  If not, be prepared to either resell at a loss (as I planned) or order from an outlet that would allow returns.
 
I hope that helps,
Hi-Five

I've heard high end TT's before, but in the last 10-15 years all the audio stores around here either went belly up or they went vanilla (all the Beats you could ever hope to see).  Best Buy which has a Magnolia section has zero TT's, in the main part of the store they have DJ tables.
 
I thought the Project Debut lll was decent but not exceptional, cost was more of an issue when I bought it several years ago when that TT 1st came out.  I am now stuck with reading reviews much like the other audio gear I buy.
 
I feel I get better advice off forums like these, more real world experience, less hype than magazine sponsored web sites. Thank you.
 

  Rega RP3 and an Ortofon 2M Bronze or Black would be my recommendation. If you can afford the RP6 and the 2M Black, even better.

I am seriously thinking Clearaudio Concept and 2M Black.  So RP6 and 2M Black are also in the mix, I don't want to feel that I have to upgrade for a long time if ever.

 

[bbophead]

 

 

  Rega RP3 and an Ortofon 2M Bronze or Black would be my recommendation. If you can afford the RP6 and the 2M Black, even better.

I am seriously thinking Clearaudio Concept and 2M Black.  So RP6 and 2M Black are also in the mix, I don't want to feel that I have to upgrade for a long time if ever.

Heh.