[pyramid6]

What's a currently manufactured turntable that would allow me to grow with it. I have a used turntable, and it's a peace of crap. When it sounds good, I like vinyl. It has too much semblance (don't know how to set the cartridge, if it's even possible), the counter weight broke off in shipping (I super glued it back on), I can hear music from the needle (this may be normal), and who knows what else is wrong with it.

I basically want to start from a know quantity. I would like to get something I can learn on, and upgrade along the way. The Technics 1200 looks like you can upgrade it. Something else I should look at.

For budget, if I never have to upgrade again, anything, but I should probably keep it close to $1000.

 

[Uncle Erik]

First, I don't recommend buying a new turntable. There are loads of used turntables in excellent condition over at Audiogon and other places. The vast majority of them have been babied and will work just as good as a new one.

I assume you're looking for a deck with an arm. The best deals are usually the used Rega P3, P5 and P25 units. If you can find a P25, grab it. They come with a very nice RB600 arm.

The great thing about Regas is that there's a ton of aftermarket parts for them. You can replace the counterweight, rewire the arms (I dislike Rega's grounding scheme), replace the platter, get a new subplatter, buy a VTA control, and much else.

If you're looking to get a table without an arm, you can sometimes turn up a Michell Gyrodec around $1,200. That will be without an arm. But the Gyrodec is wonderful and has many upgrade possibilities. You can swap arms in and out easily, and you can also upgrade it to the Orbe, the top of the line. That's what I did. I got an ordinary Gyrodec and eventually subbed all the Orbe parts onto it, then added a SME IV. It sounds incredibly good. I had been obsessing over vinyl, but when I got the Orbe together, I knew I was done. It's been a couple of years now, but I haven't even thought about upgrading.

 

[ssportclay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pyramid6 /img/forum/go_quote.gif What's a currently manufactured turntable that would allow me to grow with it. I have a used turntable, and it's a peace of crap. When it sounds good, I like vinyl. It has too much semblance (don't know how to set the cartridge, if it's even possible), the counter weight broke off in shipping (I super glued it back on), I can hear music from the needle (this may be normal), and who knows what else is wrong with it. I basically want to start from a know quantity. I would like to get something I can learn on, and upgrade along the way. The Technics 1200 looks like you can upgrade it. Something else I should look at. For budget, if I never have to upgrade again, anything, but I should probably keep it close to $1000.

The Technics 1200 MK2 is actually an excellent choice because it basically has a 2K motor board. The stock tonearm will work for you if you install a compatible cartridge like a Denon DL-110 or DL-160. Down the road you can install things like better tonearms, power supplies, and platter bearings if you want to get really serious. It's direct drive system is also very user friendly and will spoil you against wanting to use any belt drive table.