Entry Level Turntable Guidance

My cheapo Sony table I inherited finally bit the dust and I'm ready to make the plunge to get something slightly nicer for my first actual turntable purchase. I'm looking in the $300-$500 range give or take a little. I'm really open to either new or vintage. I'm mostly incompetent when it comes to audio equipment so I leans towards new for the warranty, service etc, but at the same time I also feel like the vintage route can provide better build quality for a cheaper price. I'm located in Chicago, so there really isn't a shortage of shops that offer refurbished used equipment.

The new players I've been considering are:

Project Debut III - $325
Music HAll MMF 2.2 - $300
Musical Fidelity Roundtable - $400
Project Debut Carbon DC - $400

Do any of those stick out as being a better value? Or maybe even more importantly do any of them stick out as being worse than the others and should be eliminated from consideration? Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Techni...qid=1472318708&sr=8-2&keywords=ATLP+TURNTABLE

Or a clean-used, direct drive vintage japanese or Dual TT.

 

I've had the Project Debut Carbon DC for over a year and have never had any issues with it. It was my first ever TT and was very easy to set up and use. I found it at Musician's Friend, where I shop for all my guitar stuff, and they often have 10-15% off any item sales, so that helped me save a couple of bucks, too. Whenever I need to return something, they are very accommodating. I have since bought 2 vintage tables and they have worked out great too, once I got better cartridges for them. Best of luck!

 

well what budget do you have for also a better cartridge and phono stage? what's the rest of your stereo setup?

 

This, if you really don't want to spend as much.
I have an LP120 myself, it's a phenomenal turntable. This is my fourth overall TT and I think I'm done upgrading, at least for a long time. The only downside is that it's fully manual, but some people prefer that. I'm just glad I finally have a "real" turntable (my last one was more like a stepping stone).

 

I'd probably go with Music Hall or Project but I have experience with those. If you have a local dealer for either that's a plus.

 

Mf round table, quick before it's gone

 

I've been looking around at local vintage equipment and I think that's what I'm going to end up going with. I was curious about that MF table though. I never hear anything about it and couldn't really find much info online. What's the deal with this one?

 

Buy this:
TECHNICS SL1300 TURNTABLE WITH AUDIO TECHNIKA CARTRIDGE SOLID HEAVY »

I have no affiliation with the seller.

But in short. Get an 80's Japanese direct drive turntable and save stacks of cash.

 

If you like the Project turntables, they make a hardwood base version for Crosley, with the same tone arm and Ortofon cartridge in your price range, if you prefer a hardwood base over a plastic one.
Another good choice would be an AT-LP120-USB. It is manufactured at the same factory in China as many other turntables like the Music Hall USB, Crosley and I believe the new Pioneer 1000. I advise changing the cartridge out in especially the AT and upgrading from the budget AT cartridge to a Shure M97xe or a Stanton, keeping within your budget. It also depends what you plan to use your TT for and the quality of the rest of your system.

 

I've never had a music hall, but I wouldn't give you a plug nickel for a Project. I couldn't get rid of my Debut fast enough. Just junky construction. I would read a million recommendation on what's durable and good sounding and look at pics to find one's that please you aesthetically and then relentlessly pursue what you want on ebay and craigslist. If you search and wait like a spider, you can still score deals.

 

Just as an example, I see these for sale all the time. Don't believe the ebay hype

Technics SL-1200 »

And if I wasn't so lazy there's a beautiful Dual for sale a 2-hour drive away for $30! I want it!

 

I think that the MMF-2 is the "value" of the original quartet, unless it's the Roundtable. (I just don't know about the Roundtable. The Music Direct guys can handle that question.) The Debut III gets the heave-ho.

 

And... these are fine prices on these closeout models:

Rega - RP1 Turntable (Gray) »

Rega - RP1 Turntable with Performance Pack »

The instant upgrade to the cartridge that comes with the basic RP1 is this stylus. (The performance pack would of course be better.)

LP Gear ATN3600DLXSE stylus - Upgraded »

 

Cant go wrong with Rega but i really dont like their cartridges. I have had my P3 for 14 faultless years.

 

I was very happy with my Rega RP1 for years - even more so when I upgraded to an Ortofon 2M Red.

 

I had a SL-1300. My first turntable. I'd still go with a MH or Project.

 

I have had the MMF-2.2 since March and I have zero complaints. It's really well built and solid for the $299 or less you can get it for right now.

 

And no this upgrade, that upgrade, that other upgrade cycle. And lets you enjoy the music without that distraction. I concur.

 

I have a Project Debut III in my rumpus room system (this is for my wife to use while playing with the kids) and it has been very robust despite less than gentle handling. I like that it is easy to setup and use, there are upgrades available should you want them (cartridge, platter and more) and I think that it looks cool.

I looked through the thread and others had different opinions on this table so YMMV.

 

My feeling is that if you're not very experienced dealing with turntables, you may want to stay away from used vintage models. Of the models you've listed, I've heard the most best things about the Debut Carbon.

 

Give the U-Turn Orbit Plus a look. I just got one for my "Away" ststem and am enjoying it. Back at home I use a Music Hall MMF-7 with a Denon moving coil cartridge, that combo is in another league, but the Orbit Plus sounds very good. I chose the Ortofon OM5E cartridge after reading a rave review, and also got the buikt in Pluto preamp. All in it was $399, lose the built in Pluto and it's $329. They also offer two Grado carts as alternatives to the Ortofon. This combo had a fairly short break in of just a few hours before the sound changed for the better, I would expect additional change in the coning days.

I would also agree with the others that the MMF-2 is a very good choice at $299. For me the deal breaker was the hard soldered interconnects. I know how much better the sonics can be when using quality wire, and didn't want to be stuck with the factory cables. The difference bewtween the stock phono interconnect on my MMF-7 to the Signal Cable Silver Resolution was huge. This evening I just hooked up my Orbit Plus with the Silver Resolutuon as well, once again a big leap in sonic reslism.

 

I personally have two tables mentioned in this discussion. My primary one is the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC. After I upgraded the stylus to Ortofon 2M Blue (from stock Red) and to the Acrylic platter (from stock steel), the sound of it improved dramatically, and, for about $700 cumulatively, it can now rival tables costing twice that, easily. In the stock configuration, with the Red stylus and steel platter, it sounds fine, but nothing to write home about. One thing I must confess, though: in my experience, the Debut has reliability problems. Mine is now sent for service to the distributor in California, for the dead right channel plus hum. Main suspect - tonearm. So, while I like the sound, reliability could use some improvement, I won't lie to you here.

However, between the Debut and the Music Hall 2.2, I'd still choose the Debut, for two reasons: the DC model is hum-free (the motor is, anyway), and the tonearm is carbon. The MH 2.2 is a simpler design in every way that counts. Music Hall tables generally begin to be worth buying at the 5-series level, where they show some original design ideas, like double plinths and overall better decoupling/isolation. Plus, keep in mind - Music Hall has notoriously bad customer service, so, you HOPE your table is trouble free. My Debut wasn't, but, at least the people at Sumiko (the distributor) are awfully nice and show the desire to help.

The other TT I have is the well-regarded AT LP120 USB, mentioned quite a few times here. I bought the AT mainly to transfer my vinyl to mp3's, and glad to have it now, as the Debut is out for repairs. Now THAT one is trouble-free. It's an inexpensive clone of the venerable Technics 1200 MK II, loved by DJ's and audiophiles the world over for its indestructibility. With stock AT95E cartridge, a very decent one, BTW, the sound this TT produces is on par with the Debut in stock configuration, if not even a little bit better. I still prefer my Debut because it sounds better with the upgrades. In stock mode - I'd be pretty hard pressed to make the choice between them, and might have even chosen the AT for being fuss-free and reliable.

One thing to keep in mind - to get good sound out of either one of them, you need a decent phono preamp. Avoid using the on-board one included with the AT - it's not the best feature of it, by far. Bypass it altogether, if you can, should you happen to choose the AT.

 

As to the Musical Fidelity table - it's hard to say anything about it. For one thing - MF is known for very good designs and quality of manufacture. But, on the other hand, this table is NOT manufactured by them. They don't even include it in the product list on their own website. As to WHO makes it - I was not able to find out, as of yet. For instance, Pro-Jects and Music Halls are made by the same factory in the Czech Republic, and the quality of manufacture is generally quite good (with rare exceptions). The specs of the MF Roundtable are quite good (on paper), generally on par or better with the Debut. So, if you want to be adventurous - the risk may be quite low, and the reward may turn out to be quite high, again given MF's generally great reputation.

Someone here also mentioned the U-turn tables. They are made right here in Massachusetts, and generally get positive reviews. They're also within your budget, so give them a look.