Tell me about your Turntable.

I see we're posting pictures, now.

 

I have two. I can't post pics until everything is out of storage (this month or next).

Garrard 401, Rega RB300 and one of the Grado Wood Bodied Cartridges (it's in my profile) all mounted in a very heavy plinth.

Thorens 124, SME 3009 Type II (not improved) and a Grado 78 Elliptical Cartridge.

I've had both for about 10 years. The 401 is my go-to reference turntable. Great for toe-tapping presence and tons of detail.

The Thorens is great at everything as well. I use it mostly for 45's and 78's.

 

Great pic!

 

My Acoustic Research "Legend"...years old,but even when fitted with a humble Audio Technica cartridge it still delivers a wonderful sound! Talking about cartridges,any recommendations for an alternative to the A.T that would not break the bank? Never heard the turntable with anything else!

 

2M red or 2M blue

 

Thanks Good Guy...Would the Ortofon sound radically different to the Audio Technica? Would it be possible to indicate in what way?

 

Your pic shows what seems to be a AT-95 cartridge. That's a real cheap one which I had years ago before upgrading to an AT 110 and the 2M red. I would also recommend the Ortofon 2M red which comes for a moderate price, and you'll have a premium upgrade in your sound: real bass, good mids, very good high end without harshness.

 

The 2M Red & Blue need time to break in. The Red sounds clean , not too bright , not too dull , good tracker , clear vocal articulation, taut tuneful bass gets on more with the music rather than analyse how audiophile the recording is. The 2M Blue (Which I bought Monday still breaking in but so far) is a more sophisticated version of the red which seems to do wonders for thin 80s pressings/recordings less harsh & not one LP I have played yet sounds bad & for me & deals with inner groove distortion very well. Better to have one of these than to buy a MC for under £500 & worry about delicate catelivers & fancy phono stages . If you have the money buy the blue . If you are starting out get a red & buy more lps .

 

Thanks...I was very aware that the A.T was at the "low end" of entry level...thank you both for offering up alternatives!

 

I'd like to give my suggestion of buying a used Shure N91ED from the auction site. I bought one a month ago for $25.

Then buy an EVG stylus from stereoneedleslady for $12.95 shipped from the same auction site. This is actually a high quality stylus made by Jico. I guarantee this combo will sound better than your A.T., all for the price less than $50!

 

I like idlers

 

That's a beautiful P9...simple, elegant and musical...

 

Here's my custom/DIY Lenco L75. I built it using a custom "PTP" top-plate from a seller at Lenco Heaven. Tonearm is a Jelco SA-750E, and I use a Denon DL-103R cartridge in a Midas body. It sounds absolutely fantastic.

 

I've got a DUAL CS 5000 that I bought new back in the late 80s. I bought it because I wanted a three speed table. Right now it is functioning well, but it was very trouble prone for the first several years of ownership, with it frequently loosing a channel or the quartz speed sensor messing up, so that it would not engage. Parts are now becoming so hard to come by, if it fails again, I'll need to replace it.
I run an Ortofon OM 40 on it. I can just swap out the stylus tip to play 78s, though if I really want to do it properly, I've got a Grado mono cart, which I also prefer for 45s. The 40 is not a good match for styrene.
I will say it is one of the prettiest tables DUAL ever built, and I've been told the best sounding, though it was technically a step down from the Golden 1 (which I've never even seen in person). I do have a Golden 1 clamp, though.

Mine's just like this one, though I could use to refinish my plinth.

 

Between TTs at the moment, just sold off a recent vpi classic 3, disliked the dry clinical sound of it. My MC carts deserves better and have had better in recent years. Demo'ed a Clearaudio Ovation that is sonically more musical to me, with the cart I use, so saving up pennies in the jar for this one.

 

Beeyootiful Dual model, always liked it! Used to recommend lower models to friends, some still own them!

 

I also have one of these, Onkyo 1280-f. Mine's rather battered, but it only cost $20.00, and the carbon tonearm is still in great shape.

 

Nice deck . I have never seen it before.

 

My Garrard 401 expertly restored and replinthed by Artisan Fidelity. The tonearm is an Origin Live Illustrious Mk. 3c matched with a Van Den Hul Colibri XGP (Lyra Delos in pic now for sale if anyone's interested).

 

Main turntable is a New Zealand Aura turntable, with The Wand+ arm (also NZ), DV505 and SME3012R.


Got back into vinyl about 4 or 5 years ago, looking just to replace a worn Ortofon stylus for my Dual 505 but ended up walking out with a Project Debut 3 turntable instead. Soon upgraded that to Project 2Experience (now the office turntable), adding various other turntables along the way (including Thorens TD160, PT, VPI Scout, WT Amadeus, 401).

 

You don't have to bail out on Your Debut Carbon. In my case the hum wasn't the AC Motor. It was the cheap power supply. A Pro-Ject Speed Box S takes all of the hum away, because it completely loses the original power supply. As soon as I hooked up the Speed Box S, the hum was gone. My Brother IS an audiophile, and he bought me an Ortofon Bronze Cartridge, and I added a Pro-Ject Acrylic Platter. With these changes I love it. It does everything that I need, and the sound is markedly better than a stock Debut Carbon 2M R. I love it, the hum is gone, and I truly enjoy it every time that I spin vinyl. I love the sound of my set-up, and it is very inexpensive, although I have no idea what my Brother paid for my Ortofon Bronze Cartridge, but after he was nice enough to do that for me, I just had to go ahead and spring for the Pro-Ject Acrylic platter. There is hope for the lowly Debut Carbon. It does take an investment to do it, but You can easily transform it into a very quiet, and really nice sounding machine that should last for a long time.
Plus, I think the Black Speed Box S looks cool with it's blue lights. I for one am thrilled with my Debut Carbon. It just requires a few upgrades. Plus Scott Genaw at Listen Up in Denver knocked some money off of the price of the Speed Box S, because I told him that I didn't want both of us to go through the hassle of multiple returns until I was lucky enough to get a stock Debut Carbon that was quiet.
Sometimes the problem can be due to the wiring in Your house! Don't give up. You CAN have a quiet Debut Carbon, but it does cost You between $99 and $129. However, that is money well-spent IMHO.
GOOD LUCK in whatever You decide to do!

 

I'm willing to try this though no one should have to. What's the point of buying something if you just gotta upgrade it to get it working like it's supposed to? This is the kind of crap that discourages younger listeners like myself from getting into real nice sounding stuff. Some of us just can't afford a lot of this stuff.

 

Entirely the reason I've stuck with vintage direct-drive turntables. Like the Technics SL-1700, for instance... I scored one for $40, stone-mint, no speed-box required. Here it is:

 

How big of a difference does the Acrylic platter make? My Debut Carbon is going on a year old and I might ask Santa for that Acrylic platter ;-) I'm also going to move up to the 2M Blue soon too. As for the hum , I never had any hum. But I did some research before my purchase & bought the Speed Box S with my purchase. FYI, from the description of The new Carbon Debut I believe the Speed Box is included now with no increase in price. I absolutely love the fact that it's upgradable at all! It's one of the reasons I bought at over others at this price point. I got back into vinyl after a 20 year absents of being mislead by those shiny discs & I absolutely love this TT ! I am going to find it hard to part with when my appetite to upgrade arrives!...If it ever does.

 

You're right, You shouldn't have to. I think that they cut corners on the power supply to enable the cool selling point, that beautiful Carbon tonearm. That's why I didn't bail on it. I REALLY wanted to keep my cool tonearm. At least when You buy the Speed Box S, You don't have to switch pulleys to move between 33 1/3 and 45. You can also get an additional pulley if You want to spin some of those cool old 78's. The next several albums that I'm buying are all 45's, so for me it was well worth the money. It 's great to hear that You aren't giving up. You don't have to upgrade the cart, because if You want, You can just get the stylus from the Ortofon Blue and put it right on Your Ortofon Red. That is a pretty nice upgrade for $75. Keep the faith, and You'll have sweet, black backgrounds before You know it!

The Acrylic platter makes the entire sound deeper and richer to my ears. Plus, You don't have to use a mat anymore. My wife has a few cats, and it seems like there was always a hair or two on the felt mat that came with the Debut Carbon. I just take a moist paper towel and give the platter a quick wipe, and I don't have to shake the mat every time. It seems like there's less static without the mat. I give the album a few squeezes with my ZeroStat gun, and I very seldom have static. Possibly the MoFi sleeves and regular washing with the Spin-Clean before I play them helps a lot too. I love the work involved with playing vinyl, and I always have. It's kingd of a Zen type of thing. I'm really enjoying getting back into vinyl, even with my bottom-of-the-list Debut Carbon.