(3) Turntables, which one would you pick and why?

Technics 1200G. High quality build direct drive in a classic design.

 

There is no Rega RP9. Did you mean the old P9? Or an RP8....RP10?

 

wow kazu, this is an interesting point of view coming from a product of your homeland. well noted. but i have heard the old SL 1200 series tables and always thought they sounded great and their reliability is as good as it gets. the new 1200 G and GR are supposed to sound better.
are you angry with them for some reason? by the way i have been to japan many times and love the people and the culture- i was in Hon Atsugi and Ebina.

 

yes, speed and explosiveness, dynamics, rhythm, pacing, etc. these are all supposed to be Rega trademarks and (I assume) the reason most people seek Rega low mass tables.
If they really do not deliver in this area, then they would be off the table no pun intended.

 

If you want to hear exactly what’s on your LPs, then the 1200G without a doubt.

If you want a little minor colouration that some mistakenly consider vinyl’s magic ‘sound’, then one of the other decks

Most important is that you enjoy what you hear - try to get a dem. if you can.

Best of luck

John.

 

Those are all marketing terms - we all know are meaningless. I'd be shocked that a P9 or RP10 didn't stand toe to toe with the other two tables mentioned. BobOKC has one and I trust his judgement.

 

Technics SL-1200G - I'm a big fan of improved direct drive mechanism and that's the also the reason why the top-of-the-line VPI model is a direct-drive turntable.

 

The Technics has received some very strong endorsement. Ralph Karsten, the founder/designer of Atmasphere electronics thinks that the new Technics table is a world class product that is able to compete with any table, regardless of price. He thinks that the tonearm that comes with the table is pretty good too. I have heard the table at shows, but, I cannot form an opinion on the sound because I did not like the overall sound of the Technics system. I think it is next to impossible to actually audition tables so that is one component that I have made choices based on either general impression (heard several good systems with the particular table) or the opinion of someone who has heard a lot of systems and whose opinion I respect.

 

argh

while they look the same and share the same name (unfortunately) they are quite different

 

I'm not sure he's such a big fan of the Technics tonearm ... Technics SL-1200MK2 Upgrades (Pictoral) ... though in this case, we are talking about a replacement tonearm that costs far more than the table

 

Yes. I am sorry. P9

 

I didn’t know they were known for rhythm and pace. Again the low mass or lower end of mid mass with the Prime and the Roksan with its unipivot really provided better dynamics. To me some of these terms are hard to define. Opinions are subjective and my comparisons are over a year old from memory at this point. The P9 (as pointed out above) and rp6 were nice tables. I dont mean to insult anyone who felt they were a better fit for them or better sysnergy for their list of parts. But I will say I really disliked the rp6. It sounded worse than all the tables we compared. I feel confident we had it dialed in right in set up. The cart selections would have been the Dynavector 5x10 or Ortofon an it just wasnt a very nice sounding table compared to the others. (In truth I’d take my old $25.00 garage sale Pioneer PL530 over the rp6 any day) The P9 was a good table, but it didn’t shine sound wise. Although good it didn’t excite me compared to the others. Think of the price points of these tables I’ve mentioned too. If a table is twice the money in my mind it should sound better in every way across the board. That just wasnt the case. If you want rhythm and pace, I suggest my own Roksan Radius table from my avatar. The Prime sounded great. It could even be the carts we were using held back some of the tables and that’s why so many really sounded similar.

For my Roksan I currently use a AT 33SA cart and before that was the AT33PTGII and before that was the Dynavector 5x10.. I do think with my own the carts held it back.

With the Pioneer pl530 going from a m97xe with jico sas to the AT33PTGII did’nt yield an improvement.. I think the table hit its limit and better and better carts stop helping. Of course it also introduced a SUT into the comparison... and who knows with the added variable.

 

In the interest of full disclosure and political correctness ( I do not want to end up being the lead sorry on the 6 PM news ) for the past fifteen years I have owned two TT's, both of which were TOTL VPI's when I puhased them. One of these was belt drive and the other is direct drive. Some may say I should recuse myself from partcipationg in this thread based on my previous dealings with VPI, but I have choosen to participate. I have heard all of these TT's at audio shows. All are clearly better than entry level TT's and all produce good sound. IMHO, the VPI Prime is clearly the best of these three becuase the technology it uses more accurately extracts the musical signal from vinyl record.

 

Wrong, but I love your spirit!

Seriously though, I personally don’t like the fiddly unipivot arms, though I suppose they have their sonic virtues.

 

VPI first, then the Rega, then the DJ table

 

not worth 2.5k more then mk2 or mk5

 

I would do nicely with one of these, makes my poor Scout look shabby. This super VPI Prime is a work of art.

 

In addition to having a tendency to run a little fast (could contribute to a reputation for pace), someone here pointed out in another thread that Rega tables have a tendency to ring and also referenced an article in Stereophile where the writer listened to the plinth with a stethoscope. The music being played could be heard through the plinth with the phonostage turned off. I read the article and it kind of stuck with me. Not that what is written on forums or in Stereophile will necessarily dictate what I do, but I am also interested in trying to get the best sound I can for the money and it's not all about listening for myself. Sometimes other perspectives help illuminate the way.

Don't get me wrong, I liked my Rega tables quite a bit, but I think I began to hear the affects of what I had read about (maybe this suggests I should turn off the Internet, but in this case I'm glad I didn't). Music sounds quick and lively (I thought especially so on my P5), it has a snappiness to that is addictive, but it also sounds a little hard and flat.

I picked up the Scout Jr. (used). It was a table that had caught my eye when it was first introduced but I didn't bite. The two tables are in the same ballpark price-wise (used Scout Jr. vs new P3 2016, which is the Rega I had at the time). Sound and build-wise though, I think you just get so much more with VPI. The lack of anti-skate really worried me but it has proven to be a non-issue (I run the my VTF a little heavy, but not by much). Dynamics, detail, weight, and soundstage depth are all better on the Scout Jr., with the same cart as on the P3. The table is a joy to operate as well - really feels like a quality product (which it is) and IMO it is entry level to the real VPI tables. I can't imagine what you get when you move to a higher end VPI with a unipivot arm. I probably won't find out, I am very happy and so there is no need to keep spending...however if one is inclined I'm sure the rewards are there.

 

Maybe not. Neither is the VPI or Rega then.

 

That Prime Signature Rosewood does look fantastic!

 

Among them, have anyone heard the real sound of 1200G???

 

I have spent quit a bit of time with a 12oo Mkii in perfect condition. It was a nice table... back then an ikura music hall wupped it’s fanny and sent it to Craigslist. The Music Hall was sent it’s way with a Sansui Vader table and the Sansui was sent packing by a VPI. It was my buddy’s system and I don’t think he’ll go backwards to try a $4000 version of a $1000 table.

 

the 1200 mk2 needs serious mods. once you damp the internal plastic cabinet, upgrade the psu if you use mk2, mk5 should be fine psu wise, and build a isolation platform, the arm is particularly suited for the denon dl103r which is hard to beat when matched with a good arm and decent phonostage. this setup would compete with much pricier setup

 

Yeah. I own one. And it’s good. I shopped around a lot, and heard ‘tables costing a lot more, and I prefer this. But that’s just one man’s opinion. If you don’t like it that’s cool! To each his own.

The OP can’t go wrong with any of the turntables he’s considering, but for my money it’s the Technics.

 

Changing my mind!
Maybe...I'll follow you...Hahahaha...