Another turntable advice thread - $1000

P3

 

Look for decent used or ex demo Rega RP6/Neo/Exact combi.

 

If you go Rega, I recommend that you PM Taylor @GoldprintAudio. He offers good prices and service.

 

See if you can compare a Rega Planar 6 against a similar priced Technics and see which you prefer for sound, styling and operation.

The Planar 3 is an excellent sounding turntable, but doesn't have the pitch stability of the Technics, or Planar 6 with the included Neo. The Neo is a bargain and turns the Planar 3 into a much better turntable for a very reasonable outlay. A friend replaced the TT PSU on his RP6 and has been delighted with the improvement.

I don't know how close your Rega dealer is, but I've always considered fitting cartridges and if necessary a spacer the dealers job.

I can't answer for dealers today, but in the time I was a dealer the Rega account was the hardest to get and if I either sold the turntable, or the cartridge, would always install free of charge. Certainly in the UK in the 70's, 80's and 90's this was standard practice.

 

I'm in good company here!

 

If you're looking at the Pioneer PLX-1000 - an imitation Technics 1200, why not consider the original? If you are not loath to waiting, save up a little more and go for the new 1200GR, at $1700 (you may also find better deals on lightly used ones, I have seen some already).

If $1,700 is a no-no, consider the new Technics 1500C at $1,200 new. It has a built-in phono that may even be decent (it's Technics!), a tonearm auto-lift feature for those events when you fall asleep (G-d know I do), lacks the DJ pitch control dial (something I like a lot), has a 2M Red you can take off and sell (or replace the stylus with Blue and enjoy), and is a true Technics, which means it will last you the next 40 years, instead of the 10 you mentioned. Oh yeah, it also sports a removable headshell, as always, making cartridge swapping a relative breeze.

Premium Class Direct Drive Turntable System SL-1500C Hi-Fi Audio | Technics US

My second choice from your list would be the Rega Planar 3, a very distant second (but I'm not a Rega man, everyone here knows that).

 

I agree with all this but the only real liability is the lack of VTA, which I can't really understand. The Planar 3 lacks VTA adjustment too but, of course, there's a work around with spacers. And the Planar 3 has the ability to be upgraded, as mentioned above. The Sl-1500c is locked where it is, which may be fine. It's just a shame that all those KAB modifications, especially the fluid tonearm damper, cannot work on this table. I'm just saying. I love my SL-1200 mk5 and have the Planar 3.

 

Thanks @Dr. J. and @Benzion for the things to consider, lots to ponder. I’m going to visit a local dealer today and see what they have in stock.

 

The advice about the P3 and Neo is silly. Sure, they make a nice set, but really, just get the P6. It comes with the Neo for about the same price and has features that you can't get otherwise such as the heavier, double layer glass platter, the machined aluminum subplatter, and the unique plinth that greatly reduces noise.

The Ikura is an interesting looking table but it's more about looks than performance. The 7.3 is definitely the first of the Czechs to take seriously, after Pilsner Urquell of course.

Please buy locally from a small, independent audio shop. You'll be glad you did.
-Bill

 

I have one of those $12 dollar AT3600 L cartridges on my MK7 and the table does come with a headshell.....lol.

 

The version he reviews appears to have some substantial differences compared to the one for sale on Audiogon. The primary and most important difference is the tonearm.

 

A turntable's job is to spin a record at a constant speed and to isolate it from things around it that could be transferred into it. The tone arm is supposed to track the record correctly without adding to what you can hear. A direct drive turntable, though with a quicker start-up, may have a bump-bump-bump when starting up due to how the poles are arranged and how many. A belt driven turntable will have a smoother start-up due to belt slippage, just as the idler slips on an idler driven turntable. Having a tighter belt or idler can put undo stress on the motor shafts.
Decades ago, commercially speaking, we discovered that an "S" style or "J" style tone arm tracked the best. Skipping or sticking in a groove was unwanted. With the resurgence of the vinyl and turntable market, this has seemed to be forgotten about tone arms. Probably due to convenience and the added expense of making a tubular tone arm with compound curves. Making a straight tone arm shaft is much cheaper. Newer turntable manufacturers , such as Pro-Ject, are starting to catch on. Many of the better AT turntables have tubular curved tone arms. Older manufacturers who have re-entered the TT market, like Technics and Pioneer, have used older traditional designs with tubular, curved tone arms. Record changers could get by with straight-shaft tone arms because they also had high tracking pressure to compensate and keep the stylus in the groove.
The weight of the turntable is not always indicative of it's quality. The weight has often been added in the form of plates of metal inside the housing. It does help to make the turntable stay put, but doesn't do much else unless it also incorporates something to quell resonance. Older turntables were heavy, but that weight was often in the platter itself and/or the case. The heavier platters promoted smoother start-ups and also acting as a flywheel for speed stability.
For a choice in a turntable, you should consider speed stability, tracking ability and isolation. Put your money into a cartridge and stylus. With speakers as close as they are in the picture, isolation should be one of the most important attributes, especially with a high-powered system. An older, vintage TT could be a consideration. Through decades of experimentation, technology and manufacturing, the older TT manufacturers had it down pretty good. That's why Technics and Pioneer have gone back to their roots. The newer manufacturers of turntables are going through a learning curve, ignoring the tried and true of those who came before them.

 

Hogwash

 

Really nice deal on an Origin Live table and arm just showed up on USAM for $1300 in Illinois, dealer I think, for those that like the looks, I've always kind of liked them though might not fit into some classic system designs, they make some pretty nice tonearms ...




Wow, just saw the same guy put up a Art Audio Vinyl 1 phono stage too, very nice tube phono preamp with discrete resistor volume control, input transformers for MC, chrome face and the works, good price, think it was something around $2500 or so back in the early 2000s, $1200 right now, that would make a pretty nice package, just need to add a cartridge, maybe the $400 AT-OC9/III on ebay to get started, move up later. Sorry, living vicariously ...

 

Thank you for the history, It’s informative for me

 

If ever my old Technics 1900 poops out on me Steve, That 1200 would probably be my purchase.
Have fun on your hunt man!

 

S and J arms were adopted by so many mass producers because they're more tolerant of cheap or loose bearings - also, the requisite angle to facilitate cartridge mounting and alignment is taken car of more cheaply (inherent with the shape obviously) than it is with a nice cast arm (SME and REGA) additional cost(s) being the degree of manufacturing precision and tolerances required to eliminate azimuth being a concern
(that's one reason why the fancy bayonet head shells have a little set screw or similar to facilitate fine tuning of azimuth)
no advantage to any of them except one requires better bearings to give the best performance (i.e.: costs more money to make)

Many good to great arms to be had in all three basic varieties

Any tonearm, regardless of shape, is only as good as the bearings in it
I two tables - one S and one J
And then there's Uni-pivots (all I've ever seen being arrow straight) and sounding pretty darn good!
Michael

 

And...YOU are full of Hogwash. I guess you weren't around for the first tone arm learning curve. I guess that you haven't looked around recently either. Rek-O-Cut, had compound curve tubular tone arms at least back to the -late-60's(when they cost less than $50.) and still have them available. As I stated, with Pioneer and Technics getting back into the TT business, guess what style of tone arms they chose? And if you look, most of the better AT TT's have curved tone arms. Also as I stated, Pro-Ject has TT's now with curved tone arms available, and sales are exceptional, so people are catching on with the new, old technology.

 

Thanks Cory!

 

Appreciate everyone’s input so far. It’s ok to have differing opinions but no need for name calling. I don’t want my personal search for a low budget TT to lead to any hard feelings.

 

If by "commercially speaking" you mean that a turntable manufacturer came up with a marketing campaign claiming that S-shaped arms are better, then sure. A lot of people accept old marketing tropes as fact. But good tracking has everything to with the quality of a tonearm's design, construction and materials, not its shape.

 

Not add fuel to the fire, but is interesting that Project went with the S arm vs Carbon straight on their top line models.

 

False. The new tonearm fluid damper fits, and KAB is working on a host of other upgrades.
kabusa on Twitter

 

All true, but I must say that the S arms are much easier for the novice to align correctly.