Best turntable $500

I'll keep my eyes open, though I think the days of $10 turntables are over. Ah, the 1990s… What a decade.

 

Not on this site.

 

Cheapo Crosley even gets bested by low bitrate MP3, XM/Sirius Satellite Radio, and even proper AM done right.

 

Actually, it's interchangeable headshells. You can have multiple headshells with a different cartridge mounted in each. After each cartridge has been properly mounted in each headshell, when you swap them, all you have to do is re-balance the tone arm, setting the correct tracking weight and re-setting the anti-skate to the cartridge you are using. It only takes about 30 seconds to do the swap and re-setup.
Why different cartridges? You might have a dedicated one for playing mono records. If you play 78's, a dedicated cartridge is a must. If you play 1980's records or older, many were cut with the assumption that they would be played with a conical stylus. Later records, especially those considered audiophile, an elliptical stylus is best.
Oh, a good turntable has an adjustable anti-skate and most have a built-in viscous cuing feature.
What features you are looking for should be based on how you want to play records. Turntables may be fully automatic, auto return and shut-off or fully manual. There are numerous vintage turntables out there where you can put a stack of records on, start it and walk away. It all depends on what you need.

 

Objectively, of course. But there is a lot of hype around turntables. Lots of peer pressure to repeat "vinyl sounds better than digital", too.

The hype can overwhelm the actual sound. The result is that I've seen folks have major turntable problems, and still be giddy about the sound.

So, lesson to the OP, when you get your turntable set up, compare it to digital, objectively, using a well mastered cd. If you're not 100% happy with the sound of your vinyl rig, ask more questions on this forum.

 

It's not hype either. I have heard better sounding transistor radios, than a cheapo Crosley. You somewhat get what you pay for. There's one Crosley turntable which is worth owning, their C20 which is built by Pro-Ject, and a few other decent models.

 

Always in the back of mind- "Am I buying into the hype?" is it hype? I don't know really, nothing to compare it too. Yesterday I was listening to Art garfunkel watermark on cd and thinking- this really sounds great-wonder how it would sound on vinyl then? Once my interest is peaked its hard to turn it off ( with me anyways). Like an itch you need to scratch.

But yes to your point, trying to be level headed about this, do some research, not get caught up in any type of so called "vinyl" frenzy. Maybe I will love it- who knows.

 

CD at it's best can be very good. But who is making CD players which are good to great sounding today, reliable, and who's lasers will last longer than 18 months?. Denon, Marantz, and Tascam professional players are all dying on me at work in 2 years or less on recent models. Not from surges or abuse. Lasers die. No DVD or Blu-Ray model suggestions. Must not take 10 minutes to load a disc. I love CD done right, there are discs I love the sound quality on. But 9 out of every 10 discs don't make that cut for me. Art Garfunkel's Watermark on CD is good, but Paul Simon's Greatest Hits, Etc is among the best CD masterings of the era, to mention a CBS title done right. I do my research better than many. This and your post are getting off topic here. As best under $500 turntable is what our thread starter is interested in. That said, you do make some great points.

 

thats sucks about those brands of cd player not lasting. scary really. I am currently using an Emotiva ERC-3. fingers crossed it won't follow the same fate.
But back on track-doing some more research and it seems to make sense to up the budget a bit on a turntable. Its till boggles my mind on how high the prices go for turntables. Oh well, $30,000 turntable is not in my future for sure.
Reading around the web, it seems Rega, technics, pro-ject, u-turn and denon are the names that keep popping up for turntables. I suppose this would be a good starting point?

 

I agree that bumping up the budget above $500 makes sense. In the long run, I also think our poster will be happier he did in the long run. I am going through this situation myself. I am trying to upgrade my main turntable to something better suited for my needs, and keep this one as a standby spare.

 

The thing is, CD has had hype too... and plenty of it.

Anyone not remember 'perfect sound forever'? Yeesh.

Yes, the 'hype train' for CD has slowed in recent years, thanks to newer and more convenient digital formats and vinyl's 'retro-cool'. But, c'mon now. There's at least as many ppl out there who think digital always beats analog rather than the other way around... if not many more.

Hype cuts both ways, and nothing has ever had as much hype as CD did up until fairly recently.
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agree, no format is perfect. I think we can all agree on that. great mastering on vinyl, cd, sacd always rules. I honestly think its great there are so many options available to listen to music. Now finding the best version of a particular piece music-thats a whole other story.

 

There's also the C10, the Debut III sibling. $242 at Amazon. At $234 (shipped), Uturn can offer the same cart, with mdf platter and no tonearm lift. If my son, nephew, neighbor, etc had a firm $250 budget and there were no other special, open box kinds of deals, I'd tell them to give one a try.

That C20 seems nicer than anything Pro-Ject or Music Hall offers in the range. $411 at the moment at Amazon.

 

Everyone has a different budget but invariably, whenever someone posts for advice within a certain budgetary level, they are up-sold into a higher bracket.

I thought this thread provided a lot of really great options within the stated budget. I am currently operating a turntable within the stated budget and I couldn't be happier. Perhaps ignorance is bliss but I started out with a true entry level Sony TT and moving to my current Pro-Ject Debut III was a true revelation. I am ecstatic with the performance of my system. Yes, spending more might have been an even greater revelation but OP is breaking into the TT market. Why break the bank at the same time when there are truly some terrific choices well within his price point? A later upgrade is always possible.

 

May I make a suggestion which helps you stay within your budget, but nets you better. Plenty of entry to middle level Rega and ProJect owners upgrade incessantly. Their little used middle of the line nicer turntables, can be had for the price of entry. Many get traded up for higher end. You might have a chance at nicer than you normally could have had for the same cash outlay, which would serve you better. Talk to your dealer, also, light use demos with warranty (full warranty) can be had at big discounts. Something to consider on your budget. Bang for the buck done right. Get one notch above entry, and you usually can upgrade sensibly a notch too if desired later. And still be sensible.

 

Get that at discount, a nice entry bargain. It's also very decent. Comes with a very nice cartridge (which is upgradable by stylus change if Ortofon OM). A nice turntable for little cash outlay bought right. A C10 is a good buy.

 

Crosleys entire C series line appear to be good performers. The C6 is a bargain and has many Pro-ject parts. The C10 and C20 are Pro-ject tables. The C100 and C200 are Hanpin tables. I wanted a direct drive so I opted for the C200. I own 15 cartridges and headshells. The C200 S arm makes the swap easy. I've been using it for 4 months couple hours a day and have zero problems. It is a budget turntable yet it does everything great. The C200 is actually a Hanpin DJ-45 table. You can get all the design specs on their website and they're very good for a $170 turntable. My only complaint is the cue lever is very close to the tone arm lock lever. Its too easy to bump the arm lock into the locked position. Hanpin electron... check their site, very interesting and informative.

 

thanks again for more options, appreciate it. seems one of the suggestions the C10 got a good review from Steve Guttenberg
An audiophile-worthy turntable for a budget price

 

I using a BeoGram 9000 with a SMMC 2 cartridge driven by a rogue magnum III going through Kefs ls 50 speakers. I have been using linear tt starting with a Rabco in the 70s with an Audio Technica stylus Shibata cartridge.

 

Not a bad idea. Or, at least give Dave @ Vinyl Nirvana a call and talk with him. After talking with Dave a couple of times, my niece bought one of his starter packages. It was a little more than her initial budget, too. But, after doing her research she decided to buy one of his restored TD-145 tables with a cartridge. And, in full disclosure, I bought my TD-125 MK II from VN. I'm a big fan.

 

For $500 I’d go with the Fluance RT85.

 

That about the best deal you are going to find for an entry level "real" turntable.

 

But you may not be able to easily change the cartridge on a Planar 1. It has a stop on the arm tube to effect easy setup with the supplied cartridge. Spin the counterweight till it stops and tracking force is set. All bets are off with another cartridge.

You can't add an external PSU until you move to a Planar 3.

The OP is far better off with a UTurn or Fluance. There's nothing impressive about Planar 1.

 

If you’re in Mass there are plenty of places to look besides BB, although they do have the Project line in some Magnolia locations.

There a bunch of spots in Cambridge, Natural Sound in Framingham, a couple in Nashua, and one in North Attleboro. My personal experience in these stores is limited except for NS, and they sell far more expensive models, but many carry the entry level lines. Presumably this is to start 5he addiction for when you want to upgrade.

 

However, for many will need repair to some degree. And specialist ship it far off repair. Hard to find parts, single source cartridge. Nice when working. But keeping a BeoGram playing records is much like keeping a 30 year old plus Saab automobile on the road as a daily driver car. I understand why you love them. I love many things about their design, arguably the ultimate automatic. But not for the faint of heart far away from the support systems (Amina Audio, SoundSmith, and their ilk who specialize in them).