Advice for a new analog system


Hello everyone and thank you in advance for your advice.

I have made the decision to venture into the magical world of vinyl.
I was considering a VPI Avenger Direct (round 34K) turntable and CJ or Audio Research phono preamps.
As a cartridge I have in mind the Clearaudio Davinci.
I have been doing some research on Agon and apparently there are a lot of users who don't like VPI and considering the investment in the turntable I imagine there must be many options. 
I prefer the short cut of a single investment for life.
My system is Mc C1100, mc 1.25Kw and Dynaudio Evidence Platinum speakers.

What turntable and system would you recommend, I appreciate your advice.

 

ftrot

Showing 1 response by jonwolfpell

A thing to keep in mind w/ turntables & most hifi equipment, there are good & not do good examples of just about every design & school of thought. Direct drive, belt drive, massive platters, suspended plinths,etc. There’s lots of opinions on all of this ad Infinitum.
 

If you want a really good turntable / arm combo that in my experience is trouble free & essentially set & forget, try a model from Basis. Handmade in NH for many years, sound excellent w/ rock solid, high precision build quality. Find a dealer, go listen hopefully w/ at least the speakers you have ( & hopefully similar amps too) & choose a cartridge that sounds good to you, no need to speed a fortune on it, maybe the Hana Umami Red or something similarly priced (around $4K) w/ a good phono amp probably about that price. Any dealer that’s sells Basis should also carry quality ancillary stuff. Have them set it up ( tricky for the inexperienced bit Basis offers very clear, step by step videos to do so). 

I’ve owned my Basis 2500 / Vector 4 arm for over 20 years w/ 0 trouble & still sounds excellent! Replaced 1 belt & 2 cartridges. Todays models seem like they’re a little better in many ways but essentially the same. I would suggest getting a dust cover ( a plexiglass box that fits over it & removed when using) to keep unwanted things from touching the unit( dust, kids, cats whatever) if that’s an issue.