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best turntable for 500$ or less

im looking for advice on which TT for 500$ or less would sound good with my mcintosh rig.

here is the deal,im not looking for somthing for everyday use just somthing that i can play some of my lps that i dont have on cd & looks are important to me.

i dont know much about turntables or the different carts so simple is better for me.

i dont have any particular model or brand in mind but i have been looking at some denon models with the rosewood finish.

here is a lowdown of my system.

mcintosh c-38 preamp.
mcintosh mc300 amp powering mcintosh xrt 22 speakers.
mcintosh mc7104 amp powering klipschorns.
mcintosh mc 122 amp powering mcintosh ht2 sub & xl1 monitors.
mcintosh mcd 7007 cd player.
mcintosh mcd 7000 cd player.
mcintosh mr 7082 tuner.
mcintosh mq 101 eq with the klipschorns.
mcintosh mq 101 eq with the sub & monitors.
dbx 20/20 eq with the xrt 22s.
cary audio tube cd processor with both cd players.
interconnects & speaker wire are a mixture of audioquest & monster gold series.

i listen to a wide range of music like miles davis,
the mahavishnu orchestra,spyro gyra,weather report,
zappa, bb king & all the classic rock from the 70s.

i have included as much info as i could think would be helpfull in matching a TT to my system & i defenitly dont want to go over the 500$ mark beacuse listening will be very limited.

mike.
128x128bigjoe
bigjoe's avatar
bigjoe OP
693 posts
 
basement,when i got the dual the previous owner had either done a DIY or had a tech install rca outs on the back so i have allready been trying out different cables,i like that that mod was allready done for me.

according to the dealer that pretty much gave the dual to me the ortafon cart was supposed to be unused & from his own stock & he has always been good to me so i gotta take his word.

im not much for tearin into stuff & soldering stuff even though i replace my own led's & such im not experienced enough with headshells & carts to be comfortable with getting in there just yet.

im going to try your black tape tweak tonight,ive been listening to the dual for a few weeks now & for a cheapie tt it really has suprised me on how good it sounds & by the lack of the snap crackel pop that i remember from my youth.

re-lubing also sounds like a very good idea but im unsure as to what kinds of lube wouldnt hurt anything,will regular 3 IN 1 oil work or do you have any other types that i might try.

thanks,mike.
basement
245 posts
 
sometimes oil can cause more noise than grease. I thing I did use 3/1 oil before in a dual and it worked well, but if it doesn't, than I would try some type of grease- just listen for noise.
kach22i
6 posts
 
Hello Basement, I snipped and jacked the phono wires coming out of my Dual 503CS ten years ago - it's a great idea. Recently I upgraded the interconnect to Cardas Neural Reference "PHONO" RCA/RCA and wow on top of wow.

Just tried the electrical tape on the tonearm. It works to clean up the hash in the upper midrange. There was a loss at the very top end trebble though. I was able to rebalanced the tone and trebble extension with some support base tweeking (tempered glass under the table sitting on three squishy audio pucks).

Thanks for the tips.
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