Cheap Turntable

Flyingred: Normally I would listen very carefully before buying. But since I want something just until the end of the year, I do not care too much, as long as it sounds better than my Philips FP 775 and I can resell it easily without loosing too much.

What I am carefully listening at is better turntables to make my final choiche (budget of about 3.000-4.000 € all included).

Ccereda, have you heard the Clearaudio and did you like how it sounded? I would suggest you listen to it before committing to buy. I heard an Emotion/Satisfy an expensive Clearaudio MC cartridge (can't remember which one).

On Janis Ian records it sounded wonderfully detailed and revealing however on a more varied range of music it sounded overly bright and lacking in weight as if there was an uplift in the upper mid-band. So I would say that the Clearaudio would not be to everyone's taste so check it's yours.

HI Again:

I'v been offered a Clearaudio Emotion with tonearm Satisfy and cartridge Aurum Classics.

It is quite new, about 1 year old.

What do you think?

Thank you

I second the vote for a new Technics SL1200 as you can buy one for just over 400 new. A new Denon DP500M is also an excellent choice; 529 new online.

You can always remove the stock arm and install another arm on the Techics, too; somebody makes a replacement armboard for such a switch.

For a bit more money a slightly used Rega P5 or P25 is an excellent choice.

Do not buy EBAY; I weakened and bought what was advertised as a "mint" kenwood KD500 in its original box. The idiot packed the dustcover incorrectly and it arrived in pieces; this is not rocket science.

rega 3 used , systemdek xii used, old benjamin mirachord, dual

Of course it makes sense to buy a turntable on ebay if you go collect it in person.

The Pro-ject 'tables have a good reputation. Some of the 80's belt drives (Ariston, Systemdek) are available cheap used. The Technics SL1200 direct drive offers great speed stability and can be fitted with a Rega arm.

Check out the "Building high end 'tables at Home Despot" thread for inspiration using an old Lenco and if you are comfortable doing tweaks yourself think about an old Thorens TD150/160/125.

The Technics 1200 is well regarded and bulletproof. It's
not state-of-the-art but a respectable performer.

I've got a Technics SP-10 MK II with an SME IV arm/Denon
103D cartridge and it's likely the last turntable I'll ever
own. The 1200 is a step down from the SP-10 but still
excellent. It was sold world-wide (still is to my knowledge)
and can be found on the used market.