Clearaudio Emotion CMB or JA Michell TecnoDec?

I had the Emotion and replaced it with a Marantz TT-15S1 (made by Clearaudio). The Marantz is basically an upgraded Emotion --consider it an Emotion 2.0.

The CMB option is not available on the Marantz, but it is still better than the CMB Emotion (to my ears) because of the thicker plinth, platter, and better feet, not to mention better tonearm (direct-wire ebony wood) and ebony Virtuoso MM cartridge.

Basically, I would get the Marantz if I were you.

A little retraction on the idea that the Marantz cannot be upgraded with CMB. Since Clearaudio offers a 30mm version of the CMB (for the Solution model), theoretically, the CMB should work also with the Marantz, but at $750, you have to decide for yourself if you want to try it.

The stock Performance is a solid deal because it comes with a nice cartridge, but it cannot be upgraded either.

If you want something that has tremendous upgradeability, you need to get the Solution or the Champion model. The Solution is $3K without cartridge, while the Performance is $2.8K with the same MM as the Marantz.

Has the Champion model been discontinued?

Congrats, Peter. The Emotion has tremendous bass, a smooth mid-range, and nice, extended highs. I think that the Maestro MM package is a terrific deal. Before hearing the Maestro, I didn't really believe that a sub-$2K complete TT system could have such dynamics and weight.