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  3. 190550-77830

Enjoying "Affordable" Equipment

Having never owned a direct drive turntable, curiosity motivated a purchase of a Technics SL-1200GR2. I hooked it up to a stock Denon DL-103. Setup was fun and easy, no protractor required. Easy to understand tonearm height, VTF and anti-skate setup. All metrics were done to spec and VTF was exact without using a digital force gauge except to check my work.

After a brief warm-up the sound opened up and I say without reservation, it's been a while since I've enjoyed listening to vinyl this much. I am playing all my favorites; good recordings of original releases are truly special. More importantly, the price was affordable by today's standards.

The rest of the chain contains a Rhea Eclipse phono preamp, Kell Phantom preamp, Krell EVO 402e with all balanced interconnects and Harbeth 40.2 monitors.

I posted this simply to share an awesome experience provided by our great hobby and hoping to avoid the controversial topics often found on this forum. Thank you!

 

layton64
pindac's avatar
pindac
2,831 posts
 

In context it does make sense, as the suggestions seen commonly spoken about on the Gon for New Model TT's is typically north of 2-3x this price as a most basic suggestion.

I might be the only individual recommending a very worthwhile TT to experience that is from the Vintage era, being a Japanese DD TT Aurex SR 510. This model can be purchased and delivered for not much more than $350.

This is an extremely competent TT for the money, where I know much more monies are required to better it as a OEM TT with Plinth from any era of TT's on the market.

Mount this TT Chassis in a Plinth using materials that are a better selection for the purpose, and give it a good choice for Tonearm and this will be a real contender to many much more expensive options. 

I even have a motor unit only to produce a SR 10 Kaneta mimic design, the Electronics are the Stump for myself, but it is not unsurpassable as a requirement.    

Note: As in all Vintage Equipment Purchases, Caveat Emptor is ones best friend.  

immatthewj
1,864 posts
 

I guess "affordable" is another relative term.

layton64 OP
24 posts
 

"Affordable" is relative of course however in the context of most magazine equipment reviews this is definitely on the lower priced end of the spectrum. 

uncledemp
776 posts
 

@layton64, sounds like you’re enjoying your system, good on you. I’m thinking you posted to share the good news, I get it. 
 

Enjoy!

uncledemp
776 posts
 

Defining affordability (I don’t think it’s needed) will likely require knowing someone’s net worth, in my opinion, but even then there will be plenty to ponder. Future needs, supporting of family, hobbies, and charities once you pass. Cost relative to the rest of the system is an easier conclusion to draw, perhaps, but could be subject to much conjecture as well. 
 

I feel the term was used in the post similar to the term ‘big improvement’ being used. 
 

Big improvement over what? What percentage improvement is big? How would you quantify and defend the term? You really can’t, but you can wear yourself out talking about it. 
 

I consider the writing in forums to be somewhat relaxed from what you might expect to find in a white paper or technical bulletin. I just read it for the fun of it. 

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