I’m very content with a Marantz TT15S mated to a Benz Ace MC cartridge. That’s only a $2k investment. On the lower end I’ve a JVC QLY55F mated to a ClearAudio Virtuoso V1 MM cartridge that delivers phenomenal performance for the price. I’ve also got 2 other JVC QLY7F turntables that would be excellent backups that don’t even get used. I had a thing for JVC TT’s back in the day. But the point is, there’s great performing audio available to the budget minded.
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!
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- 32 posts total
- 32 posts total