Help me pick a new turntable

@rsf507 , You are right! The Stabi R With a MinusK would be excellent. You might also look at the Ref 2. It has a fine built in suspension.

Hot News Flash!! Kuzma is going after SAT! Frank is releasing the Safir 9 a $25K sapphire tubed tonearm with 4 point style bearings. It is an all out attack on the state of the art and it hits all the important attributes a good arm should have. It is just a bit pricey but, look at the thing, it has a sapphire arm tube!

The AS NEO turntables come with a 15 year warranty...none better in the industry! I had a custom dust cover made for my Hurricane which complements it quite well.

Funny how some people can "opine" about a product without ever hearing it, much less knowing so little about it! The AS tables come with a leather mat. Same people also like to shill for certain products. ; )

+1 👍

The cartridge is a dumb vibration measuring device. It can not distinguish vibration from the record versus vibration from anything else like the truck driving down your street. The plater, tonearm and cartridge need to be totally isolated from the rest of the world. Gel feet do not cut it. A turntable requires a full suspension with a resonance frequency below 3 Hz. Now you can take a turntable like the AS and place it on a suspended platform like the MinusK but, that is an additional $5K. There are turntables in this price range with a full built in suspension from Avid, SME, Basis, Kuzma and Sota. Good suspensions are also immune to things like foot falls.

I’ve experienced a number of situations in people’s listening rooms & Audio Shows where a treasured phono system delivered less than optimal results due to a lack of proper isolation.

Nice points @mijostyn . The Stabi M is now around 24k without arm so I'd still be suggesting a Stabi R with 4Point9 and either the minusk or a Vibraplane at around 3k. As I've stated earlier I've listened to a Stabi R and it was a memorable experience. It has become my dream table.

@nhmanmtb , I am going to disagree with dover. The AS is not a good turntable for the money. It is a handsome turntable for sure and the 3 Point 9 is one of the best tonearms available and a great value but, the AS is not a good performing turntable for the money for several reasons and I will try to explain why. 

Putting a vinyl record on a metal plater is a bad idea. The metal is much harder than the vinyl and any resonance will be reflected right back into the vinyl instead of dissipated. The best solution is a plater or mat that is the same "hardness" (mechanical impedance) as the record and then to fix the record to that mat as firmly as possible. The two best methods are reflex clamping like Kuzma and SME or vacuum clamping like Basis, Sota and Techdas. The record then becomes as thick as the plater and any resonance is controlled.  

The AS may have a diamond coated spindle but it uses a very standard thrust mechanism. The thrust mechanism is where most of the noise comes from as you have the entire mass of the plater focused on one point. There is extremely little pressure on the spindle. Think of a spinning top. There are turntables in this price range with magnetic thrust mechanisms like Clearaudio and Sota. Then there are air cushion turntables from Kuzma and Techdas. These mechanisms do not add any additional noise (vibration)

The cartridge is a dumb vibration measuring device. It can not distinguish vibration from the record versus vibration from anything else like the truck driving down your street. The plater, tonearm and cartridge need to be totally isolated from the rest of the world. Gel feet do not cut it. A turntable requires a full suspension with a resonance frequency below 3 Hz. Now you can take a turntable like the AS and place it on a suspended platform like the MinusK but, that is an additional $5K. There are turntables in this price range with a full built in suspension from Avid, SME, Basis, Kuzma and Sota. Good suspensions are also immune to things like foot falls.

I personally would never use a turntable without a dust cover. Dust is the enemy of records and fine mechanical devices. Records and tonearms should always be covered. However, in order to be able to use a dust cover during play, it has to be isolated from the plater and tonearm so that it can not pass it's own resonance on to that dumb vibration measuring device. This can be done for any turntable by mounting the dust cover to a platform and placing the turntable on that platform under the dust cover which should always be hinged so that it can not accidently bang into the table. There are turntables which are supplied  such dustcovers from Kuzma and Sota.

Having said all this there is one turntable exactly in your price range which you can mount a 4 Point 9 on that includes all these features along with one of the best drives available and that is the Sota Cosmos. It is certainly not the coolest looking turntable but it has it everywhere it counts and it is reasonable handsome. It certainly is an amazing value which is why I bought one. The Basis Inspiration is the next  turntable in line but It is $45,000, 4 times as much as the Sota, has a regular thrust mechanism and one would have to add a dust cover. The Kuzma M is another possibility but I am not sure I trust it's suspension. The Avid Acutus is the choice for someone who has to have a cool looking turntable.  

@grk @nhmanmtb 

I have a AS Hurricane NEO with a Kuzma 4point9 arm and a Hana Umami Red cart and absolutely love the set up! I considered the TA-2000 arm, however, I wanted something a bit better but didn't want to spend the considerable amount to get the TA-5000 arm.

The AS Hurricane with Kuzma 4Point9 is a smart choice - superb performance for the money. You could easily spend a lot more and get lesser performance.

I would prefer the AS to the other options - experiences with Clearaudio are poor speed stability and SP10R very dry sound.

Alternatively Kuzma M plus 4Point 9 ( albeit more expensive ) is superb and will last a lifetime - very easy to set up compared to other TT's.

I have a AS Hurricane NEO with a Kuzma 4point9 arm and a Hana Umami Red cart and absolutely love the set up! I considered the TA-2000 arm, however, I wanted something a bit better but didn't want to spend the considerable amount to get the TA-5000 arm.

solypsa

Thanks for the suggestions. I am not married to the three I mentioned so I will take a look. The reason I am looking at hose three is they are carried by two dealers I trust. These are their suggestions.

I know you are asking for specific comment on your selections. Please forgive me I want to mention two more ;)

STST Motus II. Low torque direct drive from Germany, also at the lower end of your price range. I wont elaborate because I am their NA agent, and so bias implied. Read up on it though!

CS Port TAT2. Yes above the price range of the others but have seen an as-new one for sale recently on the used market... I have heard the bigger brother TAT1...a magnificent table.

I always want a dust cover, removable while playing, you could have a custom one made. Successful repositioning, where does it go during play?

Technics adjustable tonearm base is terrific, it can expand to 2 or 3 arms, so don't make the dust cover too small. I just installed that base for a friend on his SP-15. Impressive.

Technics removable headshell to make single arm more versatile.

Others more impressive looking, first impression, don't know anything else about either.

I lived in NH for 16 years and know the dealers there well. You are lucky to be close. I also had very good luck with Goodwins for a couple of purchases.

I have set up multiple tables and arms, but I  am very happy to let the dealer do that.

Also unless you're been setting up tables/arms/cartridges for a while I'd suggest to use a local dealer. I'm outside of Boston and have a great dealer in NH that does full setups. 

Kansas City, MO

@nhmanmtb where are you located?

Thank you for your responses. The AS is the only one I have a chance to hear locally.

+1 @rsf507  as to the Acoustic Signature. I've heard a lot of praise for them

Of the 3 I'd go with the AS Neo. But I've also recently listened to a Kuzma Stabi R that blew me away. That's my next table fir sure.

Sl-1000R. I just seen a Plinth for about $500.00. Sits the table & comes with 4 arm boards.