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Help Picking a turntable

Hi Everyone,

Rod at my local store here where I buy my gear (unless I buy here at Audiogon) was at my house doing a master set for my speakers (they sound much better) and he suggested I consider getting a turntable and switching to records from cds to get better sound.  I am considering his suggestion but my biggest problem is that I don't know anything about turntables.  Rod recommended a turntable package from EAT that includes the arm, cartridge etc. for about $6,500, which is more than I want to spend.  He said he would look into turntables that are a bit less that would still sound good but I thought I would also check with everyone here to see if anyone had ideas also that I could discuss with Rod when I meet with him.  I'd like to stay under $3000 for the turntable package (turntable, arm, cartridge etc.). 

My current system is: Thiel 3.7 speakers; ARC REF 75 SE amp; ARC LS-17 SE pre-amp (I will also need a phono stage which I know will be in addition to the $3,000 I am willing to spend on the turntable package); analysis plus solo crystal oval speaker wire and interconnects.  Lastly, all of my music now is played through my Simaudio 280d DSD DAC (my cd player, computer etc are all hooked into the dac directly -- no wi fi). 

I'd appreciate any advice and suggestions to help educate me before I go down to Rod's store again and listen and meet with him.  As I said, I know nothing about turntables so any advice, suggestions etc. are very welcome.  Thank you all again in advance for your responses.     
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gasherbaum OP
43 posts
 
Thanks mofimadness -- I had not heard of audio house, cresecndo or sound science so i will check those out.  Sbank i did discover RMAF last fall -- wish I had known about it earlier.  I went all three days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) last year and enjoyed it and learned a ton.  I did find that Friday was the best day because it was not as crowded and people had a lot more time to talk and help me out.  I am going again this year, I think it is October 7 through October 9.  If you are there, stop by the Soundings room -- they usually have a party back at their store on Friday night after RMAF closes for the night and it is a pretty good chance to meet the owner and see some nice gear.  I went last year before I really knew the guys and am looking forward to it more this year as I now have a good relationship with the people at Soundings. 

Thanks again for the suggestions and all the help.   
backintohifi's avatar
backintohifi
6 posts
 
Wow!  I briefed through the prior responses.  These guys are really into vinyl.  I myself am just getting back into it after about 30 years.  (I can now afford the ridiculous prices for hifi equipment.)  I settled on the Music Hall mmf 7.3 which has a Ortofon bronze cartridge, which at $1,595 sounds outrageous to me for something that probably cost around $250 to manufacture, including R&D costs.  Caring for vinyl definitely is not as easy as a CD, but it really is not that bad.  And I remember when I first heard a CD and compared it to an LP.  It sounded great, but the more I heard CDs the more I did not care to listen to them anymore.  That never happened with an LP.  Back to buying: There is absolutely no reason to pay more than what I paid $1,600 for turntable, including cartridge.  Anything beyond that is for cosmetics and bragging rights.
backintohifi's avatar
backintohifi
6 posts
 
$3,000!?!  You're throwing away money.  Spend 1/2 that on the speakers.
johnread57's avatar
johnread57
227 posts
 
Another tack... I upgraded my Cocktail Audio X40 digital front end with Dave Sculte at The Upgrade Company in Michigan and have significantly improved audio quality and noise floor in this unit. These upgrades fully shield all internal board components cabling and wiring from EMI RFI . I can highly recommend Dave, his customer service and free appraisals are very helpful.

crem12
1 posts
 
Gosh , Lots of well thought-out information & suggestions. 50 yrs + of turntable usage has educated me to carefully spend resources regardless of new or used. Materals, design & age are some of the factors that need your consideration. Many turntables of the 70's are nearing the end of useful resister & cap life as are speed controls. Age related issues may also apply to tonearm bearings.  Be awaire that todays used bargin could fail or not be as sonicaly rewarding due to age related issues.
 Keeping in mind my biases I recommend the following. Both the GEM (George Merill) Turntable & the Pioneer PLX- 1000 offer considerable value for new to vinyl folks. External speed controllers are a near-must & Schitts Mani phono amp is a terrific value. Darkstar1 made some excellent suggestions that all vinyl-heads should consider. Becoming a in-house expert for turntable set up & vinyl cleaning is important. Best of luck
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