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Help with TT ideas for my first TT

Hi All,

I have been reading alot of reviews and searching around for my first TT.  ALot of recent recordings that i want are basically only coming out on vinyl or super crappy mp3.  I have an Aaron integrated amp, with some custom built SB Acoustic Monitors (Bromo).

I am looking at the marketplace in the 1 - 1.5k range and see I can find alot of different solutions and wanted to get peoples thoughts:

Marantz tt-15 - Seems like  bargain at 1500, but difficult to setup
Clearaudio Concept - good reviews, bumps against the magnetic arm (Cement floor at my place)
Music Hall MMF 7.3 - Seems like a great solution
VPI Cliff Wood
Pro-ject X1 or X2 - Have read some reports of motor noise
Rega Planar 2 or 3 - Seems to be they are what they are

With such a crowded field how do people choose?  I live in Central Mass, and dont have alot of options in terms of auditions so would love to get peoples thoughts. 
kro77

Showing 1 response by big_greg

big_greg
6,711 posts
 
I've owned a MMF 7.1, the Concept, and a Clearaudio Emotion (very similar to the TT-15).

The Concept was a really nice table but super sensitive to footfalls.  Didn't work with the springy floors in my house.   Shouldn't be a problem with cement floors.

Not sure what makes you think the TT15 is hard to set up? My Emotion was easy enough to set up. A little fussy in terms of keeping the motor in place, belts  coming off, and grounding. The Virtuoso is really good, but not as good as a similarly priced cartridge like a Hana SL. And it's really easy to break of the cantilever. 

The MMF 7.1 is solid, not fussy, well isolated, and can sound really nice with a good cartridge. That would be my recommendation of the ones I have experience with. 

I would also recommend the Mofi deck. I've spent some time listening to one and found it very engaging and it didn't seem to be fussy in any way. 
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