how much should I spend to get a better turntable than my current turntable?

Do you have a budget? 

@danmar123 

anything better than the current one

low

Look at MoFi tables

what about Fluance?

 MoFi = super expensive

Tight budget? It looks like Fluance should fit the bill!

@yogiboy are they gooood? (or at least good?)

Sounds like you want a plug n' play table. One of the current respected direct drives may fit. Pioneer comes to mind 

If $600 is doable look at the Project Carbon EVO (comes with cartridge and the footers allow leveling).

DeKay

Check out some of the reviews!

yes, I am drawn to those, Project and Fluance

I would not invest in a TT less than a couple grand (as a recommendation). But what is the rest of your system? There is a place to put photos and your components under your user ID. This is very helpful for us to help. The best TT is highly dependent on the associated equipment. Mine is about $20K… without the Phonostage. Before this, in the previous iteration of my system it was about $8K.

The sound is your TT + cartridge + Phonostage.

The sweetspot to me has been very roughly the cost of TT, Phonostage, Streamer, DAC, preamp, and amp roughly the same.

Just go and get a new Rega P2. Simple and well made. Nothing to go wrong.

The cheaper Project are junk in my experience.

Pioneer PLX1000 

Another vote for the Pioneer PLX-1000

I bought a new Pioneer PLX1000 to add to my collection of vintage TT’s. For $699 it is competitive with the several times- as-expensive Technics TT’s. I put a Denon 103R ($340) on it. Check out Herb Reichert’s review from several years back in Stereophile.

Another plus for the PLX1000 is the included pair of high quality RCA interconnects! Way to go Pioneer!

+1 @rsf507 Mofi makes great sounding cartridges and I suspect their turntable would just be a great sounding table. Quality and sound. 

dont get a pro-ject carbon debut evo, unless  ur totally ok with rumble, motor noise, etc.  those music hall TTs are rebranded pro-ject i believe. 

 

@grislybutter, u mention pro-ject. you already had one, i beleive. i htink those musical hall tables are rebranded pro-ject. the evo is a junk table with a nice cartridge. youve already been thru this once. 

If the OP bought his MH from a local dealer they owe it to him to make his lemon right. I work for a Pro-Ject dealer and we handle cases like this when they come up. Pro-Ject models below $500.00 may be regarded by some audio snobs as junk, but all of them have very decent arm bearings with little play and low friction, and use quality leads and replaceable output cables. The Fluance table I have seen had lots of play in its bearings and Rega Planar 2 output cables are captive and utterly ordinary. For the OP I would suggest he take a look at the X-1, or take the DD route and go Pioneer. 

@grislybutter Sorry you had a bad experience with the Music Fidelity MMF 2.2, I am having a good experience with a used MMF 5.3. However, I purchased from an online retailer that set it up properly. You may want to make a trip to a dealer or find someone locally who can properly set up whatever you purchase, if you don’t buy new, from the factory. I dropped $1,100 on the used MMF gear plus another $400 or so to upgrade to a decent hi-output moving-coil cartridge. Before that, I had attempted to get two used DJ tables operational but never managed to eliminate hum emanating from an unshielded transformer. I finally solved the setup problems I was having with the MMF purchase. Cartridge setup and turntable maintenance is not for the faint of heart.

just my $0.02.

Should have bought the mmf-7.3 to begin with....a fabulous sounding turntable as is....

Perhaps take a look at the VPI, Rega or Clearaudio ranges of turntables to find your price/budget point. Then you can begin your search for a cartridge!

I see the OP’s TT listed at $299. My budget was similar to the OP. I ended up with a U-Turn Orbit Plus (around $600 total I think after the "upgrade" to the acrylic platter) it came with an Ortofon 2m Red which I plan on upgrading to the 2m Blue stylus one day. I’m happy with it since I play records only about 10% of my listening time.

I’ve seen great Fluance reviews. The main difference between the RT-83, 84, and 85 are the cartridges they come with. If your budget is low get the RT-83 and upgrade the cart when you can. It sounds like your budget for a TT and cart is in the $1000 range total.

One thing to consider is whether this is going to be your only workhorse TT and what albums you will be playing. Do you shop for used albums locally or at flea markets, yard sales and such or only play pristine "new" albums? If you do shop used, it can be pragmatic to get a TT with a removable head shell. Buy an extra head shell and put a low-end cart on it like a $99 Grado Black or a $69 Audio Technica. Use THAT one to play the used vinyl to make sure they are OK before trusting your better cart to them.

I have an ancient Technics P-Mount with a $30 AT EP-85 cart in my den I use for testing used records before trusting them to the newer U-Turn.

Don't understand the question!!!

Are you asking us "what is your budget"?

Regas are all a step up from what you have.

Jasonbourne52 is right on the money with the Pioneer also Sony have decent machines.....

So sort out your budget and if you don't have a physical dealer near you then come back for some suggestion.

Good Luck.....its all worth it at the end :-)

Here is the problem:

• If you want to buy a good boombox, today there is NOTHING.
• If you want to buy a good cassette deck, today there is NOTHING.

So, I recommend you buy a vintage turntable from the golden age.

Dual 1019 is the workhorse turntable of 1965-1980 (mine), all steel, never breaks.

Technics SL-1200 is the workhorse turntable of 1980-2000.  If not Technics, then audio-technica or yamaha or another well-known japanese brand.

Don’t bother with a modern turntable, all that is available are mass-produced dime-store manual turntables with nice finishes for less than $1500, and golden-ear turntables for the low, low price of only $20,000!

I prefer the Dual 1019, an idler-drive turntable. It’s a fully automatic/manual do-it-all turntable which supports 18, 33, 45, 78 rpm, supports 33rpm changers, supports 45pm CHANGERS [can’t touch this]. The original MSRP equates to $1300 in today’s dollars and it was a #1 seller so you get the benefits of a good design and mass-produced goodness. Dual was the go-to german turntable for truly high-end-hifi used by millions of system - accept no substitutes. The 1019 is top-of-the-line for 10" platter turntables. The 12-series is also good with 12" platters (no heavier) but more bulky. Good models of the 1019 in fully-restored condition are available for $500-$1000, and they will last you 20y+ of daily usage.

I know people who use $400 TVs and spend $1000/yr on cable TV. That’s ridiculous! You should save up and spend AT LEAST one year’s worth of annual cable subscription on the TV! How about spending a week’s worth worth of vinyl (8 hrs/day, $22/album, ~70 albums) on a turntable? So save up and get closer to $1500 for a budget, and allot $100-$200 for a cartridge. I’m not saying spend $1500 for certain, but $299 is definitely a throw-away turntable using play-money just bought simply to see if can spin.

For the least amount of money I believe the U-Turn Orbit is an excellent option. At their lowest price they don’t even have a cue lever, but you can pick the custom configuration and choose exactly what matters to you. On the other hand you could go with an Audio-Technica AT-LP120, which comes in a few different versions. Those offer quick cartridge replacement via a removable headshell. I know Audio-Technica turnables aren't very popular with us audiophile types, but I do believe they're are made well enough that you could put a very expensive cartridge (hundreds of $) on them and still not be off balance with allocation of funds. Neither of these turntables look like cherishable heirlooms, but I think they both sound excellent and that you'd be hard pressed to tell them from much more expensive models when they're behind a curtain.

I don’t have a budget. I have credit cards, the way they work is that they make your budget look flexible. I would like to try ones that I can potentially return, if I am unhappy.

My CFO may approve $400.

Can I buy used?

I listen to mostly used albums.

My system is very modest, cost less than most people’s cable’s here.

MF A3.2 AMP

Dynaudio Evoke 20

above turntable

I do not like the technics look. I like most of the suggestions above. I am a big fan of Dual

I tend to agree with @systembuilder22  about the classic vintage. However the problem there is that many of us have had those tables earlier in life and wore them out. So, unless you get one that has been rebuilt, its like buying a 1978 Chevy Malibu with 325,000 miles and expecting it to be reliable transportation.

OTOH you have a $400 TT now and for another $400 you may end up in the same dilemna with a different name. I'd look on Ebay or Reverb, etc to see if you can find a rebuilt classic. I have seen some in those places but they don't show up much on Agon Or USAM

My Dual 1019 was a Bay-Area craigslist bargain, $300 (includes Shure m55e cartridge which is the same stylus and mechanism as Shure V15 type 1). It was in like-new condition, but no accessories (i dumped about $150 into ebay for accessories, including 10-record changer, 45 rpm adapter, radio shack dust shield, spare headshell, spare 3x7 elliptical stylus PM3125DE, not as good as the 2x7 original stylus.) If can’t find a good dual then with $400 maybe just go with audio technica, preferably used. I don’t think you can go wrong with them.

P.S. Panasonic was my first love, my first and second radio. I love panasonic and therefore, technics, too.  They truly brought hifi to the masses!

@mgolpoor 

"Don't understand the question!!!"

Everyone else did.

Just because most people tried to advise without knowing your budget does not make this statement a valid question:

"What should I get for the littlest investment that would work better than this wobbly, squeaky  thing?" 

I suppose you could argue that grammatically its a question but then when one person suggested MoFi your response was "Super Expensive"

Like I said before Everybody here is ready to help, But, You need to sort out your budget first otherwise there are endless suggestion.

@mgolpoor 

let me try again. I have a turntable. I would like the next best turntable, one that works better than this. I identified this: mmf-2.2 Theoretically, the next best turntable could be one that costs more than this, or one that is better independent of the costs. So I agree with you, I should have left out the "how much should I spend" part. It's confusing. I should have said,

what the cheapest turntable that's better than this low quality mmf-2.2?

Although there are plenty of used turntable and no doubt many of them would be a valid contender here I would stay away from recommending one due to the fact that there is no way to know their condition.

I don't know if you can stretch your budget to the Rega P2, if you can I think you will find its of a different quality specially its Arm which will see you through several cartridge upgrades. I personally think that's an important consideration since in this hobby we typically upgrade the cartridge until we reach the point where the Arm and table can no longer support the upgrade.

In the case of P2 you will probably need to spend $2000+ to significantly better its arm and structure.

Hope this helps narrow down the search!

@mgolpoor 

yes, this is helpful. I don't know if I should spend more on the turntable than on the rest (2500 is what I spent on the amp and speakers) as it may be diminishing returns then?

I am checking out the Rega P2! 

I figured out the answer: a better turntable than what I have now is an mmf-2.2 THAT WORKS

haha

The most simple-minded response to your simple question is to advise you to buy the next higher level model in the MMF line.  It's bound to be "better".

@lewm sounds logical, if I still had faith in the brand

I just picked up a Dual 1264 that literally looks brand new for a hundred bucks. The dust cover doesn't even have a scratch on it. No kidding, brand new. Sounds wonderful.

I know this doesn't help you, I just wanted to brag. Nyah!

@grislybutter

I would strongly suggest that you take a good look at the Fluance RT85 that already has been mentioned. 3 years ago, I wanted a turntable for a tertiary listening room at my house, and since it was not the main or secondary stereo room, I didn’t want to break the piggybank. I read several good reviews about the Fluance line, and with their return policy and "great pricing for the features", I figured I didn’t have anything to lose giving them a try. I’m glad I did. The RT85 punches above its price point, and sounds great with the provided Ortofon 2M Blue Cartridge. Add the Schiit Mani 2 MM/MC Phono Preamp, and you have a fantastic budget turntable setup.

Just my 2 cents worth. All the best.

Allen

@thecarpathian nice. (I am pissed)

@allenf1963 I am almost there, I just have click the place order button!

@thecarpathian 

Is this you already flipping it for 3 times your buying price??  😂

@grislybutter -- This is another Dual 1264 for sale that looks very nice.

With that cartridge, that’s a good deal!

@allenf1963

sweet!

There's a nice Fluance set up on US Audiomart now.

Check your PM as to a TT for sale here on A'Gon slightly less then your $400 budget.

DeKay

Never mind - it's an auction (thought is was a "buy it now") and the reserve seems high for a used deck.

DeKay

Rega P2 is an easy recommendation. I had the P2 and it’s a solid table. A bit above your budget if you can stretch it. If you choose to buy new I suggest getting it from Upscale Audio and have them either mount whatever cartridge you decide to get or if you want to get it as a bundle with Rega cartridge have them check the table and cartridge. Free service. This alone is worth it if you’re not experienced with a turntable set up and or don’t have the proper tools to do it. They have a 60 day return policy if I am not mistaking. 

@audphile1 

I guess it comes down to the Fluance RT85 and te Rega P2, which one is a better value, and which one's looks I prefer. (Besides the other 4-5 options)