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I need TT Help: Please advise

I am looking for a good starter turntable for a newbie who is coming back to vinyl after a 15 year break. I bought a used Rega Planar 9 with the old "S" shaped tonearm on Ebay for $300.00 and am not happy with the performance. I think I should have spent a little more money and bought a better table. I will list my present system so you can help me choose the best TT to fit my system and my budget. I also bought a Grado Signature Platinum 1.5mV low output cartridge for $125.00 that I didn,t bother to mount since I plan on getting a different table. I don't mind buying used, in fact I prefer it. My system is as follows:
Rega Planer 9 described above, Conrad Johnson Sonograph CD player, Pioneer TX-5500 II Sterio Analog Tuner, Conrad Johnson PV-8 tube preamp, Two Golden Tube Audio SE-40's Bridged mono and running the top end of a pair of Snell AIII's and an Adcom GFA-555 running the bottom end of the Snells, I plan on adding a second Adcom so I can bridge them for mono setup on the bottom end of the Snells. I have a Creek OBH-11 headphone amp and a pair of Sennheiser HD570 Symphony headphones. For connectors I'm using 2 pair of Goertz M-I's, 5 pair of MIT's, 3 pair of DIY braided silver interconnects throughout the system. Speaker cables are MIt on the top and Straight Wire on the bottom. So far I'm running the bi-amp configuration without an active crossover but am currently looking for one. Now I would like the help of all of you more experienced Analog folks out there with advice on selecting a new turntable for under $1000.00. I would also welcome and advice about possible changes that may need to be made in my system. I kinda put it together over the past 3 months based on what I could find and afford at the time. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Rick Zerambo
richardzerambo
pug
34 posts
 
Try swapping out the arm for a different one, i.e., an Origin Live modded Rega 250. Make sure your VTA, tracking, anti-skate, etc. are set up properly -- these may have an impact on the sound. Also, like someone else said, you may want to try a different cartridge as well.
musikdok
120 posts
 
I kinda doubt it's a Planar 9 with the S tonearm. Probably an older P-3, as the P-9 came standard with the RB-900 arm which has a different mounting scheme from the older Rega arms. If it is a P-3, you could pursue Origin Live updates for the arm (per above), motor/power supply, and acrylic platter. Or you could dump it altogether, and get a newer Rega (P25), Linn, or VPI used. I'd suggest the VPI or Linn for ~1K, then work on updates as finances allow.
richardzerambo OP
15 posts
 
Sorry about that fella's That's a Rega Planar "2" with the original "S" shaped tomearm. I must have been wishing I had a Planar 9 when I wrote that. And it is several decades old. Hard to keep from making noise, it's like a microphone and someone added a junction box with RCA connectors to add different interconnects, but I think it add's to the microphonic qualities of the table. Also has a sluggish motor that takes a long time to get up to speed.
Rick
rcprince
3,070 posts
 
The Regas are fine tables, the advice on the models available above is good. A Basis 1400 used with a Rega arm would also be a good alternative. If you can stretch your budget a bit, I noticed a Basis 2000 with Rega arm for sale on AudiogoN, asking $1500. Basis tables are superbly made and excellent sounding, definitely worth considering (I've owned an Ovation for 9 or 10 years now).
phillykid
35 posts
 
Is anyone familiar with the Basis 2000-2001 models,could you tell me any experiences and thoughts on these models ....Thx Much....Sully
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