New TT or old

Elevick,

B&O TTs only take B&O carts and replacment styli are very rare and now expensive. There is another thread discussing this issue at length.

Lewm,

good point and obviously and extenstion of mine, but debatable with some of the latest improvements such as Clearaudio's magnetic bearings, for instance, that are available even on their cheaper tables. It's a fine balance at this juncture I think, with no definitive call. Personal aesthetic will feature prominently in such a choice.

here's to roaming...

Marty,

good question. I don't pretend to know what theoretical advantages will, in the end, represent an improvement. just sharing the lay of the land as I see it. Perhaps a sufficiently coupled and inert platter/record interface needs no mechanical ground. My guess is there all lots o roads to Rome.

In case you're not aware, the B&O cartridges are significantly better than the tables were and have garnered quite a following. They are only available now through an arrangement with Soundsmith, unless you luck into a NOS(new old stock) one. The sensible route would be to move to another table that affords more options but this adventure you've embarked on isn't necessarily about sense, although if you're not careful it can be about cents.

Another thought:

Turntable technology, at its best, has definitely evolved since the vintage of your gear. At the affordable end, though, you may still do better with an older design (at used prices). However, if you are willing and able to spend the money, you can do much better with new designs which are constantly raising the bar on both quality and price. Ditto re: cartridges. There are some very interesting evolutions available to us at this point on both fronts.