Nottingham Spacedeck vs Rega Planar 8 vs Technics SL1200G


Hey Everyone,

An analogue newbie needs your advice.

Firstly I am not looking for any TT recommendations other than these 3.

My system is Devore O96, and the amplification would be either Lyngdorf 3400/Coincident Frankenstein combo or a Shindo pre/amp combo (forthcoming). The phono stage is TBD.

The sound I like is rich, full-bodied, with a good bass (I love percussion, and the double-bass instrument and  Mingus is my fav jazz artist). I am very sensitive to even a hint of brightness. I don't care about the typical audiophile presentation -- gobs of detail and soundstage but no soul.

My music of choice is jazz, vocals and small-scale instrumentals. No rock, no pop, no western classical.

Would love your thoughts on these 3 choices.

Since I am a newbie, easy setup is big win, which might tilt me towards the Rega or Technics, but with Nottingham I have a great dealer support that I would completely miss out on if I went with Technics (no Technics dealer in a 5000 mile radius).

I used to own a Rega RP6, so am familiar with Rega sound, and like it. But my RP6 was bested by my DAC (AMR DP-777) so sold it a few years ago. So I want a TT that will compete with any sub-10000$ DAC.

Looking forward to your thoughts that will help me scratch my analog itch.


essrand

Showing 3 responses by sbank

If you ever needed parts is Nottingham in business with their owner/ designer now passed? When I owned a Spacedeck I had trouble with the very fine tonearm wiring on the Spacearm. Most of the local dealers were afraid to touch it to rewire, even Overture. It sounded good, but I would never recommend it to a friend. Plenty of safer options with comparable benefits. 
I like the Technics too. Spend a good deal of time on your cartridge choice given your specific requirements...that will be a long thread with tons of suggestions. Cheers,
Spencer 
@stereo5 If you are open to global vendors, here's a link to a guy in Vietnam(Tran Van Tan - TVT Analog Shop) who makes very high quality machined parts for many high end turntables. He does everything from copper and ss mats to arm pods etc. His work is often for vintage Japanese tables (e.g. Micro Seiki), but he has done an incredible variety, all to custom order at VERY reasonable prices. 
When I had a Technics SP10mkII he made a stainless steel mat at very high mass that was exactly to my needs for $200. I decided to order after hearing two of his mats that a friend, @dgarretson, owns. We compared these to 6 or 7 mats including all the usual suspects recommended here regularly. Very happy with Tran's work. 

https://vnav.vn/threads/tvt-analog-shop-chan-chong-rung-da-nang-san-pham-moi.30728/page-13

Cheers,
Spencer
If anybody is moved by this thread to buy RP8, today I got an email from one of the big music direct retailers offering about a third off the price of them. Cheers,
Spencer