old verses new ???

I would be concerned with the age of the electronics of the motor controller on some older TTs. They are consumer goods.

And you may be hostage to people selling this stuff if any thing goes wrong.

Maybe a bit apples and oranges but I would take a 2010 BMW M, Porsche, Ferrari, Corvette...over anything built in 1980 as far as performance goes. And we are not that far from 2015.

If you are looking for nostalgia that is fine but from a technological standpoint things have advanced a long way since 1975 or 1980. Not to say there aren't some classics though.

I am currently curious as to advances in turntable technologies, are they enough to upgrade from a maplenoll to a current table. What would be the advantages of this move?

There is no "correct" answer to your question, the way you posed it, except to say, as Czarivey already did, that vintage tt's are generally less expensive than new ones, and MUCH less expensive than the most expensive class of current production turntables. Just because idler- and belt-drive turntables are simpler devices, you would tend to have fewer restoration issues with those types. Vintage direct-drive turntables require a certain amount of patience and knowledge, but if you like direct-drive, you probably should consider them. For DD and idler-drive tt's, you may also want to consider the purchase or construction of a new plinth, to get more out of them than was ever gotten out of them in the first place. That presents a whole new set of choices as to materials, mass, damping, budget, etc., for a new plinth.

Old is not necessarily better, by a long shot. Nor is new. You'd do better to ask for specific comparisons between a particular vintage tt and a particular new tt, for example.

Just to help you know where I am coming from, I own 5 vintage high-end direct-drive turntables, all restored electronically, all re-plinthed, except for my Kenwood L07D which was built and designed with a beautifully engineered plinth that I would never change. Still, keep an open mind. There are some great new products out there at reasonable prices, if you consider the $5000 to $10,000 range reasonable. I am thinking of Galibier and Spiral Groove, for two examples.

I'm still using my recently refurbished 1984 Sota Sapphire, and I'd stack my rig up against anything under $10K made today.

Abucktwoeighty wrote:
versus...my use of the English language is not the best, I admit...

And I thought you were going to talk about a revival of poetry from the past.

Vintage tables with mods will save you lots.

being a dinosaur, i really like the tables that were pioneered as the CD took shape. I fell in love with the maplenoll tables and now have three of thier top tables. They do not have the polish or style of say the top micro, forsell, rockport, but oh the sound! I have not invested in any new tables so i really couldnt compare how the new tables sound. But many of the old tables get new life in new plinths and compete very favorably with the new tables based on some of the regulars here. Arthur Salvatore also echoed that when he got a hold of a rebuilt lenco. Now i think you were asking how much one of these new tables would cost to equal the old top of the line. Take the Walker table which the maplenoll was the ancestor, well, lets say the maplenoll was about 25% or less of the cost of a walker. And maplenoll was a damn expensive table in the 90's when it came out.

versus...my use of the English language is not the best, I admit...

I find that any OLD table has to be gone thru and even updated a little. IE..tonearm rewire or just changing the turntable IC. These classic tables are special indeed, they have a classic look and sound that you cant get in a new table. But, the new tables are very nice and well thought out and they sound really good. Thornes has released the classic TD160.I have listened to old and new and I prefer the newer for my system.