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Suggestions for an Analog Front-End

Greetings and Happy Easter (if that is your jam)

I have been out of the analog game for a number of years and would like to see what you would recommend for a turntable, cartridge and phono-preamp for a 2K budget. I am open to new or used gear. I only have experience with a couple of Rega tables, an old Planar 2 and a P25 with a Grado Sonata cartridge on it. So only MM. I haven’t explored MC but I’m open to it. My small LP collection is a leftover from years in public radio. Music is a real mixed bag - mostly jazz and classical with some punk thrown in for spice.
The down stream gear is pretty decent. I have an LTA MZ2 Preamp > Pass Labs XA-30.5 amp > Usher Mini-X Dancer DMD monitors. I do not have a phono preamp.
My initial thoughts:  Spend more on the table and cartridge and pair it with a less expensive phono-preamp for now.  I can upgrade later if desired. Open to other strategies.

Thank you in advance,
David
decal

Showing 1 response by jcipale

jcipale's avatar
jcipale
66 posts
 
I have heard great things about the Fluance line of TTs. They are belt-driven and come with an Ortofon Red MM cartridge. Rega is good, as is a Marantz. Otherwise, you can look for vintage Marantz, Pioneer, JVC, Yamaha, Kenwood on ebay.
You can find a good phono-preamp for around 100.00 USD.
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