Suspended vs. non suspended turntable


Hello all,

I am ready to begin my foray into the world of vinyl (again). Looking at the turntables out there, it seems as if there are two types - those with suspension, and those without. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Keith
amfibius
Sirspeedy despite living in the second largest city in Australia, the local dealers who are supposed to represent the brands usually do not carry demonstration stock. I need something a bit more concrete than what the dealer says. I think you can understand where I am coming from :)

Rauliregas, I do like the warm and mellow sound - but my system has enough of that as it is and I do not want any more. In fact I have been trying to "cool down" the tonal balance a little bit by tube rolling. As for the rest of my system - it is probably nearly as good as it gets. Minus a few issues, it is more transparent than any other system I have heard.
Keith,

That budget warrants some travel,if necessary, to some of the best dealers in Asia. Plow through all the reviews that you can find. Stereophile and Absolute Sound have archived most of their reviews and there are several very good internet mags. I'd suggest rolling around in those for a week or two to see what tweaks your interest and then try to seek out dealers for the things of interest.

Also, if there are audiophile clubs in your large city you might visit one to see what everyone is using and perhaps hear for yoursel.

Dave
The former is a Mk4 and the latter a 'Classic' and I'd have to say it as little to do with whether the table is suspended or not but how well is it designed and built. It's kind of like comparing front wheel to rear wheel drive. That said, since a suspended table is more complex in design and fabrication, for the same budget I'd buy a non suspended TT. It would only make sense that suspension is going to cost more, unless cheaply done....something I would avoid.

Sure the Oracle with SME V arm beats the WTT in dynamics, blackness and detail but then the rig costs about 3x more.
Yeah, don't focus on the construction theory, just try to get somewhere that you can listen to a few in your price range and buy what strikes your fancy.

Dave
Amfibius, I don't know if you've said this before or not but have you had any experience with vinyl?