TOTALLY CONFUSED about analog

Excellent post, Trebleclef.

Well, almost...you ought to listen to a modded 1200. The fluid damper brings the best of this unit. It's truly world class sound. I have been using damping on and off with my previous TT. Still have one of those old Disctracker headshell damping devices. Fluid damping makes a big difference in performance--just ask SME.

Psycho: Agreed on the fluid damping. Well Tempered did a variation of it, one of it's considerable strong points. I couldn't afford it at the time. I'm not sure that Wax wants to join the buy and modify group as opposed to buy and start enjoying right away. The only real problem with modifying or buying something that has been, is, why was it modified in the first place? Unsatisfactory performance? Alot has been written about room acoustics and interaction. Everyone has a different take on this as we all listen in different environments under our own pereceptions. A modified piece of gear will sound different in a different environment, which may or may not be good. I love my set up the way it is now. Instead of buying new speakers which may or may not have 1)solved my problem or 2)improved the sound, I had to really decide what was wrong. Highs were suffering a little. What to do? New speakers, better stands?
Niether. Got a different chair which put the tweeter at the right hieght. Spent the difference on records. But, my local audio dealer almost stroked out..

Very droll original post.

Check out Nottingham Analogue series TTs.
I've got an Interspace - the first in the series.
You won't find many criticisms of NOT.
Try them - you may then laugh at all the relevant preceding replies.

Well after reading all this confusion I'm just glad I went big into 8 track tapes.

Sincerely, I remain

Ken, why don't you go listen to some variety of TTs? It's really not that hard. After you hear a particular TT(s), all this DD/BD and "performance" BS becomes meaningless. If you do not want to modify or spend a lot of time adjusting your TT, then a Rega 25 will work just fine. It's a very nice sounding TT without modifications or hassle, REALLY. If you wanna go for a little extra, then add a heavyweight. It is a super-simple mod.

As for the RB arms. E. Phonos complaints with the rega arms are on thread comparing it to an SME V ($3k), and were limited to the lack of VTA and a relatively imprecise anti-skate mechanism. I also find these problemsa little annoying. But Regas are not "world class" arms. Did I miss something? Were they meant to be? As for the arms ruining cartridges, there seems to be little evidence for that (E. Phono neglected to add any) and more evidence that is they don't. I haven't heard of anyone using the best, expensive MCs on a Rega, but there seems to be a total lack of complaints about the arm damaging the carts more often used on the RBs. I'll be sure to let you know if my arm bends my cantilever in a couple hundred hours, though.