Turntable Choices

Well Tempered versalex or GTA

You need £10,000 of Linn, or more, to match it.

May I know what's the model of your Oracle? I have the Oracle Delphi mk II, I am looking forward to buy the Mystic Mat but I don't know whether or not it fits my old
Oracle Delphi mkII due of its recessed platter. Any advice is very appreciated. Thanks a lot.

There is - some - hope for all Linnies...

The ULTIMATE Linn LP12 Upgrade

You did choose the worst solution. Hope you got a good price, but even that will not improve performance

Atta boy, way to go. Keep rallying the troops through positive encouragement! Are you by any chance a mid-level manager for the phone company?

I ended up going with a Linn LP12....

You did choose the worst solution. Hope you got a good price, but even that will not improve performance.

Thank you all for the very insightful responses. I ended up going with a Linn LP12. I can't wait to get it set up and give it a whirl.

I have a Brooks mod oracle with a Mystic mat and it throws one of the widest soundstages I've ever heard. Yes it is a tad lean in the bass but it really matters what kind of arm and cartridge your gonna use to minimize this malady.Also if the Oracle has the Brooks Mod on it you should get more bass than a non modified Oracle. At somepoint all Oracles were manufactured with the Brooks mod,I believe starting with the 3. The eye candy factor is great though,I fell in love with the Oracle the very first time i saw one,looking like an oil rig jutting out of the North Sea.

My two cartridges are Transfiguration Spirit III & a Clearaudio Discovery. Tonearm is a Sumiko Premier MMT

Zimmy -- IMO, the arm is no match for either of your cartridges (I've used all of the above, the Sumiko on Pink Triangle). But it was very good value for money back then.
Any reasonably priced & well engineered modern arm --say the Clearaudio unipivot for example -- will give you much better performance from those carts.

So back to the TTs. My suggestion is that if you buy new, opt for a package TT/arm combo.
So if you do not opt for vintage or the Traveller, you might consider a Clearaudio package deal (called "concept" I think) which comes with the unipivot & is an excellent sounding combo.

If you end up going vintage, the Linn is probably the best value for money at this moment. There are of course many extraordinarily engineered Japanese behemoths or the ubiquitous EMT to choose from -- but these can easily set you back ~5k in the blink of an eye!

But again: you already have the cartridges to easily match a top level TT. My latest (and last Discovery) was on a Simon Yorke...

The HW19 will be warmer and fuller sounding than the Oracle which while not the least bit clinical sounding is leaner sounding and less weighty in the bass. The Linn, you already have an idea of how it sounds since your Ariston is actually the table that the original Linn was modeled after. A modern Linn will be a significant step up in refinement over the Ariston, but a lot of the basic traits remain; nice pace and timing and good midrange. My concern would be that if your system is already warm as you like it, the HW19 might be too much of a good thing. When I bought my first HW19, I compared it to the Oracle and chose the HW19 because my system at that time benefited from the warmth and fullness of the VPI while the Oracle, while having terrific clarity, sounded too lean in my system. But man did it look cool!

You will probably like the sound that comes from a Nottingham Analogue turntable

I like the fact that my system is on the warm side. I had a Krell amp that I found too analytical. I started analyzing the music rather than tapping my foot and enjoying it. So I went back to McIntosh. The turntable I had(I have a backup as well an Ariston RD11s) was a Micro Seiki DDX1000. The Ariston has seen better days and will be retired after I get a replacement but, I think it sounds better than the Micro.

OK, so how do you like the sound of your system currently? Do you feel it's too warm or too bright? Do you have enough bass or too much? Does your current table (what is it, btw?) sound noticeable more rhythmic than your CD player, or not? It should, IMO. BTW, the MMT is not a bad arm, I would not be too eager to replace it unless you plan on spending a lot more than you are spending the table.

Thanks all for the replies. I suppose I should have included my setup as that would probably affect the choices.

McIntosh C39
McIntosh MC2155
Vandersteen 2CE
All cables ate MIT

My two cartridges are Transfiguration Spirit III & a Clearaudio Discovery.

Tonearm is a Sumiko Premier MMT (this will get replaced soon)

MC step up is a Lehmann Black Cube and a Clearaudio Phono mini.

You might find this interesting reading:

http://www.stereophile.com/turntables/586oracle/index.html

...my choices: Oracle Delphi MK2, VPI Traveler, VPI
HW-19 MK3, and a Linn LP12

The Oracle is a good choice

Interesting list of contenders. Have not heard the Traveler but be aware that the other three have very different sonic signatures (I have owned all three) which make proclamations of which is "better" irrelevant, IMO. If I HAD to rate them, I would rate them as just about equal overall? But, what kind of sound are you looking for? What will complement your system better? Fuller and warmer, or leaner with more clarity? Controlled or very energetic? And last, but certainly not least, what arm are you putting on it? Then, you can decide which is "better".

Add the Well Tempered Amadeus to your list. Listen to one at your own peril.

Shakey

I would still opt for the Traveler- its got great reviews, its simple, it has an upgrade path, its new. If you have issues, you will be protected via warranty.

I have owned a number of Oracle delphis over the years, and have never had a motor or power supply fail, so it thats the weak point, you have a pretty good table.

Thanks all for the replies. I found one more to add to the list, a Bluenote Piccolo with Villa Borghese Tonearm. From what little I've read it seems to be a pretty good rig.

I own a Vpi TNT but out of those three I would probably go for the Oracle. Maybe thats the one that got away for me. But make sure that the motor is good, thats their weak point.

Oracle. Great sound and a work of art.

What tonearm are you are you going to use?I have a VPI MK 3 with an SME 309 and it is a great combo. For the price the Travler comes with arm. I would go for that one.

Why have you narrowed the decks to these three - have you auditioned all of them?
Have you ever considered a Townshend Elite Rock or else a Rock 2?

Did anybody mention the Traveler? ;)

I've got a HW-19 Mk 3 (among others). Wonderful table but the Traveler is supposed to be quite a bit better. Should be the best in your list.

Travler looks interesting.

Have a Traveler; amazing performance even with price no object.

The Traveler is the most cost effective.....I bet you will love it.