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Turntable cost:benefit

I read the new Garrard 301 review in the current "Stereophile" with great interest, especially as my father owned one which he jettisoned decades ago...most unfortunately. Anyway, appealing as the re-issue is, the cost is punitive, as noted by the author.

With that preamble, I'm interested in forum members' thoughts on the cost:benefit ratio of a high priced turntable for a modest vinyl collection. In my case, that's around 800 LPs. Another reason I'm curious is that I have a friend who simply "decided to get into vinyl" and bought a ~$15k turntable plus a comparably priced tonearm + cartridge. He owned zero vinyl at the time of the purchase. Now I think he has about 20 "audiophile" pressings to enjoy on that TT.

To answer my own question, I can't justify a turntable at that price level for my own vinyl collection. Actually, I can't really summon up a compelling argument for such a purchase. Plus, I'm quite content with my  VPI HW-19 Mk 2 (though a better cartridge would be attractive).

Assuming disposable funds are not the absolute deciding factor and other components in your system are good enough to support a high end TT, what size record collection do readers think justifies a turntable costing over some arbitrary (say around $3000 for the purposes of argument) threshold? Is that even a consideration?
kacomess

Showing 2 responses by chakster

chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
I'd love to own Garrard 301 (in Hammertone finishing only), it's a masterpiece of design in my opinion, but the price is absolutely insane! A good plinth will double the price. Fully restored units goes for crazy money compared to many killer vintage turntables on the market, some of them are still underrated and goes for reasonable cost even in mint condition. Taking in count all the hype about Garrard 301 i doubt it's justified its price today. So many turntables to choose and i'm sure anyone can find a truly high-end machine under $3k (complete). I'm totally satisfied with a pair of Luxman PD-444 and to my eyes this is the best design, so i'm happy. Was it reviewed by the Stereophile ? Never! They may never heard of it and never tried it. I always doubt in authority of these people, some amazing products has never been on their radar while so many forum members use those less known products and raving about it. 

Again, the argument about the price has nothing to do with reality. Why some new ugly turntables cost $20k+ ? I have no idea. In my world old Denon, Technics, Luxman, Victor... rules. All of them are direct drive btw. Everything from UK was twice as much in price, always, even records,  especially when the exchange rate of the pound was strong. So the Garrard is a typical example of over-hyped and overpriced unit from UK. I like how it looks, but come on ... 

I never completely understood the hype about audiophile pressing, the choice of music is limited, the price is high and it's all reissues. I always thought the real passion is good original pressings. 
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
I'm afraid that a person who advice you to use any cartridge with Elliptical stylus like your Sumiko for 1500 hrs know nothing about stylus life span and the difference between stylus profiles such as Elliptical (one of the cheapest and simplest) and advanced profiles like MicroRidge and related. Only Micro Ridge can be used for 1500 hrs while the Elliptical profile will be dead after say 500 hrs top ! 

If it easy to check. Just learn a bit about life span of the styli, it depends on diamond profile. 

If you're using your Sumiko for more than 500 hrs you will damage your records soon or already damaged it. How come anyone can expect 1500 hrs from an Elliptical profile? Even Shibata can't be used for such a long time. 
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