Turntable upgrade: What to do?

Boy, this would have been a really contentious debate not so long ago betweeen the "Linnies" and "the others". At one time, the Linn LP-12 was clear the best -- and maybe the only -- show in town if you wanted a truly high-end turntable.

I have to agree, however, with Jeff. There are a number of excellent TT's now available, and in my opinion, a number of them exceed the LP-12, both in performance and value. Among the tables that I prefer to the LP-12 are the Basis 2500 (not the Debut, which is too expensive for my budget), the ClearAudio Champion Level 2, the VPI Aries and VPI TNT, the Michell GyroDec, the SME Model 10, and the relatively new Acoustic Signature models which have been available at excellent introductory prices: the Analog One ($3500), and the Final Tool ($2000).

Pair virtually any of these tables with a top-flight arm (such as VPI JMW 10.5 or 12.5; Graham 2.2; SME IV; Immedia RPM2; the Wheaton Tri-Planar (available again); or even the new Rega RB1000) , and you'll have one damned nice analog front end.

My recommendation of the Basis 2500 and ClearAudio Champion Level 2 were made primarily on the basis of choosing TT's in the "reasonable" price range. The Basis 2800 is an excellent TT, and offers some improvement over the 2500. There is also, I believe, a ClearAudio TT that falls mid-way in price between the Champion L2 and the $12,000 Reference, but I have not heard it. My self-imposed dollar limit on suggestions was made based on assumptions I made about Gboren's apparent budget for upgrading.

I have had some short listening sessions with several of the TT's I mentioned, but not long enough to say with certainty which one is the "best choice". All will probably do a fine job with the right arm and cartridge.