No particular order…Technics, Well Tempered, Oracle. I pick Oracle for their aesthetic beauty and their perfection of the sprung subchassis concept. Well Tempered for innovative thinking and practical application, and Technics for a lifetime achievement award.
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British turntables must have been the dominant force in early turntable design. Ever notice that almost ALL turntables are operated from the right -- right hand driven? If USA made tables were "the thing" back in the day, we’d be operating them from the left.
You’re welcome.
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Stuff I've owned:
ELAC Miracord (630, a great entry TT for me when I was a semi-starving HS student)
Rega (Planar 2 then 3, nice step up if somewhat minimalist design; great to pass on to your kids when you upgrade)
Garrard (401, rock solid and a fun DIY project to build a plinth)
Dual (1229Q classic waiting for a new home at family mountain cabin)
Technics (1210D, most practical and trouble free TT I've ever owned)
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I can't speak for VPI the company, but I sure can about founder/owner Harry Weisfeld.
About five years back I bought myself nice used HW-19 and Aries model tables. A little while later I acquired a (used, of course) TNT-5 platter and bearing assembly with which to upgrade the HW-19 (the Aries already had a TNT platter, the version with the 7/8" aluminum bottom section with a layer of lead bonded to it's underside and a 3/8" top layer of black Delrin).
When I received the platter/bearing, I found the ball bearing on the end of the spindle shaft had it's bottom worn flat (the TNT-5 platter is pretty heavy). Try as I might I could not dislodge the ball bearing from the bottom of the spindle (I had tried freezing it and heating it with a small torch). I checked the ball bearing on the Aries spindle while I was it, and it too had been worn flat.
I emailed Harry, and he told me to send him the bearing assemblies (spindles and housings). He consequently emailed me, telling me he too was unable to dislodge the ball bearing from one of the spindles, so had his machinist fabricate a new one and secure it to the thick platform upon which the platter rests. He put new ball bearings on both spindles, and sent them back to me, charging me for none of it!
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top 3 4 favorite turntable companies- for longevity and contribution to our high-end audio hobby especially entry level:
- Pro-ject
- Rega
- VPI
- Technics
top 3 favorite turntable companies- classic
- Garrard - idler drive highly musical
- Micro Seiki - the SX8000II is gorgeous
top 3 favorite turntable companies- price no object
- SAT
- Dohmann Audio
- Esoteric
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I love the REGA P3 turntable with the RB301, back in the day with a Dynavector 10X5 (then $450) this was a very lively and engaging,fun, very fun, did i say fun setups! Which then led me to JA Michell Gyro SE and the REGA RB301 modified Techno Arm and Dynavector 20x2L. SME Turntables and the 3009 arm for the simple reason that is the upgrade for the JA Michell I would love to have :-)
Matt M
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No one mentioned Walker. You guys heard anything about turntables or what ?
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In no particular order: Linn, VPI, SOTA…
Honorable mention: Kenwood, Systemdek
Happy listening.
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Libraries and other places use Simon Yorke with SME arms for transfers.
Who is familiar with them ? And why would they use it with SME arms and not full SME set up, I wonder ?
Speaking of British.
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burmester 175 is a complete system, IMO, nothing comes close in the price range and its a beauty
merrill-scallia and Merrill-williams tables, absolutely stunning performance
sme makes a great table as well
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What parts have you needed for a Clearaudio? Just curious. In nearly 15 years of Clearaudio ownership (Ovation/Innovation/Universal) I’ve only needed belts, and some bearing oil my dealer provided free.
As for upgrades, I got some pretty generous trade-in allowances on Clearaudio arms from Musical Surroundings in the past (Clarify -> Magnify -> Universal), the Clearaudio U.S. distributor.
A plain Innovation armboard with a 40 mm hole drilled in it for $900, with an 8 month wait. Replacement Master Innovation shipping boxes (& packing) also for $900. Everything ordered from Germany takes a long, long time to arrive. A 80mm acrylic top platter (to replace the delrin one), I think that was $1600 - 2K. The liquid pump in my Double Matrix Pro Sonic keeps failing, ugh very frustrating.
I also have a spare Innovation controller PCB which is good because I don’t trust the trimpots on my original one (always adjusting back & forth to try and stabilize speed). Can’t for the life of me remember what I paid for that but I’m sure it wasn’t cheap. I should probably also get a spare DC motor since I’ll be keeping this table for the long haul.
On the bright side it is my best sounding table :)
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Good for you, but most other audiophiles don't, or if they do I wait to hear from them.
And I think Australians might take umbrage at the notion they are naught but displaced Brits. Doehmann and Caliburn are very fine TTs, for sure, but neither makes a TT for the masses, and neither has a long history in the business.
Technics
SOTA
VPI
Thorens (mostly in honor of their past successes)
Linn (because otherwise I will be excoriated)
The above in no particular order.
Also now I think of it: Denon, Dual, AR, Kuzma, Basis, Yamaha, Pioneer.
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No, they don't, I suppose. But when I think turntables I always think British first.
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@inna
I have a German turntable and tonearms (Clearaudio), Japanese cartridges (Lyra x 2, Dynavector), American phono-stage (Boulder), British electronics (Naim Audio top-of-line Classic series), Danish speakers (Dynaudio) and British subs (REL).
I know about PRaT and great midrange. My system has both. Brits are great at it (and you see I have Naim/REL) but they can't claim or dominate it on their own. 
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dwette, I exaggerated it a little.
Why ? Because Brits understand PRAT and midrange. And Australian Contiuum and Dohmann, same designer, are, well, thought of as being among the very best.
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@mulveling
3 table companies I like? Impossible lol. I also like my Clearaudio a lot, but they've made a lot of design missteps IMO, and their pricing (especially for parts, upgrades) sucks.
What parts have you needed for a Clearaudio? Just curious. In nearly 15 years of Clearaudio ownership (Ovation/Innovation/Universal) I've only needed belts, and some bearing oil my dealer provided free.
As for upgrades, I got some pretty generous trade-in allowances on Clearaudio arms from Musical Surroundings in the past (Clarify -> Magnify -> Universal), the Clearaudio U.S. distributor.
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I had a Linn LP12 from ca. 1987 until the 2000s. I stopped using it in the 90s because the suspension failed. Around 2010 my wife wanted us to start playing records again. I sold the crippled LP12 and bought a Rega, but wasn’t really happy with it. Then I bought a Clearaudio Ovation that was great. I upgraded to a Clearaudio Innovation in 2023, and I might upgrade that to a Clearaudio Master Innovation.
So I don’t have 3 favorite turntable companies. Just one: Clearaudio. I wouldn’t want another Linn or Rega after owning Clearaudio for nearly 15 years.
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@inna
Best turntables will always be British. And by extension - Australian.
Why?
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Here are my choices.
Shindo Garrard- A tricked out Garrard 301 from Shindo
VPI- Very good America made table, reliable and heavy.
Palmer 2.5i - just a cool turntable.
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Why not Technics when just about everyone seems to be getting one of them ?
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Best turntables will always be British. And by extension - Australian.
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Agree about WT. Love to have one.
VPI...excellent people.
I'd never have a Technics.
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1. Kuzma
2. Kuzma
3. Kuzma
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SOTA - really well engineered tables (Sapphire, Nova, Cosmos) that properly address the real problems of vinyl playback (isolation, whole-record clamping) without solving the wrong problems just for gimmick-factor. Great classic looks with any wood - other than yellow oak (ugh)!
That said, while I appreciate their last several years’ worth of technical & materials innovation (Christian Griego), they’re getting quite pricey now. I kind of wish they’d kept a parallel of the core 4-point suspension models stocked with basic older tech (motor / PSU / bearings) for a lower price. The way they’re trending now looks almost like a convergence with other overpriced, over-engineered brands. However I can’t really blame them because this market rewards bling factor and Rube-Goldberg solutions.
3 table companies I like? Impossible lol. I also like my Clearaudio a lot, but they've made a lot of design missteps IMO, and their pricing (especially for parts, upgrades) sucks.
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If I would’ve not gone the classic Garrard 301 route, I would have definitely picked-up TW-Acustic Raven GT2 with 10.5 tonearm. It offers amazing performance for the money!
My other favorite, SME 15 MK2. The design bit dated now but it remains one of the most solidly built design and performance.
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