What Turntable to buy under $600 ?

I agree with Harhau - in this price range nothing OBJECTIVELY beats the specs of a 1200 in regards to speed accuracy/stability, and wow/flutter, nor is anything less finicky. And the KAB modded Ortofon 40 is a killer budget cartridge - with no setup needed - that's right ZERO setup. See here:

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue17/kaborotfon.htm

The KAB website offers their take on why the 1200 is in a different league than cheaper belt drive tables. You can decide for yourself, but it's worth taking a look at their reasoning.

I have a higher end VPI/SME setup, and I've often considered going back to a DD such as the Technics SP10.

Rega P3's are often known to run about 1% fast. I find it kind of hilarious that the same people who claim they can hear unmeasurable "sonics" and "inner detail" are also the first to explain away that you can't hear a 1% speed difference. Or that this does not represent a lapse in engineering care.

Rega, of course, does not publish any measurements as far as speed, wow and flutter, or rumble for the P3 (or at least they didn't used to.) They want you to trust in "sonics".

Here's a reprint from a 1977 Gramaphone Magazine (UK) review of the Technics SP10:

"Insulation against outside vibrations or acoustic feedback was excellent. I tried repeating the loading demonstrations I had witnessed in Japan and elsewhere with this machine, of pressing down hard on a record with a Watts Preener or similar cleaning pad, and was again astonished to find that the speed remained true. Therefore a Dust Bug or extra heavy pickup would simply have no effect whatsoever on speed. Since the stroboscope in this machine, however superbly designed, is simply giving a reassuring indication that the platter rotation speed is in agreement with the quartz crystal derived drive, I felt it necessary to check with a separate stroboscope and our (hopefully accurate) mains supply. The result was complete agreement.

Measured drift was virtually zero and wow and flutter was so low, about 0.04 % peak weighted DIN, that I became persuaded that I was merely measuring the amount recorded on my test discs. Subsequently Roger Furness, of the UK agents for Technics, was kind enough to let me have a couple of lacquer test records specially cut to contain lower levels of inherent wow and flutter than is normally attainable. With these I found the SP10 Mk II to produce no more than 0.025% peak. Similarly for rumble measurements I tried all the usual test records and, though the lowest reading obtained was -48dB unweighted, this too was at the lowest limit of the discs' capability. As for mechanical noise, this turntable can best be described as silent: even with an ear close to the unit there is no audible running noise. I know of no unit which can beat this one for silent running."

Think a Rega P3 can match this? Or that it's inferior in all MEASURABLE aspects, yet for some mysterious reason sounds better? Then buy one.

Another one to consider, a bit different from either the Technics or the P3, and even cheaper used (at most $350 total for a mint one) is a Dual CS-5000. I had one in my closet that I had never used and set up recently to in order to sell, and I was shocked at how good it sounded. Really good - it's a very balanced, neutral presentation. Also a very good-looking design if that matters - much nicer than the Technics 1200.

It has some quirks (such as a funky headshell with VTA built in and a not-so-great tonearm), but in it's favor is that yes, it's belt drive, but has quartz regulated speed control - a very unusual combination. AND it plays 78rpm! AND it has auto shut-off at the end of the lp (which is really nice for those listening/naps). I was very tempted to keep it but my wife kept the heat on me til it was gone.

Turntable.. Schmurntable...

A turntable only needs to do 3 things to be Perfect:

1. Turn at the prescribed speed (e.g. 33rpm) with minimal fluctuation.
2. Impart no vibration/resonance of it's own to the cartridge/arm.
3. Be shielded or designed well enough that the cartridge/armwire is not adversely affected by any magnetic or electrical field from the TT.

That is ALL a turntable can possibly do - PERIOD! There is no Black Magic about spinnin' a freakin' platter at a steady speed. The basic technology to accomplish this was in place somewhere between the invention of the wheel and the early 20th century.

Most of the TT's mentioned here meet those 3 criteria reasonably well.

Everything else being argued about is actually a function of the cartridge, the tonearm, the cartridge/tonearm matching, the quality of the arm wire/output jacks.

So my advice to the original poster, at $600 - buy whichever of these looks the coolest to you (or your wife), won't break the bank, and won't be too much of pain to keep running properly. I've had 15 or 20 of these types of turntables to play with, and I can say without doubt (assuming the quality of TT's already mentioned here) the choice of cartridge is by far the more important factor. And unfortunately that does get into a much more personal, subjective preference.

Stan and Pauly - we are talking about a very specific few sub-$600 table/arm/cartridge combos. In that realm, given the TT choices so far presented, I stand by my previous post 110%.

Of course an SME 309 arm sounds better on a VPI than on a $40 Fisher TT, and a 3" inch thick acrylic platter with a ring clamp sounds better than a 3/32" hollow aluminum platter. And they do ONLY because they obviously perform the 3 functions I enumerated better than a Fisher El Crappo does. But those aren't the choices we're talking about here, nor are we talking about an El Crappo.

We're pretty much considering a P3, a Technics 1200, or a Lenco type. These all have their specific strengths/weaknesses, but they're playing in the same league. So I still say that the cartridge that DVDGreco chooses (and it's synergy with the arm) will impact his enjoyment of the music more than which of these tables he ends up with.