Hey @thecarpathian I bought a Denon DP59L turntable recapped and restored from captmark09 on YouTube about 6 years ago and it's the best turntable I've ever owned (previously Realistic turntable, then Sony linear tracking, then Ariston QDeck, then Thorens then Project then Music Hall then Fluance, etc over the years). It ended up costing me a little less then $1000 including a new AT VMN40ML cartridge he installed. Mark was getting turntables from a Japanese contact and recapping and restoring them in Dallas. I would say that, in your case since your turntable is functioning fine, I would just use it and enjoy it...then get it restored if you have a problem, maybe buy a new cartridge that you prefer. It may not be your "forever" turntable, so I might not spend the money right from the start. Enjoy!
What would you do?
I just bought a Denon dp-57l turntable in really , really nice condition for what I feel was quite a bargain ($250). It functions perfectly, gorgeous rose wood veneer, scuff marks on the dust cover which can be buffed out with lens restorer. Even though it functions perfectly, it is 43 years old and has never been recapped. A recapping can cost up to $700. It also came with an Ortofon Red cartridge not worthy of this quality of table and I'd say needs at least a Bronze. So my question is:
Given the initial $250, plus $700 for a recap, plus let's say $500 for a good mm cartridge, we're looking at $1450 give or take a couple hundred if recapping isn't that much. Is this beautiful table worth it quality and sound wise to put that into it, or would a comparably priced new table beat it in sound quality? Looking for those with a similar Denon who've recapped theirs and have a quality cartridge to voice their experienced opinions. I'm putting it in a system that has Belles integrated, but I'll be using my BAT phono pre.