Turntable upgrade advice


I've requested advice on where to upgrade my system before but have decided the biggest improvement would be in improving either my speakers or turntable or both.

Current system is:

LSA 1 Statement monitors

Rhythmik E15HP subs x 2

Clearaudio Concept w/ Concept MC cart

NuPrime DAC10 as preamp and DAC

Eastern Electric Minimax phono pre w/ NOS tubes

Emerald Physics 100.2SE power amp

Clearday Double Shotgun speaker cables

Audio Art IC3SE interconnects


The plan is to keep the Concept MC cart but sell the turntable. I really don't want to go above $3000 and would prefer to buy from a dealer whether it be online or brick and mortar. I'd prefer a deck w/ an arm as I've really only done plug and play solutions up to this point. Some current options would be:

Nottingham Space Deck 294 w/ Nottingham arm (recent production trade-in to dealer) - heard good things about the table but many comments about how the arm isn't as good. All the recommendations are for arms in the $2000 plus range. I can demo this at a dealer, so that's a big plus. However, not any recent reviews. The dealer also carries Michelle and Well-Tempered, would love to her the Gyrodec SE and the Amadeus GTA though both of these would be out of my price range new.

Pro-Ject RPM 10.1 or 10 Carbon (demo or pre-owned) - seem to come up frequently at online retailers. Seem to go in the $2000 range and reviews are very positive.

VPI Prime (demo or pre-owned) - the price hike bothered me but the demo prices are significantly lower and demo models seem commonly available. The reviews of this table are insanely positive across the board, not sure whether to take them with a grain of salt.

Gem Dandy Super12 Polytable - $3000 new by George Merrill. If I had the money I'd probably get a REAL and I've never seen the Super12 come up used. No official reviews of the Super12 version yet. The reviews of the standard polytable mention beautiful soundstaging and midrange but say that the low end is a little lacking which is a concern for me. I would hope that the Super12 would fix that.

Clearaudio Performance DC w/ Clarify or Satisfy arm - (used) This would be the most obvious choice as an upgrade from the Concept, better deck and better arm. Also, the used price is easier on the wallet. However, I read a reviewer that reviewed each one after the other and preferred the VPI Prime. Also wonder how much of an improvement I'd really get moving up one deck in the line. Floor vibrations are not a problem in my room, concrete floors so not concerned w/ that aspect of the tonearm. The cart should be a perfect fit as well.

Avid Diva II SP - Reviews seem to suggest that to get the most out of this deck you need a higher end arm. Also you don't get many offered used by dealers.



Ok, so that's my list. Please keep reco's to those tables on the list whether good or bad. Any opinions?




joegator81
Congrats joegator81. I have only heard Nott once, but I believe you have made a great choice. Enjoy the new table. Very cool that you don't mind giving the platter the Nott nudge (-:

inna,

I have the original Nottingham oil and I'm sure I could get more form hwdsound. They too said approx. every year. I'm keeping an eye out for the boston audio mat as it seemed to come up quite a bit in my research of these tables. Seems they aren't being made any more and there is only one dealer/distributor that has what is left of them for $250. Is that a fair price?

fjn04,

yeh, I know its a problem for some people but the turn is so smooth that it allows you to really feel the quality and very fine tolerances to which this table was made.

All that being said and as much as I like the clearaudio concept MC cart I'm thinking of upgrades (of course). My immediate thoughts went to the ortofon cadenza bronze (the tonal descriptions are right up my alley) or the kiseki blue NS (recommended by the hwdsound). Both should work fine w/ the arm. I won't be able to upgrade immediately and I'm also thinking of speaker and amp upgrades in the future (low power tube amp and something efficient like Tekton or used Audio Note??? or Rogue ST100 or NuPrime ST10 and something from philharmonicaudio, bmr or phil 3's possibly???). This hobby never ends...
joegator81, yes, Boston Audio appears to be no more. I can't remember exactly but I think it was $150 or $200 new, so $250 seems fair. Just about anyone I heard of uses this mat with the Spacedeck. Yeah, no rush to upgrade the cartridge.