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Should I keep the Turntable or sell it?

I’ve been back and forth on this decision for about a month, and the more I learn, the harder this decision gets.

Backstory: I won the brand new Cambridge Audio Alva TT turntable in an online contest in mid-May, and while it sounds great, I decided to list it for sale a couple weeks ago. I’ve always wanted to try out a Rega P6 or P3 with a really nice cart, because I feel like I’m not getting enough out of my Pro-Ject Debut Carbon. Prior to winning the Alva TT, I switched the Red Ortofon out for the Blue, and there was a great improvement in sound quality. But after comparing the Pro-Ject to the Alva TT and hearing what a $1700 turntable can sound like, I definitely am interested in exploring more high fidelity turntables. The issue is that I feel like I prefer the sound of tubes over solid state, and the Alva TT uses an integrated Alva Duo phono preamp for the RCA out, and their own DAC for the Bluetooth out if I want to go that route. I don’t have a ton of experience with tubes, and maybe it’s just the “cool factor” I actually like and I’m just having a placebo effect.

So I decided to list it for sale to try and get a Rega, because I heard so many great things about them. But over the last week or so, I’ve learned more about the Alva TT and how it uses Rega’s famous tonearm. I looked up the cart and it is listed at $500 separately, which is probably why it sounds better than the Pro-Ject w/ Ortofon Blue. I’ve also read on these boards about direct drive being better than belt, which the Alva has as well. It also has the added bonus of Bluetooth that go directly to my KEF LS50 Wireless, but I would most likely just use interconnects.

So I would love to get some advice from you all. I’ve gone back and forth about keeping the Alva or selling it, along with my Pro-Ject Debut Carbon, and buying/trading for something like a Rega P3 or P6. If you had my first world problem, what would you do?
bignamehere
davidclarke
43 posts
 
My Linn LP12 is for sale on eBay if you are looking for a nice belt drive unit.  

I have a really good system; Quad ESL 2912s, mono-block amps, a couple of fancy pre-amps etc.  With the exception of a few very special records (direct to disk etc)  my record playing is nearing non-existent. I like the records for nostalgia value and for music that is not available anywhere else.  I have digitized many of my records and I really can't hear a difference; and I wanted to hear a difference.  
robert53
414 posts
 
I'm no turntable expert, but I like Rega turntables. I was considering one myself and was comparing the RP3 to the MOFI Studio Deck. I wound up getting the MOFI Ultra Deck + M which was more expensive, but I really like it, except for the cover which has to be removed when listening and is tricky to put back on because of the plastic hinges. The Studio Deck is within your budget. Of course it is only a belt drive without wifi or anything else. Tubes are great, but can be more maintenance. Also, purchasing good tubes can be expensive. I use some current production tubes which are cheap, but use NOS tubes in certain places where they blow away the sound of the new production tubes. Good luck.
musicfan2349's avatar
musicfan2349
207 posts
 
" No offense, but whenever someone has such a high loyalty for one company and downplays all other brands and even downplays huge advances in technologies to be trivial, I have to take the advice with a big grain of salt."

That might be the most sensible thing I've read on Agon...
bignamehere OP
56 posts
 
@flynnrd You clearly have not read thru this thread, or you would know I am certainly not a "shill" for Cambridge Audio or the dealer. Maybe a shill for Rega or Marantz, but certainly not the product for which I won in the contest. I have also stated in this thread that I have the Alva listed to sell on the Audiogon marketplace, and on reverb, which seems to do the opposite of promoting a positive image about a product. It is a great turntable, but just not what I am looking for with my current setup. Also, think about the people on this forum... do you really believe they would be swayed to gain interest and purchase a product from simply reading a forum post about selling the dang product?? SMH.

@stevencason I am not trying to do a comparison of tables, because I don’t plan on using a specific cart. Because these mid-level tables generally are sold as a specific "package", that is what I am inquiring about, the entire package. Some people here and on other forums have owned or at least listened to both the Rega P3 with Exact and the Marantz TT-15S1 and can provide helpful details about their listening experience. Waiting and listening is an option that I have explored, but in the end, I know I want a different listening experience that doesn’t require component workarounds. Tubes are a different story though. Also, the point of selling or trading the two tables is so that I am NOT shelling out a ton of cash.

@davidclarke I will take a look on ebay.

@robert53 I don’t mind the expense of buying tubes over time, because that is like buying and collecting nice bottles of wine. You can experiment and play with tube rolling, so I have learned. And the price of tubes seems to be much cheaper than swapping/upgrading carts, from what I can tell. And yeah, when I feel like splurging, I might look into the tubes from the 50’s and 60’s. Gotta roll these tables first. :)
robelvick's avatar
robelvick
619 posts
 
+1200 For the Technics GR suggestions.
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