Yamaha PX2 , Technics SL-M3,
Sony PS-X800 are good Linear tracking turntables. These days, hard to come by. Some come up from time to time.
Yet another turntable recommendation question
Hello all,
Longtime reader of the forums, but I rarely post. As a relative noob, I have learned much from reading your conversations, so thank you.
I am currently looking to upgrade my turntable situation from my old plastic Technics and Onkyo hand-me-downs.
Budget would be stretched at $600-ish.
Features I like...
- removable headshell, or at least a way to easily change carts and related tonearm adjustments
- speed stability!! (as a musician, pitch instability drives me absolutely insane)- some prospect of upgrading over time (tonearm, platter, sub-platter, wiring, etc.)
- belt drive- good (dare I say great?) sound quality- Auto shut off would be very nice
I don't want bells and whistles like built-in phono stage and USB nonsense. Simple is good.
I have considered buying used (Thorens, Dual) and haven't necessarily ruled it out, but I don't want a project, and I darn sure don't want to inherit someone else's problems. Warranties are kind of awesome.
The rest of my system is...
Schitt Mani, Jolida JD1501BRC, Wharfedale Diamond 10.7, Audioquest, BlueJeans, and Morrow cabling.
Mid-fi, I suppose, but I think it sounds great for the price, and I have no immediate plans to change any of that.
I listen to everything from classical to hard rock to jazz to ambient drone.
So far I have looked at Music Hall, Fluance, Denon, Rega, Pro-Ject, but all are compromised in some way.
Are there any others I should be factoring in to the equation?Or any I should steer clear of?
Thanks for any advice and cheers!
Longtime reader of the forums, but I rarely post. As a relative noob, I have learned much from reading your conversations, so thank you.
I am currently looking to upgrade my turntable situation from my old plastic Technics and Onkyo hand-me-downs.
Budget would be stretched at $600-ish.
Features I like...
- removable headshell, or at least a way to easily change carts and related tonearm adjustments
- speed stability!! (as a musician, pitch instability drives me absolutely insane)- some prospect of upgrading over time (tonearm, platter, sub-platter, wiring, etc.)
- belt drive- good (dare I say great?) sound quality- Auto shut off would be very nice
I don't want bells and whistles like built-in phono stage and USB nonsense. Simple is good.
I have considered buying used (Thorens, Dual) and haven't necessarily ruled it out, but I don't want a project, and I darn sure don't want to inherit someone else's problems. Warranties are kind of awesome.
The rest of my system is...
Schitt Mani, Jolida JD1501BRC, Wharfedale Diamond 10.7, Audioquest, BlueJeans, and Morrow cabling.
Mid-fi, I suppose, but I think it sounds great for the price, and I have no immediate plans to change any of that.
I listen to everything from classical to hard rock to jazz to ambient drone.
So far I have looked at Music Hall, Fluance, Denon, Rega, Pro-Ject, but all are compromised in some way.
Are there any others I should be factoring in to the equation?Or any I should steer clear of?
Thanks for any advice and cheers!
- ...
- 34 posts total
Some of the new Pro-jects and Music Halls look interesting, despite afixed headshells. The used market in my area doesn't currently offer much, but I'll keep looking. I would be very reluctant to buy used without testing it out first. @elliot _ I can set alignment, azimuth and anti-skate fairly well. What I am more concerned about is changing carts with a one-piece tonearm. Is it a huge PIA? If not, I can forgo the removable headshell. Sounds like auto-return might also be off the table. I'm ok with that. That being the case, anyone have experience with anything similar to this..? Looks interesting and on sale... https://www.crutchfield.com/S-27jLsQYlV3J/p_823MMF23SE/Music-Hall-MMF-2-3-Special-Edition.html?XVINQ... It has VTA and anti-skate adjustment. That's a big plus as I would likely swap out the cart at some point. That's what turned me off to the new P1 & P2. Also, looks like the speed regulation is improved from the base model. There's no built-in pre-amp in the signal path. Looks nice. Maybe a platter upgrade down the road... |
Pro-jects and Music Halls are piece of sh**** belt drives, lightweight plastic turntables, toys, you have to remove the platter to each time your want to switch a belt from 33 to 45 rpm and you must do that manually, an awful turntables even for entry level. Awful tonearm with NO adjustment of anything, they are too bad. Go with Direct Drive and you will get something serious. New Technics, Pioneer, Denon ... whatever. Some vintage are far better, look for Technics SP-20 which is a simplified/cheaper version of one of the best direct drive ever ( SP10mkII ), make a custom plinth and buy the tonearm you want. Those turntable will live longer that we’re |
I simply will not have an arm without a removable headshell.
I was at my friends house last night. To specifically listen to some 'new to us' Jazz records. He didn't even realize they were mono. I had packed the headshell with my new Grado ME+ Mono cartridge, and my digital stylus gauge, expecting to let him hear the difference. He had a Grace Arm, integral/non removable headshell. No way can he change headshells, You would need to pull the tiny wires off the cartridge pins, unscrew the cartridge, install and completely align a different cartridge, EVERYTHING. How many times do you want to mess with those tiny wires? ........................... That TT is fixed headshell, and belt drive. I won't do belt drive, and you mentioned specific sensitivity to small speed variances. It may be a great deal, looks to be a carbon arm, .... but, I bet you will regret compromising on those 2 features. |
- 34 posts total