Turntable upgrade recommendations: SME vs AMG vs Technics vs other

This is why I like Rega tables - extremely light platters/plinths/arms with low torque needs and noise. Great arms, build quality and durability. As long as you isolate them, they are a tremendous value.

By the way, when I put mine on a spring platform from Townshend the sound improvement was shocking. Now, it caused foot falls (so @lewm your concerns about springs are on the money even though @millercarbon will strenuously object to that comment) because of the frequency combination, so I had to put it on a wall shelf, which got rid of the problem, but you have to be sure the springs are the right tension for optimal sound improvement. The sound is dead quiet and the speed is at 33.28 and 44.98 RPM respectively and probably is even a little more accurate as I measured the revolutions with a cell phone which added a little weight to the platter.

Not sure why they don't get more positive mentions on the 'Gon.

terry, But you want the motor to affect speed, when the speed drifts away from constancy. So, in your first paragraph, are you making a virtue or a problem out of "torque".  I am not sure what you meant.  Could be you are saying that to couple a low torque motor with a heavy platter is a good thing, because speed in such a design is primarily maintained by the rotational inertia of the heavy platter.  That idea has its advocates and its detractors, as well.  What is remarkable is that so many different seemingly conflicting design philosophies can be made to "work" such that the end users come to swear by this or that approach.

@sokogear 

Yes, I appreciate my Rega P8, but you're right, Rega doesn't get any respect in the audiophile community.  Maybe there's some valid rationale for that, as they don't subscribe to either major turntable paradigms:  mass or suspension.  I am very happy with my Rega P8, but it would be interesting to compare to a "higher quality" turntable to flesh out the differences:  strengths and weaknesses, etc.

@rauliruegas 

Yes, the FM223 is apparently in very high demand, and it is quite expensive, at about 3 x the price of the standard Ypsilon phono stage or 1.5 x the price of the SE version.  I would imagine that the FM223 would be worth it, but for me that would be like going from a base Mercedes to a top of the line Bugatti -- perhaps I need to go to the upper level Porsche first? (less expensive than the Bugatti, but more performance than the Mercedes).

"" As a general rule, every active device (transistor or tube) in the signal path increases noise. ""

and passive device too. So, what? other than different kind of " noise "/distortion.

Dear @drbond  :  We already know that everything ( items. ) in the overall analog rig is critical: TT/cartridge/tonearm and for good reasons.

Now, you can have/own the ultimate: analog rig with the best whole capacity for the cartridge can pick-up " all " the recorded signal in those grooves adding the less every kind of distortions but the next step is the hardest and more " terrifying " for that recorded audio signal because that extremely delicate and sensitive signal must be amplified at a level that can be handled by the line stage or by the speaker amplifier and this kind of amplification is a true challenge for any phono stage that needs to amplify 10K times with no noise and no distortion ( those is imposible to achieve, nothing is perfect. ) or at least mantain at minimum to preserve the original audio signal integrity and things does not finish with the amplifiying steps but it comes additional steps in the phono stage that even degrades higher the cartridge signal than the amplifiying proccess and this is the proccess of the inverse RIAA eq that must be accurated with at minimum everykind of distortions.

The task of a phonolinepreamp will demands the best electronic design you can achieve to mantain at minimum the whole signal degradation that happens in the phono stage proccecess.

Yes, you need the Bugatti and if you think you do not then why to worry to change your RP-8 or your cartridge?

Don't you think?

R.