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Best turntable under $4000

I am looking to take the next step in my analog journey. I currently am using a Fluance RT85 with ortofon 2m blue. I have a Rogue Audio cronus magnum iii. I am running them with Kef 104/2 's. Fluance seems to get alot of hate on here. I was considering a cartridge upgrade but I am hesitant to upgrade more then the cost of the table. I don't hear much background noise and like the sound. I guess I am wondering if I don't know I hear noise because I have not heard a turntable that eliminates that noise? When I went from my Onkyo to my Rogue Sphinx iii I realized I had been missing a whole lot of sound. Then I ditched my rebuilt EPI M150's and heard hidden instruments in tracks I have listened to for years. I am looking for that in a turntable upgrade.  Apperance is important. I have interest in the following:

Clear Audio Concept Wood w/ maestro v2

Mofi fender precisiondeck w/ mastertracker

Stretching my budget is:

Dr. Feikert Volare no cartridge

Gold Note Pianosa no cartridge

These take me out of my budget once I get a cartridge

Any other reccomendations 

I will miss the autostart function for those buzzed listening nights. I would like the 4k to include a cartridge. Any opinions are welcome. Anyone think I should say screw the "rules" and get an Ortofon black?

 

Thank you in advance

cpdkee
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bfoura
87 posts
 

I’ve had a few > $4K turntables in my day. Some mentioned here and all of them good. I moved on just to experience something new. I sold a 1200G to buy my current table, a Luxman PD 171. The 1200G is certainly a nice table. Very stable speed, easily adjustable VTA, removable headshell, after market upgrades, etc. However, for me, I found the belt drive Luxman to have more bottom end and more vinyl warmth. Of course, this brings up the great debate of DD vs. belt. I also like removable headshells cause I like to experiment with sound presentation from different carts, including mono. For me, this is a must have. Vinyl is a journey and the foundation is really the table. Buy the best you can afford but keep an open mind about trying something else just to educate yourself on what you like in sound presentation. Once you figure out the table then you can do the same with carts, phono preamps, tonearms, headshells, phono interconnects, on and on 🤣. 

wspohn's avatar
wspohn
579 posts
 

Best way to spend $4K is to buy a used well cared for turntable that originally cost double that.  I have done that several times, once getting a VPI TNT/ SMEV for the price of the cartridge it came with!  Takes research and careful examination of condition, but worth it,

boothroyd
365 posts
 

I sold a 1200G to buy my current table, a Luxman PD 171

Replacing the mat on any 1200 with the tungsten polymer record mat from that Luxman is a game changer IMO.

sokogear
1,056 posts
 

+1 Rega P8. Fantastic arm designed for the table. Just be sure to put on a wall shelf or some kind of suspension system (or both like I did) because it weighs only 10 pounds!. With a really good cartridge will put you over $4K by a little and by even more if you need a phono stage. 

The wiring goes straight from the cartridge all the way through to the phono stage - no headshells or tonearm cable interfaces to add distortions. Remember, every connector adds noise and distortion.

I wouldn't buy a used turntable of any type unless it was from a local dealer who would be willing to support it.

Regas depreciate very little for a reason. High demand and great value. Not big on their cartridges though.

Plus I think they look cool, but I wouldn't use that as a top criteria.

elliottbnewcombjr
5,230 posts
 

OP

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