Upgrade My Turntable - How Much Do I Need to Spend?

Listen to Jazz?

I'm reading a great Jazz Encyclopedia I was given. SOOO many Jazz greats made their reputations in the 40’s, early 50’s. i.e. MONO LPs. The recording techniques of that era (not the 30’s) were darn good.

Early Classical, so much great stuff is MONO.

Playing MONO LPs with a true MONO Cartridge is definitely better, by a little or a heck of a lot. Lack of Noise, and distinction of individual instruments (not imaging, but clarity from other instruments).

Playing a Stereo Cartridge even if your Preamp has a Mono Mode: the cartridge will pick up any vertical movement: scuffs, surface dust, dirt in the grooves, very slight warps: then the preamp’s Mono Mode will DOUBLE the unwanted noise in both speakers.

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Thus, quick change from Stereo Cartridge to Mono Cartridge?

I went thru a few phases until I realized, get a TT with TWO Tonearms, two cartridges ready to go!

In any listening session, play Stereo/Mono/Back to Stereo in seconds.

A single arm, with removable headshells and a few cartridges pre-mounted can work, but tracking force/anti-skate/arm height adjustments/verify azimuth each change is not easy or quick, certainly not instant.

I got too excited and added a 3rd arm, but now I have MC long arm; MC or MM rear arm, removable headshells (swap mine or my friends), and MC Mono 3rd arm left side.

You can find a TT that allows 2 or more Tonearms, start with one, add a second arm if you find the need, at least start with the capability.

And, IF single arm, a removable headshell.

Get a good phono stage, something in line with the TT you get.  My phono stage cost more than my TT.

A used Rega P8/10 would be nice.  RB880 and RB3000 are nice.

I got a used VPI Prime for $3k and am happy.  I think $3-4k is a good range; most of the tables have nice arms.

 "I would love to find a lightly used Rega RP10, and call my search over"

Plan on budget for phonostage as mentioned to fully appreciate whatever you decide to get.

Your setup is ready for "the next level.'

I really hate to ask stupid questions, but I will anyway.... why would I not just use the MM or MC input on my McIntosh tube preamp?  Isn't this a "phonostage"?   

And like I said, my apologies for the question - I am learning this analog as I go!

You ask a good question. I think making a one step up to get the most out of the rest of your equipment makes sense.

If you buy a new turntable, preferably from a dealer, or in the case of VPI diect. You should receive it all ready to go and not need to touch it for at least 2,000 hours. So, what is that 3,000 albums.

To that end, i would look in the $5K range. This gets you into the audiophile range. I find that massive tables like the non-direct drive VPI are dead quiet with awesome bass and have a pretty low cost to sound quality ratio. Tables like Rega and Linn are more lively sounding. One of the advantages of Linn is you can get one in the $4K range fully equipped with cartridge or can upgrade one or two parts when you initially buy it, and then in the future upgrade all the way to their top of the line, one component at a time. But it is best to have a dealer assemble. On the other hand, if the cartridge is already mounted a turntable like VPI Prime and Aries are incredibly simple and are unsprung so there are no adjustments.

I do not fiddle with turntables. I am a klutz and impatient. I buy from dealers. They set it up and make sure it is optimally performing and that is it.

For reference, here were last years recommended turntables from Stereophile. Lots are really expensive, but many of them offer more budget oriented options.