The Best Turntable for $1300 or less

Ho Chin Electronics Co, LTD came up with a MMF9 knock off (with carbon fiber tonearm) for $375 USD.

mmf...denon////lots of used goodies too

See if you can find a used Rega 25...made on the 25th anniversary of Rega...and offering much of the upgraded features of their higher end turntables at a reasonable price. This table is also easy to set up, reliable and musical as all get out.

If used turntables enter the equation, the possibilities are near-endless.

In the new TT world, an interesting question would be, would you be better off with a $1300 TT (say, a Clearaudio Emotion or Funk Firm w/Rega 300 tonearm) or a Rega P3, Technics SL1200, or Goldring GR2 modded up to around $1200-1300?

I'm sure many of you know the mods for the Rega, one of which would be the speed regulator.

What about a KAB-Technics SL1200 ($475) with tonearm rewire ($169), viscous fluid tonearm damper ($150), voltage regulator ($250), and threaded clamp ($150)? This would come to $1194.

At $1300, I'd be awfully tempted to save up another $300 to get a VPI Scout or Clearaudio-sourced Marantz TT-15S1, at least based on the audio press raves.

This review of the Rega P5 impresses, as does the turntable.

http://www.stereophile.com/turntables/1204rega/