Sooo many options depending on your goals and priorities. What kind of setup are you hoping for?
After a ready out of box turntable.
- Quality preinstalled stylus
- Preferably no preamp
- Minimalistic look
- Wood option
- ATTACHED dust cover
Would pay up to $1k if I loved it. Also a fan of saving for other items.
Pairing with 600ne and 600M pair.
Any automation, or fully manual? Belt driven or direct drive? By the looks of your priorities, it seems a Rega, U-Turn, or Orbit are up your alley and have a range of options, but I believe are all belt driven and fully manual.
With turntables it’s also worth mentioning that vintage is always a great option. Usually you can get something of similar or higher quality for half the price (It just won’t have the modern aesthetic). Depending on what you find it might look way cooler though. If you live in any major city, I would check out what’s available at your local repair shop or get advice at a record store.
Yep you can get a LP12 <$1000 and job done.
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project debut carbon, or a rega planar 1/2 (the cartridge is not AMAZING but its a decent audiotechnica and hivinyws has some great demos showing that with his speakers the planar one does sound better…
both come with the attatched dust cover
the uturn also works but again no antiskate or upgrade options so i recommend the project if you want a lot of customization and quality OR the rega planar if you want JUST the best sound quality possible…
buy a schiit mani preamp and you have a great setup
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The U-Turn is a great option. I’ve had mine since 2014.
Super minimalistic, great price point and with the right cart and pre it sounds fantastic.
I Started with the Grado black cart, but upgraded the stylus to the 8MZ.
And as other have said, the Schiit Mani can’t be beet in that price range.
This is actually a decent player. Above all, they are very easy to repair.
Have you ever changed the belt?
Sometimes the speed switches break.
quite decent
thx
Turntables are unfortunately not the sum of their parts.
I also have no idea why these cheaply manufactured rega arms sound so good. They were just lucky with the RB250 in the 90s and have only made minimal changes since then.
Every entry-level turntable has its weaknesses. Maybe I was just so disappointed with the player because I know the potential of the 2M Blue.
A stock Rega P1 sounded better than the predecessor rt84 and I don’t know if the rt85’s improvements are enough.
Conceptually, something like an AVID Ingenium Plug & Play would be the absolute opposite. They focus on the deck itself first.
if sound is most important…
- MoFi StudioDeck
- P3 stock, later mount Red with Blue stylus and 3mm spacer
- Debut Carbon Esprit SB
- P2 and mount the Red, later upgrade to Blue stylus
everyone should own an LP12 lol
but he wants a new one, so no old Rega or Technics mk5 or mk3 either
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I don’t deny that its pretty good and also fits the wood finish want of you buy the special, just not a lot of long term upgrading
Though I do own a U-turn and like it and waiting until the 1K range to get the next turntable
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I’m actually thinking of buying either of those for myself once I have 1K, but those spacers mean the dust cover won’t close completely… and that is a big oof
I plan on even moving in the 1500 tier by adding an MC cartridge
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I like the P3 more as there are many more upgrades. Raising the tonearm is not absolutely necessary and I always solve the problem with the P3 with a Michell Engineering TecnoWeight. How about a P6 otherwise?
MCs are sensitive and that kind of thing … the preamp has to be really good. Many are probably better off with a high quality MM. The 2m Black, goldring 1042 …
The P6 is overpriced in the US… the same with the p3 because it’s so much cheaper in the UK and Europe than the US
That’s the issue
And im not big into stuff like aftermarket subplatters and stuff, only upgrading preamps or cartridges or cables or power supplies… and I often don’t do 3rd party mods for turntables like the groovetracer stuff
(also the 2m black is a nightmare to use and requires so much micromanaging to get the best pretty sound from ti)
Thanks so much for all the input!
Anyone have experience with the VPI Cliffwood?
Yup, here in Europe Rega is almost always the best choice.
The MoFi stuff is therefore a good alternative for you.
Not really with the appropriate equipment. Like every Shibata. But without spacers and at least P3 it won’t sound good.
If you want to go MC, the MC Quintet Bronze is relatively forgiving and relaxed.
The hana SL has an incredible amount of potential. The price-performance ratio is simply unbelievably good because the noise floor is phonomenally low. I feel it has a perfect balance of warmth, details and neutrality. It has destroyed the prejudice against budget hifi among many. But always in combination with at least 2k $ phono preamps. Because a big disadvantage of the hanas is that they are extremely demanding on the preamp. Adjustment is just as difficult as with the 2M Black.
The EL is much more forgiving, especially with old wavy LPs. But you also lose some resolution.
A 1042 has less fine dynamics, but you don’t need a Step Up Transformer to exploit the full potential.
The Sumiko Blue Point Special EVO III is good for everyone who wants their LPs to sound like CD.
The Goldring Eroica LX used to be a good choice for a warm sound, but is now simply overpriced in comparison.
unfortunately not
I had completely forgotten about the new Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC EVO.
That would be an alternative to the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC Esprit SB. Especially if you are not a fan of placing the records directly on an acrylic plate. Retrofitting a slipmat is unfortunately not a good idea because of the non-adjustable VTA.
Both are also available in walnut optic in Europe.
Maybe in just a bit too plug and play, I just want more detail and pretty sound and not need a 2K preamp or super detailed VTA and SRA management, I mean I plan to basically have made everything near the 1.5K mark, a cheap but still good for MC phono preamp to replace my Mani, a studiodeck, and then the cartridge