Click title to read one, or click date to read all below it.
02-22-12
I would seriously question getting into vinyl if you have no ... Honest1
02-22-12
Thanks for your thoughts honest1. i'll toss out a couple of ... Mustangjeff
02-22-12
Congratulations on your decision! there are many folks here ... Stevecham
02-22-12
Congratulations on your decision! there are many folks here ... Stevecham
02-22-12
I see we can't edit like we used to...sorry for the double p ... Stevecham
02-22-12
Expect to spend far more than you expect to spend. Audiofeil
02-22-12
If you're not really wanting to do any tweaking, i would str ... Jazzerdave
02-22-12
Congrats on wanting to take the vinyl plunge! the rega rp1 i ... Richteer
02-22-12
$$$ aside, stick with your gut. vinyl (well sorted) blows di ... Rockitman
02-22-12
I second the local analog / turntable shop for demoing and s ... Sbrownnw
02-22-12
Here are some knowledgable dealers in the forum with good he ... Syntax
02-22-12
Don't want to burst your bubble but i think you would be bet ... Sibelius
02-22-12
Rega rp1 and mf v-lps mk. ii should be a very nice combinati ... Adam18
02-22-12
You might want to consider the rega rp-1 with a goldring 104 ... Dayglow
02-22-12
While i wholeheartedly believe that vinyl is superior to cd ... Manitunc
02-22-12
I agree with sibelius and audiofeil but it is a fun aspect o ... Truemaineiac
02-22-12
Congrats on getting into vinyl. much like you, i started ou ... Kinger111
02-22-12: Kbarkamian
The Rega RP1 is a better deck than the others you've listed IMO. Better table, tonearm, etc. I'm not bashing the others, as I've owned a Debut III and currently own a 1Xpression. The MH 2.2 is probably the only MH deck I'd consider, but I'd take an RP1 over it any day. Personal preferences, but I've seen and heard all of them side by side.
The phono stage is very important. I think Rotel has them built in to their preamps and integrateds? If so, that'll be at least as good as what you listed, and most likely better. If you've got an internal phono stage, keep that until funds recover and you can take a bigger step up like the entry level Simaudio phono stage IMO. I've heard the Rotel internal phono stages, and they were quite good. Not world class, but definitely as good or better than entry level external ones like the NAD and MF. I owned the PP2. It was decent, but nothing special. It sounded a bit too slow, veiled and closed in. If you don't have an internal phono stage, the Cambridge 640P (second step up, not the cheapest one) is the best I've heard at that level. It's not much more than their cheaper one, and is quite a bit better.
I strongly recommend buying from a local dealer. Turntables can get a bit difficult to set up. Once you see someone do it once or twice it's no big deal, but doing it on your own can get tricky. If you misalign a cartridge, you can damage it and/or your albums.
Make sure you get a good cleaner. The Spin Clean gets great reviews and is pretty cheap, at least for this stuff anyway. I haven't used one, but I know several people who do. They've had nothing but great things to say about it. After you amass some vinyl, invest in a vacuum cleaner. I bought a KAB USA EV-1 for about $170. It's s Nitty Gritty, minus the vacuum. I attach my home vac, and it's the same thing for quite a bit less money.
Sorry if I'm overwhelming you. Not my intention at all. And contrary to what's been said, you don't need to spend $3k to enjoy vinyl. My Rega DAC and 1Xperssion/cartridge/Speed Box are about $1k each. The turntable definitely has a distinct sound. Both are great to my ears, just different. Even my father's old Technics SL-BD1 that I dug out of his basement which was not much better than a toy Circuit City Audio Technica $20 cartridge showed the heart of what vinyl's all about when I hooked it up in my old system. That table and his old vinyl got me into spinin' the licorice pizza.
Kbarkamian (Answers | This Thread)
02-23-12
One other thing.....as others have mentioned, i would defini ... Kinger111
02-23-12
I had a kab-ev1 and it worked very well but i eventually wan ... Truemaineiac
02-23-12
Wanted to clarify my prior message. don't want to discourage ... Sibelius
02-23-12
Sibelius, do you really think the endless upgrade potential ... Kbarkamian
02-24-12
I've been looking at whats available here on audiogon. ther ... Mustangjeff
02-24-12
Kbarkamian: never said the upgrade bug was limited to analo ... Sibelius
02-24-12
Why doesn't everybody own a music hall mm5 for under 500 buc ... Wolf_garcia
02-24-12
For whatever reason, the upgraditis does seem much worse for ... Truemaineiac
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