Bart, An AR 'table in good condition is a respectable performer on its' own. But check out Merrill's website (www.merrillaudio.com), and with some very cost effective upgrades, you'll have a 'table that is far better than a Planar 3. Merrill ceased building his own 'table some years ago, but still sells upgrades for the AR's. Just so you know, I'm not a Rega fan - I guess my ears are just too sensitive to the speed instability problems inherent with the P2 and P3.
AR Turntables as a starter table?
I'm just starting to put together a system and I am afraid I've already made a mistake buying an old Krell CD DSP. I will not be purchasing my "dream table" for a while but I was wondering what some of you vets. think of the old AR turntables? They seem to have some of the "nice" features found on newer tables. Three point suspension for example. Ebay always seems to have the EB101, TA, and XA's available at (fair?) prices. I guess my two questions would be, are they good starter tables, and if so, which models are the better ones? Thanks in advance. Bart Dickens