EMT turntables as good as other great vintage TT?

Great thread. I have had quite a few EMT turntables and currently own 5 948's and 2 950's. The 948 and the 950 are very similar. I enjoy them more than the 930 or the 927.

If you are looking for something easy and built to lasty for many decades, I strongly suggest the EMT. The Garrard 301 and the Technics SP10MK2 or 3 are also terrific but they will require much more work to get them to sing.

The 948's come up for sale every now and then. I would venture you will pay 3500 and up depending upon condition. I paid $11000 for a brand new one I found in Europe. I have never had a service issue on any of mine and they are really built like tanks.

I totally agree with Steve that changing the arm and armboard and bypassing the internal phonostage really elevates the performance greatly. All of this is fairly simple to do.

BTW, I think the reason that the 930 and 927 are more expensive is only the rarer nature of the tables, not the performance.

Jweiss: I totally disagree. Fbhifi is correct. The EMT 948 is designed to drop in and hang. A purpose built plinth allows the turntable to work more the way it was designed.