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Most hyped turntable, tonearm, and cartridge?

Which turntable, tonearm, and cartridge do you think are most hyped?

One of my friends who owns Garrard 301, Thorens 124 and EMT ?? told me that those three vintage turntables are as good as one can get for the price points, beating most modern turntables costing under $10K. However, I've also read that Garrard 301 is over hyped.
My friend also insists that Ortofon RMG 309 tonearm and the original SPU Silver Meister (not MKii) are best for Garrard and Thorens. I wonder whether the Ortofon arm and SPU cartridge are over rated. 
Your thought?
128x128ihcho

Showing 2 responses by cakids

cakids
166 posts
 
I don’t know about hyping, but I have 4 turntables, and can rank them in sound quality in my systems.
1. Pro-ject Signature 10
2. Pro-ject RPM 10.1 Evolution
3. and 4. tied:
  - Clearaudio Concept
  - Oracle Delphi V with Granite plinth
You can’t go wrong with a Pro-ject TT in the $3k to $4.5k range. I find that Hana, Audio Technica, Ortofon and Sumiko mc cartridges with mid to hi compliance in the $1k - $2k range work best..

cakids
166 posts
 
With respect to linear tracking arms, I have some, albeit limited, experience. I used an Eminent Technology air bearing tangential arm on a Sota Sapphire table. No big deal. Sound quality no better than a decent pivoted arm. And the air pump, etc was a pain. I have been avoiding linear trackers ever since.
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