Substantial Upgrade


Longtime lurker, first-time poster:  My wife and I got into vinyl about five years ago and have been steadily collecting records ever since.  We love spinning records, and listen to a lot of jazz, pop, and classical music.  We started modestly with an AT LP120, and are lucky to have a friend who just happened to have a pair of Totem Rainmakers sitting in his garage collecting dust, which he gave to us, along with a TSC sub and all cables.  We have decided it is time to invest in our own system.

I've done a lot of research and read numerous threads on this topic here and elsewhere, and we've narrowed our choices down to two tables: the Rega P6 (in the $1500 price range) or the Feickert Volare (in the $3500 bracket).  Either table I'll be getting the Hana ML.  For phonostage, we've narrowed down to the MoFi UltraPhono or the Sutherland KC Vibe mk ii.  I'm hoping I can solicit opinions here on these choices and, in particular, whether the Feickert is going to make a difference for our use case.  Finally, I recognize that the speakers might be outclassed by these upgrades, but we are separately planning to move in the next year and I want to wait and see where our new listening room is going to be before investing in new speakers.    

Thanks in advance. 
bruinuclafan

Showing 4 responses by co93

Stick with the rega.  It’s a forgiving table that gets the job done.  Plus you should expect your local dealer to set it up so it’s plug and play to you 
there are a few simple rules.  On is if you have little kids, stay away from tubes.  Just say no.   On the phono preamp, there are plenty of good choices.   People on the site will swear by one brand over another.   But my experience is at the same price point, the differences aren’t as big as the differences in cartridges.  
I’ve got a P6 rega for my son (and a pro-ject for my daughter)   My tables are $10k and $20k with carts.  More often, the higher priced tables need more precise set up and tweaking.   Rega is a good, solid table.  I like the aesthetics of the higher priced Feickert and love his protracter.   But he is a small batch producer.  And you pay a premium for that.  Rega is pretty large, and normally that means a better value with a larger support system.   You can get them serviced anywhere....
But the worse thing you can do is overthink it....
Bruin.  I’m actually a clear audio guy.  Biggest problem is no integrated dust cover.  And the after market isn’t cheap, and is something you have to figure out where to put it when you’re using the table.  Once again, people need to understand your living situation.