Turntable advice?


I have a modest, entry-level system consisting of:
-Bel Canto s300iu
-Linn AV5140/Espek
-Rega P1
-Naim Stageline phono stage
-MacBook

The vast majority of my listening is via computer, but I like vinyl for those really special albums (the "desert island" picks, if you will). For a while, I've been considering upgrading the turntable (The rest of the system will also go through periodic upgrades, but the TT was my first consideration). A local dealer offered to let me audition a Michell TecnoDec, and I accepted.

I have a couple of issues:

1) The turntable itself literally does not fit into my cabinet, where the P1 currently resides. Everything but the motor goes into the spot, but, while I'm no expert, I'd wager that the motor plays a key role in how the music sounds.

2) I have a nagging fear that the TecnoDec, on my little system will highlight the fact that I do have a modest, entry-level system and will figuratively not fit in.

Is my nagging fear grounded? Would it, in essence, be like dropping a V-8 into a Fiero (No offense to any Fiero owners out there)?

Any advice from you seasoned turntable experts will be appreciated.

If you need to know, my vinyl listening habits tend mostly toward rock, but a lot of acoustic stuff: Elliott Smith, U2, Johnny Cash, Iron & Wine . . . . .
theraiguy

Showing 1 response by stonedeaf

Over the years have heard a number of "British" systems that were very heavily ( at least in dollars/pounds spent) weighted in favor of the source - in a couple of cases around two thirds of the expenditure was on arm/table/cart - with the amp/speakers being nice - but not terribly expensive.Especially with LP based systems - these worked very,very well.They extracted a amazing amount of music from the LP's and let you hear it.American systems have tended to be biased towards getting the best speakers you could afford and then sorta hoping that what was feeding them was musically revealing.
Don't worry about overspending on vinyl playback equipment - the only problem with this is you'll find yourself in the poorhouse from buying records - 'cause everything else sounds sorta blah in comparison.