Turntable options


Looking for a table in th 10k range with arm and cart. Could stretch the budget to 15k if worth the extra $’s. I’ve considered, Clearaudio innovation or ovation with Koetsu Black Cart and universal 12 arm/ Brinkmann Bardo with Pi cart or AMG Giro. 

All insight and options welcomed. It’s fun to evaluate, but not sure if the juice is worth the squeeze. I’m also interested in recomendations for table platform form vibration. 

Thanks
hambon

Showing 6 responses by inna

Without knowing the rest of your system, your music and sound preferences, it is impossible to recommend anything. The only thing that can be recommended at this point is to audition them all. However, you would need to know which in the chain contributes to what. This requires great experience and hearing. Choosing turntable/arm is even more difficult than speakers.
As you can see, Bill, being a long time serious audiophile, has been listening to the wrong cartridges for years. His new Koetsu might also be the wrong one, just less so.

Your phono stage will be inadequate for the level you are aiming at.
I'll just mention some other brands: SME, TW Akustic, Nottingham, Pear Audio, VPI.
Not everyone's, of course, not mine either, but SME is always an excellent choice, and they have been around forever.

A little, Bill, a little. Horns.
Anyway, yes, table itself first, no doubt. But it can't play all by itself. Vinyl is a pain.
Steelhead if you stay with Manley, Allnic that Bill uses if you want to go higher. Good things do cost money, Rome wasn't built for free either. There are other phono stages, though, including Pass.
I think, you need a table with a strong drive. Bill's system is a little jumpy and hectic and yours a little lazy.
Because that Manley is entry level and $12k - $15K table/arm/cartridge are not. Very generally speaking, especially because higher end MC cartridges are so overpriced, phono stage should cost at least 1.5-2 times more than cartridge. Phono stage is more important than cartridge, though, so you might not want to put that $7k Koetsu right away.
Another point, the one that Bill didn't mention, is that he has completely different system and consequentially the sound. His system is all tube with horn hybrid speakers. I does matter, what sounds great there might not sound great here, though at this level there are no bad turntables, yet none of them sound quite or at all alike.