2. analog
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Turntable suggestions?

I'm considering adding a turntable to my existing system. I have over 1000 albums that I've collected since the 1950's. Most of them are in excellent condition, as I've always been careful about cleaning them and not leaving them out on the turntable, floor, bed, etc. to collect dust. I have at least 25 MFSL albums and even some quadraphonic albums. It's been over 20 years since I've played them. I still have my old Dual CS 604 with an Ortofon (sp) cartridge. At 2002 CES and T.H.E. Show I heard quite a lot of analog and enjoyed the warmth, beauty and natural sound the turntables produced.

My current system consists of Dynaudio Contour 3.3 speakers, Plinius SA250 MKIV amp, Audio Research Ref. Two preamp all using NBS Monitor I cables.

I'd consider around $2500 for a used turntable.
rosstaman

Showing 2 responses by rcprince

rcprince
3,059 posts
 
Rosstaman, are you saying $2500 just for the table, or are you factoring in any of the arm, cartridge and/or outboard phono stage you'll need into that price range? With the level of equipment you've got, I'd suggest something in the Basis 2500/Ovation or VPI Aries/TNT range, but you'll need an equally good arm, cartridge and phono stage to take full advantage of that level of table. Anything at CES catch your fancy?
rcprince
3,059 posts
 
I'm curious how your Dual would sound in your system, but you'd have to get a phono stage to play it. For $2500 total, I'd suggest a Well Tempered Classic table (comes with its own arm), maybe an Audio Research PH-3 phono stage (should work well with the Ref 2 line stage). Other tables I've heard that sound fine are the Mitchell Orbe and the Music Hall MMF7, but the Well-Tempered is the one that got me back into analog, a very easy to use and musical piece of equipment. Your equipment is very good, it will show up any shortcomings upstream, but vinyl is so good you probably won't care.
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