Most hyped turntable, tonearm, and cartridge?

Dear Ihcho, So, from the "most hyped" question, this thread eventually turned into a bunch of recommendations for purchase, and I fell into the trap myself. I’ve got to correct you on one statement; the "high end" Technics turntables (SP10 Mk2 and MK3) were in fact used in a lot of radio stations because of the near instant start-up, but never by DJs (in nightclubs). The favorite DJ table was and is the SL1200 and all its variants.


Have you decided which turntable is most hyped? It’s always the one that the other guy likes, never your own.

Have you decided which turntable is most hyped? It’s always the one that the other guy likes, never your own.

Not quite. Probably I did not use a correct term. When I used 'hyped', I meant by something that is excessively advertised, overly reviewed, overly followed, and overly priced then what it really worth for whatever reason. Not much of misleading and false advertisement.
It appears that both those vintage tables and Japanese DD tables have very good reason for their following and high price. 
I somehow thought that the 301/309/SPU is at the level of holly grail in turntable community and the modern turntable technology has not surpassed the 70 year old technology. But the conclusion I reached from this thread is, it is not. Again, it was due to my ignorance, and I am happy to learn that. Apologies if I wasted your time, but I certainly appreciate your comment. 

@ihcho ,

"I somehow thought that the 301/309/SPU is at the level of holly grail in turntable community"


No one is saying it isn't. At least not far off. Certainly not me.

Don't forget that the fabled Technics SP10 itself harkens back to around 1970.

My mint Luxman PD444 from Japan with two new armboards in 2018 cost me $2000 which was not common, but I got real lucky. Runs perfect and is one of the most gorgeous golden age tables ever made. Real cost on a mint PD444 is more like $4000 or more, if you can find it.

Russian time traveling Victor TT101 in mint-condition sitting on JP’s bench cost me $1500. Original plinth with 4 armboards cleaned up, new Teak veneer cost $500. JP’s cost is around $1500. $3500 for top of the line vintage DD.

Spend money wisely says Yoda.

I have one different question though, if I may. Which is a better table between entry level Clearaudio turntable (like Concept) or similarly priced Rega 6 and Technics SL-1200GR?

You’re comparing belt drive to direct drive here.

I prefer the simplicity of Clearaudio and Rega, but if Technics is at least as good, and if it can be used with SPU cartridges (with additional counter weight), then I would go for Technics as my future turntable. (Well, I’ve read that it is absurd to use SPU cartridges with SL-1200GR tonearm, but I’ve seen some people were happy with it.)

As ex owner of a few SPU cartridges I can tell you that you’d better look for SP-10mkII and "12 inch tonearm like Thomas Schick. I owned this combination with my SPU Spirit and SPU Classic cartridges.

If you want SL1200GR then you can still use SPU with custom made ring weight for the counterweight, but it’s a bit strange, because there are many better higher compliance MC for Technics tonearm and some killer MM cartridges (best). You can also replace Technics tonearm with something like Jelco.