The Pioneer PLX-1000 for $699.00 is a killer player. Have Music Direct install the Ortofon Blue cartridge for around an additional $200.00 It's a perfect combination. The Pioneer weights close to 30 lbs. Rock solid. Music Direct says it sounds as good as any $2000.00 turntable they sell.
If you were looking for a direct drive turntable ...
Let's say one that cost less than $3K, with cartridge, what would you look at? I'd been thinking about a Technics SL-1200GR, but they seem no longer to be available. Which has led me to the Thorens 403, the Music Hall Stealth, and ...?
Please do help.
Unless, that is, I end up getting a Rega and stick with belt drive.
Thanks for indulging me on my quest, as I'm old and don't have limitless funds.
-- Howard
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@cleeds , can you tell me how a motor turns? @rauliruegas , sorry, I will have to disagree with you on that one. We made that direct comparison in the store I worked from. Remember I told you I Had L07 M amplifiers? I got those at salesman's comp because we carried the Kenwood line. Our turntable of choice besides the ridiculously expensive Goldmund was the Linn LP 12 of which I owned two. We had to decide which to sell to customers so we direct ABed them with the same cartridge. I can't remember for sure but I think it was the Koetsu Rosewood. The Kenwood had the typical Direct Drive muddiness we heard in every direct drive of the day. We even swapped the cartridges to make sure it was not a cartridge problem. Very impressive display. So Raul, no it is not better than a Rega P1 never mind an LP 12 or my current table and you know what I think of LP 12's. I was actually thinking of getting the Kenwood. I loved the amplifiers and the turntable was very cool looking. But, it s--ked. It is one of the DDs we tested that made me a die hard belt drive fan. I have never listened to Chakster's turntable and Luxman made some great equipment. |
It's not so much a matter of which tt is better; it's very dependent on who you are as a hands-on or hands-off kinda person - anything in your $ range will be acceptable. You say you're old - not all that relevant, unless you are implying you don't want to tinker or your sight/dexterity aren't what they used to be. There's a lot of good options in that price range depending on your situation. Do you want to have a tt that you take out of the box, put together, and start playing? Would you prefer getting a tt that needs you to add and set up your own cartridge? Would you be up for buying a used or vintage table of possibly higher quality and dealing with any issues yourself or finding someone to fix/refurbish it for you, or building one from the ground up with parts you select? I will assume that you are in the US because right now it's very hard to get a GR or G from a store or online - my last search found nothing that wasn't over MSRP and coming from the UK or Japan. The Technics tables are fussless, especially if you get a 1500c or such that comes with a cartridge, but I would stretch to the G if you have your heart set on the Technics (when they're available again - keep looking!). Lots of belt drives out there in whatever configuration you desire, and it's more important to pick one with the features and adjustability you want. Are you going to change cartridges on a regular basis, and so will need to easily adjust VTA, tracking force, azimuth, antiskating maybe? Are you one to constantly monitor the tt speed in case a belt is getting old and slowing down or the belt is in the proper grooves to give the most accurate speed? Do you want feet you can adjust? Do you need a built-in phono stage? How about semi-auto functions? Will you play 45's and 78's as well? What accessories are you going to have to buy extra to make the table work for you once you buy it - cables, clamp, dust cover, special adjustment tools, periphery ring, extra shims to set tonearm height, isolation solution, strobe disk, platter mat? I would make a list of the features/adjustabilty you want and make sure your choice checks all of the boxes. |
@cleeds , can you tell me how a motor turns? Actually, yes. I can tell you how various DD motors work, how belt drive motors work, what a "shadow pole" motor is ... and on and on. And I can tell you that your claim that turntables use "osciallating motors" is, uh, absurd. You simply don’t know what you’re talking about. Like you, I typically don’t care for DD ’tables, and owned a few of them including a Denon DP-6000 and a DP-80 on a VPI base. Unlike you, I don’t dismiss all of them with a wave of the hand under the absurd notion that they use an oscillating motor. In my world, facts still matter. You’ve just shown that once again, you don’t know what you’re talking about. When you do that, you tend to fill in your knowledge gaps with nonsense, such as your "euphoric turntable". That was a Dusey! |
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