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New Turntable

Hi All,

I’m considering a new turntable for a system based around Classe Delta separates and Focal Utopia speakers. I’ve narrowed my choices down to a few models:

  • Luxman P151 MK II Centennial Edition
  • Luxman P191A
  • Clearaudio Ovation or Innovation
  • Rega P10

And looking for any feedback folks have on sound, value, ease of use, etc. I need to decide if I want to try to snag an individual centennial edition from Luxman while I can or get the entire set. I don’t have a ton of turntable experience, so as fuss-free of an experience as possible is desired. When I spoke to dealers they considered these options pretty low-maintenance and I should not be concerned there, though they did mention that Rega is about as set it and forget it as can be. I will need a dust cover and as far as I can tell all of these have that option available.

One thing that concerns me about Clearaudio is the age of the models and the almost 50% increase in price of the product lifetime of the Ovation. If it was still around 8K it would be an obvious front-runner for me. 

Please don’t respond with other brands. There is an overwhelming amount of choice out there and I’ve worked pretty hard to get to a short list already. An example I had, but removed was Goldnote Mediterraneo as it would be not regularly demoed and is available special order only.

 

tank_pd
imjerrys
62 posts
 

I enjoyed an Ovation for a couple of years, preferring an Origin Live arm instead of a Clearaudio Universal. My upgrade to an Acoustic Signature Montana Neo was indeed an upgrade, but much smaller sonically than the 5x difference in co$t.

oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
4,618 posts
 

Best advice for buying a turntable? Buy one from a company that ONLY does turntables...  Rega is the only exception to that rule... maybe the higher end Technics but you are making a compromise with tonearms .

oberoniaomnia
389 posts
 

I have a Rega Naia so a souped up P10. Love it, but two caveats:

- Rega does not have leveling feet. So either you already have a perfectly level surface, or you add some form of leveling device. I made my own platform from 1.5" of maple. (see virtual system),

- The felt "mat" on the platter clings to records, and is really annoying. Easy to replace, but will be thicker than the felt, so will slightly change arm angle/stylus rake angle. I went back and forth a few times, and could not hear a difference. I don't think micro VTA adjustments matter much, and adjusting it for 120 vs. 180 g records is not necessary. Had a VPI with VTA on the fly adjustments, and I could not hear any difference despite trying quite a bit. 

my 2c.

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