Newbie turntable Upgrade

So I broke my cardinal rule about not going down the Vinyl Rabbit-hole, now this Alice-in-Wonderland owns a Fluance RT85, 4,count them, FOUR phonostages (Parasound XRM, Darlington Labs, Sutherland , and a Waxwing to feed my dac) Ortofon 2M Blue, and Bronze, and a Denon DL-110 cartridge along with a bunch of decent jazz and classic rock lp's. Now the need to upgrade the turntable has risen. Looking for suggestions that doesn't exceed $2K usd.

I value your opinions.

ericrhodes111-27-2025 12:54am

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elliottbnewcombjr Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 7,746 posts 12-04-2025 at 02:29pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete they make a few non-dj appearing models, scroll down to see the setup guide here https://us.technics.com/products/direct-drive-turntable-with-bluetooth-sl-40cbt 3 colors, black, brown, gray the 1500 comes black, silver, or white, better plinth https://www.crutchfield.com/S-DtSRlnfKpUE/p_133SL1500B/Technics-SL-1500C-Black.html?XVINQ=BVP&XVVER=B8FO&AWDV=d optional end of play lift
elliottbnewcombjr Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 7,746 posts 12-04-2025 at 03:07pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete IF I was going to buy a Technics, it would be for their superior composite plinth, you don't get that with the new minimal appearance models
lewm Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 14,673 posts 12-04-2025 at 04:10pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Elliot, after saying I’m right that a newbie ought to avoid the foibles of vintage DD, how can you then go on to recommend the Victor TT101, perhaps the most prone to malfunction of all vintage TTs? And there’s no one to fix them now that JP Jones has retired from the business.
elliottbnewcombjr Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 7,746 posts 12-04-2025 at 08:37pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete lewm I thought it was the 801 that was a nightmare. OP, Others lewm says avoid the TT101, and he knows about these more than most.
elliottbnewcombjr Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 7,746 posts 12-04-2025 at 09:38pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Japan Auction these days, you open a free Fedex Account, give them your account number, they arrange with FedEx, you pay FexEx. My latest win, an AT160ML cartridge is on it's way here.. ........................................ So, start with this terrific TT81 with awesome Micro Seiki 505 arm in a compact wood case with hinged dust cover. see photo, base is simply a frame and top board. https://auc.aleado.com/yahoo/lot?auctionID=1210129382 one day, soon? move it to JVC Victor's best composite 7 layer plinth with real wood veneer CL-P1 7 layer Plinth, compact, hinged dust cover for 1 arm, you can see the layers in many photos and the rear edge is not veneered on these. https://auc.aleado.com/yahoo/lot?auctionID=f1208552730 Or, find a CL-P2 some day, add a second or even 3 arms on it like I did. Note: they are much deeper than typical plinths, I added a new deeper glass top on my rack Fortunately the bulk of the weight is forward, so I did not near rear edge support, just cantilever enough for the legs, it's heavy/solid.