In my personal experience the Mofi Ultradeck is the best balance of quality and value for the money spent. I am delighted with mine. My experience of the others is limited to showrooms and only mildly lengthy analyses of their, or my friend's personal, systems.
Which turntable is better?
I am considering my first turntable and having difficulty deciding between Technics 1500C, Audio Technica LP8X, Music Hall Stealth, Mofi Ultradeck or Rega Planer 6. My budget is 2K to 2.5K. I understand all the diferences in these tables as far as belt drive versus direct drive and semi automatic functions etc. but wanted to know from others experiences with these? I will probably upgrade cartridge from what is supplied. I don't have to have built in phono stage as my integrated, Unison Research Unico Due has one onboard.
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- 79 posts total
You will hear the benefit of a better cartridge on any decent TT, I recommend an advanced stylus shape, on boron cantilever like this one https://www.audio-technica.com/en-us/cartridges/type/moving-magnet/at-vm745xml You can use it on any future arm ...................................... I like that the Technics 1500 does not look like a DJ table, but keeps the good features of platter and deck, has both removable headshell and height adjustable arm. I wish I had it’s auto-lift feature. "aluminum die-cast platter with a resonance-defeating rubber backing, and two-layer chassis comprised of die-cast aluminum, ABS, and glass fiber. For added dampening, Technics also devised a spring and rubber insulator." There is the possibility of setting it inside a wood base/surround, this is 2 years old, I haven’t looked lately. ........................... A less costly alternate to start, prove if you stick with Vinyl, is an Audio Technica AT120, I had one for years between my Thorens TD124 and current setup. however, the current 120xusb TT has fixed arm height (like most Rega and Fluance models), earlier AT120usb models arms were height adjustable. here’s one, returns accepted, optional warranty, from someone who seems to know how to ship
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For the absolute less fuss (i.e., not have to struggle with set up issues, fret over VTA, which headshell to buy, etc. that seem to consume many tt owners) and thus easiest, straight line to being able to just play music, I would go with a Rega Planar 3 (or 3 RS) with their bundled, new-ish ND5 cartridge. |
- 79 posts total