Given your placement restrictions, current equipment, and casual commitment, a Fluance would probably do what you require for the moment. Spring for an RT85 with the Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge.
Edit: Elliott’s recommendation above works too.
Vinyl somehow has piqued my interest.
I never ventured into the world of vinyl personally. At 52 I have gone from cassettee to cd and end at streaming... and I am starting to miss actual media in hand, thus my interest in getting a cd transport, and now vinyl has made its way into my interest. Maybe because of the nostalgia of it - much like CD - a time in history that I don't want to disappear into the ether and be forgotten.
With that said - I would like to dive in - and get a vinyl player - but I have NO idea where to start and what brands to focus on - that would also include tonearms and cartridges. I could hit up chatgpt - but what fun is that...
I know a few brands that seem to put out decent products that I would probably be happy with - given my current system - which I will be migrating to a 2ch system this year but for now I have what I have:
marantz 7704 preamp
b&w cdm9nt towers
cambridge mxn10 and dac200m
kimber 8tc speaker cables
I would like to get some recommendations for a 'decent' vinyl transport. Nothing crazy expensive. I am talking less than 1k to 2k all in... that means player, cartridge, tonearm etc... much less if that is possible.
Just something I can listen to and it doesn't suck. So really the only restricitions I have are budget, and placement of gear -- has to go in a cabinet with the rest of my gear -- I no way to display it on a top shelf of some furniture etc...
Is there a sonic difference between them? Everying in audio seems to have its own character - so is it the tonearm and cartridge that 'matter' more than the thing that spins round and round? :)
Technics, Rega, Fluance, Music Hall, Pro-ject -- I am sure I am missing a lot on this list...
Is there a sleeper that punches way above its price point?
Thanks in advance.
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You mentioned ’in your cabinet’, I have one similar to this, it has excellent advantages and sounds great 1. stack it, the drawer pops forward for loading 2. automatic play/end 3. T4P P-mount Cartridge is easily changed, upgraded, auto alignment. 4. Linear Tracking, no anti-skate needed.
here's mine, I would prefer Linear Tracking, mine is a pivoted arm needing careful alignment |
basic P mount cartridge with replaceable elliptical stylus https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT85EP-Turntable-Cartridge/dp/B077QG5QSJ/ref=sr_1_2?sr=8-2 there are P mounts with advanced stylus shapes, Shibata or Microline, I’ll look for one, that is what I am using this is a custom build Shibata on Boron LP Gear Vivid Line https://www.lpgear.com/product/LPGATSER05L.html LP Gear Shibata https://www.lpgear.com/product/LPGATSER05S.html
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my recommendation would be to hold off on getting into vinyl. It’s based on few important details
with $2,000 to spend, my advice is to direct these funds towards upgrading your speakers to something like the latest B&W 7 or 8 series. Then upgrade your integrated amp down the road. I love vinyl and I dumped it but returned to it several times. The most recent comeback is after I got my digital and all other components to the highest possible level I can reach at this time. Don’t get me wrong. Analog is fun and done right it will sound amazing. But that comes with a hefty price tag. If you want to dive back into physical media, there are great cd transports like audiolab and Cambridge that can be had around $350-$400 used plus a nice digital cable you can use with your existing dac and you will be well under a thousand. CDs on ebay or discogs are affordable. May be this is a better option. |
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