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The disappearing $500 turntable

I was just emailing an audio buddy who wants to get a turntable in the $500 range, and I thought there was still a wide selection of them. Just a year ago when I was shopping for one, there was the Goldring GR1.2, Music Hall MMF5, Rega P2, Pro-Ject Xpression with the Pro-Ject RM5 or RM6.

Well, guess what? It looks like the dollar falling against the British Pound and Euro, plus the increasing demand for vinyl playback are taking their toll. Pro-Ject and Music Hall don't really have a $500 turntable anymore. A year ago you could get a Sota Moonbeam from Galen Carol Audio for $529 with cartridge. Now it's $699 without. Many of the previous $500 turntables have been taken "uptown" to X.1 or "SE" versions in the $700-$1000 range. Cambridge Audio's new TT50 is also $679. Now the $500 turntables are gussied-up turntables that used to go for $350, like the Music Hall MMF2.2LE and the USB version of the Pro-Ject Debut III.

Even the Rega P2 is now $545, and $645 with cartridge. The NAD is $599 with cartridge.

Given that most of these are made out of MDF using garden-variety AC synchronous motors driving the platter via a rubber band, it makes the high precision, heavily-built Japanese direct drives in this price range all the more attractive. You can still get a Technics SL1200 mk2 with SuperMat and Kevin's 23-point inspection for $475, the SL1210 M5G for $625, or the Denon DP-500M for $699.

Comments? If you had a friend unfamiliar with vinyl playback who wanted to get into it, what would *you* recommend now for $500?
johnnyb53
johnnyb53 OP
3,510 posts
 
08-29-08: Les_creative_edge
You can buy Technics SL12xx MKII series. You will be hard pressed to find another table in its price range or double that to compete with it.
Having just had a listening session with a Rega P3/24, I have to say I'll take my Technics 1210 M5G with KAB fluid damper over the Rega any day of the week, and on any and all listening criteria--s/n, musical involvement, speed accuracy, and especially, how "real" and "in-the-room" it sounds.

My rig is a compelling listen.
jmudrick
12 posts
 
A lightly used non-DJ'd SL1200 WITH the KAB tonearm damper will still keep you under $500. I prefer it the far more expensive SOTA whose place it took in my system.
mgattone
25 posts
 
Just my $0.02 - I am very happy with the Audio Technica PL120 that I bought for $300 from NeedleDoctor.com.
normansizemore
601 posts
 
Tell me something new. I would recommend going used. Dual 1229's used in manual mode are outstanding and robust. (I have a Grace 747 tonearm on mine) The idler wheel drive is dead silent and has pace, pitch and power like no ones business. Every now and then you;ll see a Thorens 124, or 150 at a fair price. The 124 is a jewell of a table. The 150, properly set up is as good as an LP 12. I also like the old Aristion RD 11s (the original Linn LP12). The motors, pulleys even the platter are directly replaceable with Linn units.
The Technics 1200 is as bullet proof a table as you will find. Direct drive or not, the are strong, and quiet. Parts are still available.
johnnyb53 OP
3,510 posts
 
08-31-08: Mgattone
Just my $0.02 - I am very happy with the Audio Technica PL120 that I bought for $300 from NeedleDoctor.com.
And they LPGear sells'em even cheaper yet. There's some positive buzz out there for this turntable. At $200 or $300, I think it's a no-brainer over a Pro-Ject Debut III or Rega P1. It's such a close copy of the Technics, I wonder if KAB's fluid damper would fit on it. You can also experiment with headshells made of ZuMetal, magnesium, Technihard, ebony, boxwood, and others.

If the Origin Live armboard to adapt a Rega-geometry tonearm to a Technics fits, you could really put together something special for crazy-cheap:

SL-120 from LPGear: $205
OL armboard: $89
OL-1 tonearm: $240

= $544 for a transport with s/n and wow & flutter figures of a $4K turntable with the RB-250, which often shows up on $900-1200 belt-drive turntables.

Now THERE's a $500 turntable!
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