Looking for a new Turntable and need some advice.


Hello all,

Would be very interested in your thoughts on the Rega P7 or P9, VPI Scoutmaster or Classic, Mitchell Gyro SE Mk II and Origin Live Resolution Mk 2. All very similarly priced and having their own pros & cons.

I have plans to audition the O/L Resolution in the coming weeks and planning to hopefully have a demo of the others pretty soon.

As to the Rega P7 I'm really torn on this one, not sure if the P7 will have more of everything, soundstage, timing, detail, silent blacks than my P25, would be disappointed if it was only marginally better.

Current setup consists of a Rega P25 with the Groovetracer Sub-platter and Acrylic Platter, Pete Riggle VTAF and Grado’s Reference Platinum cartridge. All connected to a McCormack Micro Phono Drive with Platinum upgrades. After hearing the difference between a stock McCormack MPD and the Platinum I knew the table set up was a limiting factor and thus the reason for starting this search for a new table. I’m in no hurry and will be doing as much research as possible before making a final decision on my purchase.

I also have plans to move up in the Grado line to either the Reference Reference or Statement in the near future as the Platinum starts to age (if that makes a difference).

Anyway I would like to Thank Everyone in advance for your constructive comments. Would really like anyone’s thoughts if they went from one brand to another (pro’s and con’s).
ig316b
I have a suggestion that is less costly than some of your stated interests and IMHO far exceeds the musicality of the Rega P9. The new Well Tempered Amadeus is a superb turntable system for $2850. For my auditioning it was far more musical than the P9 - in every way. The cost for an Amadeus will be higher than $2850 because you need to supply your own RCA's. I use Auditorium 23's at $795 per 1 meter pair; they are also available in 0.75 and 0.5 meter lengths. Please do yourself a favor and audition the Amadeus with a good pair of RCA's and your cartridge of choice. If you do, you should plan on a lengthy audition!

YMMV, but in the case of the Amadeus, I seriously doubt it.

Good luck!
03-30-10: 4musica44107
I have a suggestion that is less costly than some of your stated interests and IMHO far exceeds the musicality of the Rega P9. The new Well Tempered Amadeus is a superb turntable system for $2850.
I also can't imagine considering turntables in the $3K neighborhood without considering the Well Tempered Amadeus. From what I've read (from both professional and user reviews) the WT Amadeus re-defines that price point. A look at its engineering and damping suggests that it would do that.
I am the happy owner of a Michell Gyro SE, so regard me as biased. Very biased, as is the English audio press, where a lot of information about this table can be found. Was just mentioned in , of course, an English mag as the best choice for entry level high end sound. No argument from me.

Good luck on your enjoyable journey.

I have little to add, other than the general advice I use when buying unfamiliar items. I try to find the top of the line designs available, and then try to find design elements i like that I might not have been aware of, or design elements in common with the lower priced items that I might buy. Without any price point constraints, you find a lot of design concepts available, yet if a common thread is found that is shared among a fair amount of tables it might point the way.

For instance, three point suspension. A simple concept, in that three points define a circle, and records are round. If you believe that a simple design is better, this could be a feature placed on the desirable features list. (simple is very hard to do very well, but is very good to own)

For myself, I put a lot of attention on the main bearing. I knew I wouldn't be upgrading that, whereas motors and pretty much anything else that can be removed can be upgraded. Upgrading is not really the point with a new purchase, I know, but I was shopping for long term ownership. I wound up with the Michell and an oil pumping inverted bearing, made of brass. I understand and like oil lubrication for bearings and this was a part of a well accepted design. No doubt the other more modern materials also work well, but I know what wear characteristics will happen with synthetic oil through the years, and brass sounds good. Most of the big tables are using long chain solid polymers, teflon and the like for platter bearings, as you know.

Hard to answer with out falling into cheerleading for my own past decisions. A large part of my decision was the availability of a matching arm with adjustable VTA on the Fly, which can be done with the Michell arm on the Gyro, with some care. Not an advertised benefit, but that's life on a budget, you find what you want that works in your price range ,
I just hooked up a new Music Hall 5.1 and am very pleased.
The Goldring 2200 cartridge sounds great. I'm sure you can spend $4000 on a better TT, but I have heard much more expensive TT's that don't come close to this IMHO.