Best Used $1,200 Table Arm Combo?


I am looking to pick up a good as possible table and arm, could be purchased seperate or packaged together but not exceeding about 1200(used prefered). I have been figuring something from Oracle, Michell, Nottingham, Vpi, maybe Sota, or basis, not super interested in Rega or Music hall type stuff, but open to the suggestions if they are the better at this level.
Needs to have deep solid bass responce, some tables I have heard sound thinner in this department, so I guess the arm matching will help this, I guess one could always buy the Rega 300 arm or something New for around 300.00 or whatever and get a used 8-900 dollar table as well... But I really prefer a removable headshell when possible for cartridge swapping. Thanks
matrix
There was one a couple of days ago with a Spacearm for 1475.00, but it's gone now.

In your price range you can always get a VPI Scout. Not a bad table for the $$.

Oz
A VPI HW19 MK III or IV. Definately and you'd have $300 or so left over in your budget.

The HW19 is a GREAT turntable. It performs WAY above what it costs on the used market. Like buying a $2,500 turntable for $1000. Too good to pass up.

Paul Green
I bought a VPIMK3 with a Morch UP-4 Arm for $1,150.00
and have never looked back.The sound quality is outstanding and as budget permits I can upgrade with Aries Platter,SDS,and outer ring clamp.
If you look around and are patient, you can sometimes find killer deals. A few years back, i purchased a Sota Star Sapphire ( vacuum platter ) with an ET II air bearing linear tracking arm with damping, Sota Reflex clamp, an external surge tank, an upgraded Wisa pump, the ET set-up jig, etc... for $750. Everything was in beautiful condition and i drove from Chicago to Ohio to pick it up.

Yes, this is a pretty involved set-up beyond what most people want to get involved with. Having said that, it was a phenomenal deal for someone that doesn't mind "tweaking" their rig, which i don't.

For something similar but not as "tweaky" or "pretty" and measurably less money, you can probably find a Maplenoll Athena. These utilize an air bearing platter ( NOT vacuum platter ) along with an early version of the ET air bearing linear tracking arm. Yes, it looks kind of "garage built", but it works VERY well for the money that one would pay for them on the current used market. These can typically be had for about half of what you want to spend.

The money that you save can be put towards a good quality cartridge, a vacuum record cleaning machine and some good quality sleeves to protect your records once they are cleaned. Sean
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