Turntables

There are NO direct drive turntables with tonearm that can compete with Technics GR for its price.

Pioneer (made in China) is not even close, but they just tried to copy Technics iconic design instead of developing their own design from the 70s when Pioneer was a king (not now).

Technics is Made in Japan! 

Definitely new Technics direct drive!

If your budget is under $1500 look for a brand new Technics SL1200RG (silver or black versions available). Forget about old Technics and make sure you’re looking at GR or more expensive G models only. This table will serve you for the next 30 years without service. I don’t think any belt drive will survive. Technics is Made in Japan, in terms on usability none of the belt drive come close. Direct Drive is a precision and powerful motor with immediate start/stop. Technics is build like a tank. For your needs this is great start with some decent mid compliance MM or MI cartridge. You don’t have to change Technics turntable/tonearm, but you can change a cartridge when you ready for upgrade. Vintage MM like Grace F14 or Level II, Victor X-1IID, Stanton 881 or 981 , Pickering XSV-3000 or 4500, Audio-Technica AT-ML170 or 180 can be your last stop for the cartridge, top models from these manufacturers are unbeatable today. 

The phono stage must be JLTi mk5, the price is nice and the quality is outstanding for both MM or MC.

Never buy an automatic turntable. All these automatic parts normally fail in time and must be repaired.

Technics will serve you for 20-30 years without service and it’s manual turntable.

If you’re new to turntables do NOT buy used old turntables. Look for Direct Drive only! 

Seriously i think all you need is Technics SL1200GR or "G" if you ready to pay more. And if you want to sell it later with discount let me know :))

As for the 1200, I can’t find one of them used. Everyone I see is new and by the time I ad the cartridge and phone pre, Im well over budget.

Why do you need used one if the new one with warranty is about $1500 in the USA ? It’s a brand new product, so do not expect to buy it used, some people sell them to buy more expensive new Technics, but not often. GR was released earlier this year.

My advice is to drive to the local store to see/try it, once you will touch it you will realize why this is iconic Direct Drive turntable. Then you can compare it to anything else on the market. Most of the modern turntables looks like a plastic toys compared to Japanese Technics DD.

Watch this video from Japan
Here is another one from USA

This Technics is a bulletproof turntable. You will find many reviews here on audiogon about it. The reason why this Technics is not super expensive is just because it was made by Matsushita, previous generation of this table reached 3 000 000 units. When the manufacturer can sell millions of units the price is more than reasonable.

Who else can sell a million turntables ?

Try this on US Audio Mart or another one from Canada @luvrockin 
I see your point, but saving on Turntable is a bad idea if the difference is not that big. I'm sure you can find some decent MM/MI cartridges for $200-300.  

@mechans  are you familiar with Direct Drive turntables ? I hope you understand why Coreless Direct Drive motor is better than any belt drive or idler drive or whatever. So why do you compare a VPI and Technics ?

One VPI Direct Drive cost $30k another one cost $15k 
Technics Direct Drive cost $1700 for GR and about $4000 for G

Technics SP-10R without plinth and tonearm is $10k
Technics SL-1000R with plinth and tonearm is $18k  

https://www.technics.com/download/brochures/us/SL1000R_SP10R_US_Print.pdf

Please recall any other NEW Direct Drive with a motor equal to Technics SL1200GR ($1700 new) or coreless G/GAE or SP10R for what they are asking for ? Technics is definitely the best priced NEW High-End Direct Drive turntable today. And Matsushita is the most experienced company in that field today. 

Here is all info about G
http://www.technics.com/us/products/grand-class/direct-drive-turntable-system-sl-1200g.html

And everything about SL1200GR (black version is SL1210GR):
http://www.technics.com/us/products/grand-class/direct-drive-turntable-system-sl-1200gr.html

If you prefer belt or idler drive for some reason then it's another story. 

I don't even know of any modern turntable with the same build quality as Technics, only vintage Direct Drives are better in my opinion, but then we have to remember SP-10 mkII and EPA-100 tonearm.  

   

I went with a new Stanton ST 150. This is a DD motor, Technics 1200 look alike, that is part of a family of TTs commonly referred to as OEM TTs. The Pioneer 1000 arguably shares this lineage. These TTs are more than ok for the money, but they can have issues ... notably hum (even if you bypass the built in TT preamp), and tonearm looseness (needed for DJ scratching).

This is very bad advice, when you’re looking for cheap and bad quality plastic clones (of Technics) for teenagers don’t forget that the old SL1200 mkII avaiable for under $500 on used market and can be upgraded pretty easy step by step.

Tonearm loseness does not need for scratching, an iconic dj turntable for professionals is still an old SL1200 mkII, mk3D or mk5 and all of them can be found in very good condition for $300-700. So why anyone has to look for cheap plastic toys like Stanton or Pioneer turntables if the original Technics Sl1200 mkII available used for $300-700 ?