Turntables

When you get a TT you are not just getting a TT.  You are getting a lot of baggage:  [i] Cartridges; [ii] Phonostages; [iii] Another cable or two (and you really do have to get a quality cable as the signal is about a 1000th of a line stage signal); Tricky setup including [iv] think minimising vibration, [v] getting a 100% level platform, [vi] setting azimuth, [vi] setting VTA, [vii] setting overhang, [viii] setting tracking force;  [ix] Expensive LPs, [x] Vinyl cleaning, [xi] Stylus cleaning. 

I know all about it I have 3 TTS.  But if you want to give it a go then a Technics 1200G (or that family) is the way to go.   In one shot you are getting a superlative TT, and your setup issues will be far less.  Another truly fabulous advantage is just dropping the needle.  Almost impossible to screw up.
  

I honestly recommend that you don’t get into vinyl. I started five years ago and if I had to do over, I probably wouldn’t. The money I have spent on vinyl is nuts.

I would take the $1500 and upgrade your DAC or CD player.

Not to mention the frustration with hit or miss reissues, poor pressings, weeding out what was mastered from digital, having to send records back when they have defects, paying the shipping back and forth, etc.

With many of my favorite albums becoming available in hiRes MQA on Tidal, I rarely buy new records. It has to be something really special any more to get my wallet open. Mostly the ultradisc sets from Mofi.

If you dont don’t have a streamer, I suggest getting one like a BlueSound Node 2 or one of the Auralic streamers. My choice is a PS Audio DirectStream Junior. This is an upgradable FPGA DAC with a built in bridge for streaming! I know a dealer that sells them at a heavy discount ( there is 50% markup on all this audio gear).

I read some of the previous post about the hassle of set up and availability of vinyl, used or new, but to someone like me, 66 and grew up with vinyl there is nothing like it. I love the hands on switching carts arms and general set up is only half the attraction of vinyl, the other half is the satisfaction of what you get sound wise when it is done right. I can totally understand someone discouraging you from starting a vinyl rig in today's times though but if you have the wants to do so the Technics table would probably be very rewarding, everyone that has an opinion of it seems to like it or them a lot.

I'll take the other side.  Getting back into vinyl over the last 10 years has been by far my most rewarding experience as an audiophile.  The you-are-there realism of my vintage Thorens 125II/SME 3009II Imp/Pickering XSV 3000 is stunning, jaw dropping.  I marvel at it every day.  My digital set up is dull dull dull by comparison.

 In terms of hit and misses- to me that is part of the fun of this hobby.  Sure there are disappointments but for every record that is a 'miss' there is a surprise 'hit' that comes from out of nowhere and sounds better than any of those (boring) audiophile staples you have to shell out $50 for.  There are some fabulous sounding jazz records from the 50s and 60s and even the 70s that can be had for $10 from ebay in excellent or very good + condition. They often beat the pants off new releases-even so called audiophile reissues-in many cases.

The hunt is part of the fun and sure you have to take the bad with the good but it's the same with any other hobby worth persuing- just think of what die-hard sports fans have to endure.

Finally there is just the pure physical aspect of vinyl.  From cartridge mounting to tube swapping in phono stages to record cleaning to that ever so satisfying click as the stylus settles into the groove.  There is something that is so entirely visceral about playing vinyl that is lost in the streaming environment.

To me it is no contest.  Gimme that black licorice.

For what it’s worth, I have a vintage Marantz 6300 which was one of the better TT’s offered in the mid 70’s. I always thought it was the cats ass with my Audio Technica AT15ss mm which was the best money could buy back then. I installed a NOS AT15ss stylus I found and it elevated things to a new level I had long forgotten.

Fast forward; I decided that I wanted to get a center piece of eye candy for the living room and started my search for a high end belt drive TT. After a lot of reading and chatting with some guys who know their stuff, I found a used, but in mint condition, VPI Ares3 TT with out a tonearm and it had the high end optional super platter. I got it for a great price and then found a used SME Series IV magnesium tonearm. I have the equipment to do the machine work to make up the arm-board and I spent two days of work precisely machining the parts to mount the SME to the Ares3. Plus I made up some custom modified rubber medium durometer isolation feet for supporting this 75 pound monster which do a 100 percent job of isolation of all feedback at any SPL I play at. I transferred the Audio Technica AT15ss from the Marantz to the Ares3 and after some work with set up, I put it into service. I didn’t expect there to be too much difference in what the performance was between the Marantz and Ares3, it was more about the fabulous sexy look for me.

When I put on some well played vinyl I was very familiar with, I was blown away. It was like I entered into some new world; hearing things I had not even known were in the recordings.... dynamic range, soundstage, detail, bass/mid/upper ranges all were just spectacular. I honestly never expected what I was hearing. So the bottom line is, I no longer listen to any digital recordings; they cannot come close to the performance of vinyl when using the right machinery for extracting the recordings.

Spend more money than you wanted to, you will not be sorry. Save money on buying some newer MC cartridges which can be very expensive. Try to find as new condition you can find in the Vintage Audio Technica AT15ss/AT20ss if you can find it, you will not easily surpass the performance of this Beryllium Cantiver/super Shibata diamond cartridge. Try to find a super platter on an older VPI, you’ll be very pleased. Skip the SME Series V, its not much different than the Series IV and save the money; but its arguably one of the finest tonearms made.

To put this into perspective; we are not comparing this to a $1200 Technics; this set up is a $9000 installation, which I have about $3200 into as I bought all the parts and put it together myself.  Trust me, a $9K TT will blow the doors off of any Digital recordings, you cannot compare or for that matter any $1500 TT.... and don't listen to anyone who says its all to finicky to put together, its just requiring a little patience to align the cartridge and measure things, its no big deal.  But it's worth the effort.