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Purchase advice: Old turntable vs. new....

Ok, so I have been slowly building my system over the past few years. I’ve upgraded my turntable 3 times and I have the bug again.

My question is this: Does a turntable today with all the newest philosophies, techniques, and materials, better a well made, well regarded vintage model? Right now, I have a Music Hall 7.3 and I’m mostly happy with it. But I’m always reading up on these classic tables like the Linn LP12 or the Yamaha GT-2000 and it really gets me wondering if I would be getting what I pay for, when opting for a vintage table.

Specifically, I have been looking at the Yamaha for a month or so, browsing Japanese auction proxy sites for the right deal. I’ve been seeing them listed for about $1700-2500 (accounting for fees and shipping).

Would one of these "Gigantic and Tremendous" specimens compare favorably with a modern turntable in the same range? Say, my 7.3 or something like a Rega P6, VPI, MoFi, etc?

Thanks for reading and any guidance you could give me in my dilemma.

-Anthony
128x128dsotm073
dsotm073's avatar
dsotm073 OP
2 posts
 
@chakster 

I have seen a couple of GT-2000s with the YSA-1 tonearms installed. Do you think it would be a better idea to go with one of these or is the difference marginal?
chakster's avatar
chakster
2,482 posts
 
Yes, i think Direct Drive is always a better idea when you're buying vintage turntable, but i've never tried their YSA toneamrs, also i'm not sure how easy would be a tonearm swap if needed. I know there was a special version of SAEC arm designed for Yamaha.  
noromance's avatar
noromance
1,780 posts
 
There is a reason idlers like the Garrard 301/401 and Lenco L75 are used in many high end systems. They are excellent sounding, relatively cheap, easily serviceable by the user, have plenty of easily available spare parts, do not break down, and allow infinite customization.

Our Chakster friend would have you believe that direct drive is the only viable option. Tread carefully here. Many use complex parts and electronics that are not easily repairable.
big_greg
315 posts
 
Vintage direct drives can sound really nice.  I have a Realistic LAB 440 and just picked up a JVC QL-Y66F, which is a pretty large table. 

From what I've read, neither are in the same league as the  GT-2000, but I can give a comparison of the QL-Y66F to the Music Hall 7.1.  I have them sitting side by side in my main system.  The Music Hall has a Van Den Hul MC TWO cartridge and is running through my Manley Chinook.  The QL-Y66F is running through a Parks Puffin and has a Stanton 981 HZS cartridge.  The Music Hall has a more expensive cartridge and phono stage, but the  QL-Y66F holds its own.  It's very detailed and the soundstage is very expansive.  The Music Hall betters it in terms of isolation and has tighter bass and is a little quieter.  The plinth of the  QL-Y66F is pretty resonant and I can't turn it up as loud as the Music Hall.  I'm going to try some damping inside the plinth and see how the  QL-Y66F reacts.

The  QL-Y66F is fully automatic and I like that I can just push a button and it starts and turns itself off at the end of a record.  It's a really pretty looking turntable and I like the way it looks more than I do the Music Hall (which is a nice looking table in its own right).

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