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Nottingham Spacedeck vs Rega Planar 8 vs Technics SL1200G

Hey Everyone,

An analogue newbie needs your advice.

Firstly I am not looking for any TT recommendations other than these 3.

My system is Devore O96, and the amplification would be either Lyngdorf 3400/Coincident Frankenstein combo or a Shindo pre/amp combo (forthcoming). The phono stage is TBD.

The sound I like is rich, full-bodied, with a good bass (I love percussion, and the double-bass instrument and  Mingus is my fav jazz artist). I am very sensitive to even a hint of brightness. I don't care about the typical audiophile presentation -- gobs of detail and soundstage but no soul.

My music of choice is jazz, vocals and small-scale instrumentals. No rock, no pop, no western classical.

Would love your thoughts on these 3 choices.

Since I am a newbie, easy setup is big win, which might tilt me towards the Rega or Technics, but with Nottingham I have a great dealer support that I would completely miss out on if I went with Technics (no Technics dealer in a 5000 mile radius).

I used to own a Rega RP6, so am familiar with Rega sound, and like it. But my RP6 was bested by my DAC (AMR DP-777) so sold it a few years ago. So I want a TT that will compete with any sub-10000$ DAC.

Looking forward to your thoughts that will help me scratch my analog itch.


essrand
chakster's avatar
chakster
2,482 posts
 
If the mat should be as the LP why not just put an LP undern LP ?
Some people actually doing it

I use gunmetal Micro Seiki CU-180, CU-500, and SAEC SS-300 alloy mat.  
I have a comparison chart made by Micro Seiki and SAEC comes very close to Micro Mats, not to mention that SAEC is the lightest and almost half the price of Micro CU-180. In my opinion the SAEC is a must have for everyone, great mat even for belt drive turntables!

Micro CU-500 is superb for turntables with very high torque like Technics SP-10 mkIII or mkII. The only problem is that CU-500 is impossible to find.

Micro CU-180 is great for most of the DD turntables, love it on my Luxman PD-444
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
2,766 posts
 
I’m not putting a $700.00 Mat on a 4K turntable!  I already put in an inquiry to an Oracle dealer on their mat which is in the $200.00 range. I am willing to bet that both of those mats will not be a night and day difference from the stock mat.  My Cartridge was only 600.00!  At 200.00 I am willing to take a chance, at 700.00, forget about it.    My platter already has the brass on it and I question what a  expensive metal mat may do to the sound.  
sbank's avatar
sbank
2,038 posts
 
@stereo5 If you are open to global vendors, here's a link to a guy in Vietnam(Tran Van Tan - TVT Analog Shop) who makes very high quality machined parts for many high end turntables. He does everything from copper and ss mats to arm pods etc. His work is often for vintage Japanese tables (e.g. Micro Seiki), but he has done an incredible variety, all to custom order at VERY reasonable prices. 
When I had a Technics SP10mkII he made a stainless steel mat at very high mass that was exactly to my needs for $200. I decided to order after hearing two of his mats that a friend, @dgarretson, owns. We compared these to 6 or 7 mats including all the usual suspects recommended here regularly. Very happy with Tran's work. 

https://vnav.vn/threads/tvt-analog-shop-chan-chong-rung-da-nang-san-pham-moi.30728/page-13

Cheers,
Spencer
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
4,946 posts
 
Read of lots of people using 10 inch vinyl as a mat, it's not uncommon although I have never tried it yet.
essrand OP
163 posts
 
@fsmithjack

I know that you are a big Bricasti M1 fan.

How does your P8/Apheta compare to your Bricasti?

My Rega RP6 was almost bested by my DAC (AMR DP-777). So decided to move on from Rega and wanna try NA this time.
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