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Need help buying a used turntable for $500

OK gang,
My father has left me a vintage collection of Jazz albums and I have my own collection of 70 & 80's Rock music. I have a Denon 3802 receiver which is only sending 110w per channel to a pair of B & W 604 towers. So I am looking for a turntable I can afford and still get the best possible sound.

I have been looking at used Thorens, Rega, Project, & Lencos but it is impossible to tell what model and year are a good value. Can anyone help suggest the criteria I should use for selecting a suitable turnable and offer some models to pursue?

I would greatly appreciate your advise.
Thanks
detroit82
waltersalas's avatar
waltersalas
581 posts
 

I would suggest buying a brand new Technics 1200 or 1210--you can get one for $399 shipped from Musician's Friend. Then add an Audio Technica 440 MLa cartridge, which you can get for less than a hundred bucks, shipped.

I bought this combo as a "stopgap" while waiting for a much more expensive table to be built, and I have been dumbfounded by how good it sounds. Very user friendly, too.

Consult the many threads on this table for more information.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
I wholeheartedly agree with Waltersalas.
elevick
2,439 posts
 
Go to www.needledoctor.com
pbb
1,135 posts
 
Can't go wrong with a new Technics and you can add upgrades as budget allows, if you so desire.
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
All great suggestions, however if your amp does not have an input marked "phono" you will also need a phono preamp to amplify the signal and equalize the signal. Nice, inexpensive phono preamps are made by NAD, Creek, Musical Fidelity, Projekt and several others. They go between the phono and the input on your Denon.

Other good value phonographs are the Rega Planar 3 and P3; if you are a bit of a tinkerer and prefer a warmer sound, and appreciate older things, the Thorens TD 150 MKll or any of the TD 160 series are very, very nice turntables. There are a host of nice upgrades for all of the turntables mentioned, if you find that you derive enjoyment from analogue replay, you may want to explore some of these enhancements.
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