Intriguing world of Analog

The tt platform and the drive system sit on two surfaces that are not attached to each other, other than the belt that turns the platter.
The drive system rests on a shelf, the tt is suspended by steel cables and some bungie chords are used above that.
IMHO this is the way to go, the tt does not see any resonance from any surface of the room. When the music is playing at a reasonable level everything in the room resonates. By suspending the tt with cables the tt is decoupled and does not see this. Also there is a ton of weight, like about 200 pounds or more I forget the exact amount and that is just the tt part. The drive system has some considerable weight as well. The whole thing weighs 430 pounds!
I get better dynamics than digital by a long shot, in fact most that hear it for the first time think it's digital because its so clean sounding and dynamic.

PapaJoe,

I see that you have received some very good advise from fellow Agonners. But be warned !!!
You are getting into a new world here; in that there are so many things available that you will find yourself swept away in a spending frenzy (like I did) if you are not careful. I started out wanting to buy a turntable for only $300 but I could not find a good one at that price based upon reviews that I read. I ended buying three turntables to see which one I like. I bought a Marantz, Music Hall MMF 5, and a VIP Scout. I kept the VIP Scout, but I would highly recommend the Music HAll MMF 5, and it does come with a cartridge. You also have to consider the types of cartridges to use. I could not tell by just reading the reviews and the specifications, so I also bought a few cartridges to have a listen for myself. I like the Dynavector DV20H and the ortofon 2M Black. I have not yet decided which one to keep. Then you have to get a record cleaning system: this could be a record cleaning machine and fluids, steam cleaning system, microfiber cloth and fliuds, or a combination of all. I use a Steam cleaner, followed by Audio Intelligent fluids, then a Nitty Gritty record cleaning machine. Cleaning the records is a must, not matter how you do it. Look at the threads here on Audiogon for record cleaning. Then you must have a good stereo system, good speakers, probably a phono stage. I use Mcintosh: Pre amp, Power amp, tuner, and CD player. and I have just ordered a set of Audio Space mono block amps, to bi amp my system (not necessary,I was told, but I just want to do it to see if I like it that way). You don't have to go crazy like some of us do in order to get a good sounding system. I think in most case its trial and error, and you have to listen to the equipment yourself before laying out your cash. A good resource is your local stereo dealer and if they will let you try out some things at your home, that would be a big plus. I go to this extent because I like listening to records, I only listen to CD when I am in the car, and to get the full benefit from playing records your system must be ready. And as I indicated before you don't have to spend a lot for such a system. You must also have good interconnect cables, and power cords. Check out Audio Art cables here on Audiogon, I am using their cables. Another thing to consider is vibration isolation for your turntable. I have a thread here on Audiogon that state what I did to get rid of most of the vibration. the thread is called: "VPI Scout Vibration Conquered with Home Brew Tweak".

Almandog,

I will try, initially, to resist the temptation of going hog wild on a spending spree. I will try to take baby steps first and then see what happens. My first step will be to buy something like the Hall MMF5 that you recommended or one of the several others that have been recommneded in this thread. If that satisfies my urge I will stop there. However, when I see some of the tt rigs on Audiogon I get this funny feeling deep inside which tells me to be careful.

Thanks for your comments.

Joe

Good advice from almandog.
Just want to point out that if you do your research well- you may end up keeping everything you bought. I only sold off one item of all the things I purchased here on gon. I consider myself lucky but it was also due to the good planning.
Fortunately you can buy used, so then when if you decide to sell it back you won't take a big loss.
I still would recommend the vpi, but that's what worked for me so take it with a grain of salt. The beauty of this hobby is that there are so many good brands to choose from. The other thing I would recommend is to get a good phono stage. But that's for another thread.
After you get set up, regardless of what tt you choose you can still go with decoupling the tt from the room, I add this because it can make a big difference, just a thought.

I have ordered the phono board for the Classe CP-35. It cost $200.00. From the installation instructions it looks like I can install it myself, no soldering required. The phono board supports both MM and MC cartridges. I believe the lowest voltage is 0.3 mVolts which should support most cartridges on the market today.

Thanks,

Joe