Lost sheep, Back to LP Turntable: buy guidance

Welcome to vinyl...you'll never look back.

You can't go wrong with either tables. I personally like the Rega P3/RB300, especially for newbies like myself. Very easy to setup and sounds great.

As far as cartridges go, I'm sure there'll be many recs. I like the Rega Exact.

Elizabeth:
Nice rig. I would say that A VPI Junior with Rega RB-300 arm will cost much less new than the Scout, at $1000.00, a bit more than the Rega though. Used, they sell for around $650.00 to $750.00. The table can be upgraded into a VPI HW-19 MK 4 in little bites, as funds allow, and TWL can sell you a cool enhancement for the arm. The VPI is really a kit that easily allows you to change out the bearing, platter and suspension along with the plinth. To add to the mix though I would also suggest that you look at the Technics SL-1200 direct drive. It offers a very different set of virtues than any of the other mentioned tables. The sound and build qualities are beyond reproach. It only lacks that bit of audiophile cachet.

Marty and Tom have made some good recommendations. I would first suggest talking to Tom privately. He is one of the most knowledgable AudiogoNers I have encountered.
After that, you might consider looking into a used Sota TT. If you can find a Sapphire in your price range, that would be a good table for you. If you can find a Star Sapphire, that would be amazing! Rega arms can be had fairly inexpensively. Get the best cartridge you can afford though. Your arm and TT will never improve on the signal taken off the LP. Priority should run in that order.
Have fun!!!

The creature on steroids should be in your short list. If you look objectively at what it offers, you'll see it is really hard to beat for the money. It is by far superior to the glass and particle board TTs and with the tonearm fluid damper its performance is stunning. You can go and read Zaikesman's review in the accessories section. The setup is pretty much plug and play. Like Viridian says, the kids should get out of the room!

KAB is coming this month with an outboard power supply for it--the working prototype has been tested and should be something really wonderful.

Jokes aside, once one listen to a TT with proper speed and rotational stability it's impossible to go back to a flimsy belt!

Psychicanimal: What does one do about the motor vibrations that are directly transmitted to the platter, record, stylus, tonearm and signal with a direct drive unit ? You better have one helluva accurate speed control system that doesn't require ANY correction or the "cogging" of the motor will surely contribute to a higher noise floor with lower resolution. After all, the stylus picks up the vibrations from the grooves while the grooves rest on the platter that is directly connected to the motor. It's not hard to see how isolating the motor from the platter via a "flimsy" belt ( or even string, which reduces the coupling even further ) could be beneficial. It's also not hard to see how mounting the platter and arm on a separate plane or sub-chassis from the motor might be beneficial. As such, making a "good" direct drive is a LOT harder than making a "good" belt drive. It is also more costly since it requires greater design and production effort.

As far as the accuracy of speed goes, do you think that any manufacturer(s) has a strong-hold on motor design or speed controls ? It does not take a rocket scientist to build something like this nowadays. It takes a lot more skill to isolate the platter / tonearm / cartridge from outside influence without creating a completely different set of problems doing so.

I'm NOT knocking the 1200 or other similar tables. I do agree that a lot of the "cheaper" new tables that are raved about are under-designed "hype" and the 1200 "might" actually be a better buy. In terms of isolation, the 1200 is probably better than the "coveted" Linn LP-12.

Having said that, either of the types of tables being discussed are a compromise due to being built to a price point and should be considered as such. No matter what you do though, you can't compare a Chevy to a Porsche / Ferrari. This is true no matter how hard you try to turn that Chevy into a Porsche / Ferrari. Then again, the Chevy is WAY better than the Yugo, which doesn't even deserve comparison to the Chevy to begin with. Sean
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