Calling all analog experts

Jsonic, you should be glad we've turned this discussion into a real, serious one looking at TT design parameters and constraints. If you search the archives you'll see it over and over--people just parroting away belt drive choices without any real technical considerations--especially in the lower price range, where *glass and particle board* TTs abound.

From this thread it is evident that there are two choices in your price range: Teres (belt drive) or the KAB modded Technics SL-1200MKII (quartz-locked direct drive). I chose the creature on steroids and am very glad I did. I am getting phenomenal performance on a real world budget--and will keep getting better as I do some more tweaks to the power delivery and have the tonearm rewired and new interconnects. I just love direct drives. They're for people who want to *play* records. Here's some input from the owner of Bear Labs, who owns a top of the line Denon DD:

You just discovered several of the the advantages of Direct Drive 'tables!

In order to make an informed choice you MUST listen to a high quality direct drive unit, be it a Technics, Denon, Micro Seiki, Goldmund, Rockport.

Jasonic...These threads do tend to evolve into discussions related to, but not directly answering the original question. Frankly, we often answer one of the prior posters, rather than the original thread author. In this case Dougdeacon's mention of me by name, referring to a prior discussion, caught my eye. Sorry to confuse the issue.

Regarding the particular units that you have under consideration I claim no expertese. To put it bluntly, I am very well served by my high tech but definitely non-approved by audiophiles Sony ps X800, and have, for some years invested money elsewhere in the system. I follow TT technology just for the interesting ideas involved: not with the idea of buying a new TT.

Ok, I guess if you can't beat 'em ,join 'em works for me too.
What are the differences /advantages of mm vs. mc cartridges and do certain tables require one type or the other? Do certain arms require a specific cartridge type?

I can see you read Bear's thread. Good for you. What I'm understanding since having the outboard power supply installed less than two weeks ago is that transients do require significant torque delivered instantly in the case of a quartz locked DD or through inertia on a good belt drive. My modded Stanton Groovemaster has the midrange of a $1,500 moving coil. How can it happen in a moving magnet design that is comparably 'heavy' to move vs moving coils? Part of the answer has to do with magnet alignment and part of the answer is that my platter CAN move the magnets no sweat. If the same arm and cartidge were placed in, say a Rega P9 or a Linn Sondek the results would be substandard.

Jsonic, you asked, so here goes. Long but hopefully pertinent post alert!

Most audiophiles prefer MC to MM. Unfortunately MC's are more expensive, sometimes hideously so, and there are many who either can't afford them or decide they're not worth it. Obviously that's a personal choice. FWIW, to my ears a good MC is decidedly superior to any MM.

Think of the cantilever of your cartridge as a horizontal teeter-totter:

moving stylus moving coil or magnet

The coil of a MC is lighter than the magnet of a MM. Lower inertia allows the stylus to trace rapid groove modulations more accurately. Your stylus is expected to reverse direction up to 20,000 times per second, accurately. A lightweight car will handle those twisty roads better than a heavy truck.

Psychicanimal is surely correct that his MM cartridge performs best on a manly TT that can haul modulated grooves forcefully past its higher moving mass. Nevertheless, he would get still better performance with a cartridge of lower moving mass. Cars handle better than trucks even if the truck "has a hemi"! :)

Besides cost, another downside of a MC is that its lower moving mass generates a lower level electrical signal. Most MM cartridges output 5.0mV. The output of MC cartridges varies, but the best ones rarely generate more than a tenth of that. MC's require more high-quality amplification from the rest of the system, and component matching becomes critical.

The cartridge/table match matters, as Psychicanimal noted, but cartridge/arm matching can be even more critical. The following will be controversial for some, though I also know many will agree.

Great handling cars have fairly stiff suspensions to maintain tire contact with the road. The best performing cartridges have fairly stiff suspensions too, for exactly the same reason. These low compliance cartridges need an arm that resists lateral deflection well. Otherwise big groove transients will let the cartridge wag the arm instead of generating maximum signal.