Entry Level Turntable

[TheShaman]

So my question really is which turntable should I get? I'm okay with new or used that isn't important, just a decent quality player for a reasonable price. Say less than £200, ideally less than £150.

A couple of years ago, armed with a lot of patience and free time, I managed to grab a mint Systemdek IIX900/Rega RB250 off of eBay.co.uk for 89.00 GBP.

 

[Panicos K]

Interesting how people find different things boring and/or interesting.

Isn't this the essence of hi-fi ? No rules,no dogmas

 

[flavio81]

Remember too, many of the "entry-level" TT's available, particularly the vintage models come from an era when CDP's were advertised as"perfect sound forever". They mostly had ruler flat response, and other specs that looked amazing. They were not!
Numbers can be "massaged" to show most anything!
Don

You are totally right in this, indeed. But you can counter that by being very careful when reading specs (example: for a speaker frequency response curve: was it measured in a damped room? how distant was the mic placed? was it placed exactly on axis? was it done using white noise? etc)

Still of course, YOUR ears should be give the definitive decision.

As for cartridges,even the one you describe,will not sound good only because of its frequency response

I did not say frequency response was the only parameter that mattered.
My comments sound hostile and worn? That's subjective.

 

[flavio81]

Dave the subjective impression of DDs being boring is interesting and almost the exact opposite of mine. I've always found the Regas, music halls, pro-jects leaned more towards the boring end of the turntable spectrum. The DDs maybe lacked that last little bit of detail (on the low end), but always made up for it with more "slam" for a lack of a better term. More bass impact, a more tactile feel.

I don't want to spoil the party, but the "more slam" and "bass impact" should be attributed (assuming you're comparing using the same record, with the same amplifier at the same equalization and the same speakers placed in the same location) in #1 to the cartridge, and #2 to the tonearm... and only after that you can say it's depending on the platter & bearing itself (as a resonant system), which is really independent of the transmission method (DD, belt, idler)

 

[dnewma04]

I don't want to spoil the party, but the "more slam" and "bass impact" should be attributed (assuming you're comparing using the same record, with the same amplifier at the same equalization and the same speakers placed in the same location) in #1 to the cartridge, and #2 to the tonearm... and only after that you can say it's depending on the platter & bearing itself (as a resonant system), which is really independent of the transmission method (DD, belt, idler)

My system, done, done and done.

 

[planet10]

#1 to the cartridge, and #2 to the tonearm... and only after that you can say it's depending on the platter & bearing itself

The whole thing is a system and it is all important (and there is synergy to consider), but my experience is that the order of importance is the reverse of what you have posted.

dave

 

[Panicos K]

My comments sound hostile and worn? That's subjective.

I was refering to your comment about "serious tests" and "audiophile tests".Sorry,but that's far too worn IMO.Can you give us an example of a "serious test" and one of "audiophile test" ?

 

[flavio81]

I was refering to your comment about "serious tests" and "audiophile tests".Sorry,but that's far too worn IMO.Can you give us an example of a "serious test" and one of "audiophile test" ?

That would be off-topic, and if it's so far worn, you are not interested. I'm not interesting in starting any kind of flame war, let's keep the forum peaceful.

The whole thing is a system and it is all important (and there is synergy to consider), but my experience is that the order of importance is the reverse of what you have posted.

dave

How can "more slam" and "more bass impact" be much more influenced by changing platter&bearing than changing to a different cartridge?

If that's true, i want to know why. It is very interesting to read that somebody considers the platter far more contributing to the sound than the cartridge or the tonearm.

 

[Panicos K]

If that's true, i want to know why. It is very interesting to read that somebody considers the platter far more contributing to the sound than the cartridge or the tonearm.

A resonant (ringing) platter,resonant and badly damped plinth,noisy motor and noisy(bad tolerances) bearing can easily render an otherwise successful arm/cartridge combination worthless.As planet 10 also said,"synergy"of all turntable parts plays a very important role.There are many those who say that a rega tonearm for example is not a good choice for a Thorens TD160 etc.In the event of such combinations and/or bad plinth/arm/platter etc....it is not only "slam or bass impact"that suffers,mid and highs might suffer too,distortion will increase and many more.The better the arm/cartridge is,the more they will expose the turntable's weaknesses.

 

[planet10]

If that's true, i want to know why. It is very interesting to read that somebody considers the platter far more contributing to the sound than the cartridge or the tonearm.

Think about how a cartidge works... stylus moves wrt the cartridge body. If the cartridge body is not motionless wrt the record groves the cartridge can't work right.

A good cheap cartridge on a good tabe & arm wil handily outperform an expensive cart on a cheap TT (because the cartridge can't do its job)

dave

 

[Telemin]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I have in the end managed to get hold of an old technics TT from my Grandma. I won't know what the model is until it gets brought down by my parents but hopefully it should be a good start.