Need help choosing a turntable

[indianajo]

to quote sreton "
I am aware newbies are pretty clueless, FWIW Shure cartridges are also
not very good, so unless the combination is dirt cheap, I would avoid it."
I have a shure era IV cartridge, I am quite happy with it. It is 30 years old and still tracks the bass drum in ZZ Top "Afterburner" fine, so rubber hardening is not an issue.
If you can find a used BIC turntable, they look like **** but work very well at 1.5 gram. Mine is also 30 years old and still works fine. I can't hear any difference between it and a CD version of Serkin "Three beethoven sonatas" except there are fewer dust pops on the CD and the piano hits are a little louder. I recently got a used BIC turntableat a yard sale for $20. Black plastic housing, looks like an orphan from a $100 combo hifi (these combos usually tracked at 3-5 grams) BICs were only sold in the western hemisphere I believe. Used Gerrard turntables have rumble badly. Used Technics and Panasonic turntables usually need a new rubber drive belt. I have one of each I haven't bothered to make a belt for.

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by indianajo

Used Gerrard turntables have rumble badly. Used Technics and Panasonic turntables usually need a new rubber drive belt. I have one of each I haven't bothered to make a belt for.

These, too, are generalisations that don't help much. Which specific models are you referring to?

[kevinkr]

Other good turntables to consider would include some of the later AR tables, and the Thorens TD-125, TD-150, TD-166, etc..

[indianajo]

Well, the Gerrard that rumbles my friend gave me is a 640 Monteverdi. But the Houston library used gerrards in the sixties, they all rumbled, and I had another friend with a Gerrard, it rumbled too. The technics I bought at Goodwill that needs a belt is an SL-20. Belts can be orders from a specialty house, look at a previous post or seach turntable belt. I had a 1961 AR turntable, my BIC is better at rejecting the thud of my feet on the floor as I walk away. The anti skate spring works better, too. The BIC I'm so happy with is a model 940, simulated walnut woodgrain and all.

[aguantesoda]

I´m a beginner in all this, so, Thanks to all!

Originally Posted by indianajo

Used Technics and Panasonic turntables usually need a new rubber drive belt. I have one of each I haven't bothered to make a belt for.

Sorry, I don´t understand something... you think the turntables without belt are better? what is the difference?

How about the Gemini and Sansui turntables?


Guido

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by kevinkr

Other good turntables to consider would include some of the later AR tables, and the Thorens TD-125, TD-150, TD-166, etc..

This is good advice. I have owned a few Thorens turntables. They are generally good performers. I also enjoyed owning the Technics SL-1200; this is a turntable for life. You can get all of the abovementioned turntables used on ebay. The SL-1200/SL-1210 is well supported in terms of parts availability; you can even buy them new. It is also possible to change the arm.

Beware the DJ turntables: many of them are feature-packed, but are optimised for DJ purporses. Don't buy the ones with the short, stubby arms: they are not optimised for good tracking across the record, but rather for DJ "scratching". I can't say whether other DJ turntables sound good or not, as I don't have experience with them.

Two things I like about direct drive turntables (the better ones) are: (1) no need to worry about replacing stretched belts (2) almost instantly up to full speed from start-up; the better ones don't even slow down when wiping the record with a brush.

[Panicos K]

aguantesoda what is your budget? If I understood you well you need a good "starter" turntable.A used good condition rega planar 2 and AT cartridge will be a very good start,also a Thorens TD166/ortofon combination.With either you will "learn" a lot about "turntable sound" and from there you will be able to decide what a possible upgrade will be.My choice would be a Thorens 166.It will take you longer to think of an upgrade from there.What is the rest of your system?

[Fiddlefye]

Originally Posted by indianajo

Well, the Gerrard that rumbles my friend gave me is a 640 Monteverdi. But the Houston library used gerrards in the sixties, they all rumbled, and I had another friend with a Gerrard, it rumbled too. The technics I bought at Goodwill that needs a belt is an SL-20. Belts can be orders from a specialty house, look at a previous post or seach turntable belt. I had a 1961 AR turntable, my BIC is better at rejecting the thud of my feet on the floor as I walk away. The anti skate spring works better, too. The BIC I'm so happy with is a model 940, simulated walnut woodgrain and all.

So many good possibilities to be found. I'd guess that part of the equation is what is available where you live. Some companies sold lots of tables in one country and very few in another. Turntables don't ship well unless they're very well packed, so if you can find something local it is always safer (though I've bought on ebay and had nothing destroyed yet).

I found a nice BIC 980 that I gave my daughter for a gift and it sounds very good. A more recent acquisition was an Ariston RD11s which I like a great deal. It is a very "musical" deck and I find it drags out detail and spatial info even my Thorens TD-125 and Technics SP-15 don't register. I'd say they go for pretty small money relative to the quality. It also has quite a bit of potential for upgrades and mods. Just another suggestion.

[aguantesoda]

Originally Posted by Panicos K

aguantesoda what is your budget? If I understood you well you need a good "starter" turntable.A used good condition rega planar 2 and AT cartridge will be a very good start,also a Thorens TD166/ortofon combination.With either you will "learn" a lot about "turntable sound" and from there you will be able to decide what a possible upgrade will be.My choice would be a Thorens 166.It will take you longer to think of an upgrade from there.What is the rest of your system?

Thanks for your response Panikos,
I understand you say. Yes, I need some to start; but here, the Lenco L- 75 have a price (120 Dollars), and the Thorens Td 166 have another price (more than 300 dollars). The Sansui P-50 is in the middle; it cost 160 dollars.

The rest of the system are a valve preamp with phono input (and equalization according the lp). The Power amp is a simple Class A (transistorised) made by me (I´m electronic technician), but I´m planning to make some with valve too. The Speakers are Leea. ( oldies, but very very goods )


Regards,
Guido

[stelakis1]

I think that you should go in the 300 $ area and buy a used turntable my friend, some very good ones are AR EB-101, Thorens TD-160, Systemdek IXX & IXX900, Manticore Mantra. And if you find them with a nice tonearm such as RB250, RB300, SME 3009 SIII, Grace 707 you have a perfectly good turntable that can easily beat many modern ones and much more expensive.
In ebay you can find, if you are patient, a very good deal.

With these models and a proper phono you will be able to enjoy your LPs. And later on maybe upgrade. Even though these turntables are quite good, at least for my standards.

I also prefer suspended decks rather than the others. I believe they offer better decoupling.

My opinion don't go to any cheap dd turntable. If you decide to go this way you should only consider the Technics MKII or a used Lenco L75 (but it will need a lot of work from you to make it really good). But it can be made really beautiful like the one below



And take a look here too for more info.

My 2 cents.