Need help choosing a turntable

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#3
Hello. I have the same problem. I do not want to spend 600 Euros on a Technics since i will only use it for home listening.
I saw something very cheap made by Omnitronic. Are these any good from a mechanical point of view? Since i can redo electronics if needed.
I do not mind if they are belt driven or direct and i need the strobe function.
 
#4
I read that the Technics SL 1200 is a great turtable, but "the disc will deteriorate further". It is true? compared to Lenco l - 75, is best or worst?

I really like to know which parameters should have a turntable; like cartridge type, or antiskating system, drive mechanism...
 
#5
sounds to me that you have a good friend who knows what he is talking about. Why don't you take his advice and start there. With a Lenco you are well up on the curve. You could also do well with a Thorens or Dual for not a lot of money. Stick with your friends advice and start learning and listening. That will teach you what you need to know to evaluate other tables arms and cartridges. Every person here will have a different opinion and different advice. You could get lost in it all. Having a friend to help you along as you go will be a great asset.
 
#7
moray james said:
sounds to me that you have a good friend who knows what he is talking about. Why don't you take his advice and start there. With a Lenco you are well up on the curve. You could also do well with a Thorens or Dual for not a lot of money. Stick with your friends advice and start learning and listening. That will teach you what you need to know to evaluate other tables arms and cartridges. Every person here will have a different opinion and different advice. You could get lost in it all. Having a friend to help you along as you go will be a great asset.
Click to expand...

Thank you Moray; yes you are right, maybe I need to hear the different turntables to get the difference between all. My friend recommended me the Lenco L-75 because that's what he has in his house, but only for that reason.
 
#8
Hi All,

A stock Lenco L-75 is not a good sounding turntable, though with a different
arm and a replacement massive plinth and ditching the stock suspension it
can be made to sound pretty good.

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.

Having said that the world is your oyster when it comes to a used turntable.
For a first turntable spend a small amount on something extremely high value.

Some of the Dual models are worth checking out, they do go cheap.

For Japanese you need to do your research, I like the Trio/Kenwood KD2055.

Spending more there are lots of options but you need to know your turntables.

checkout Vinyl Engine | The Home of the Turntable

Also budget for a new genuine stylus or new cartridge.

/Sreten.
 
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#9
sreten said:
Hi All,

A stock Lenco L-75 is not a good sounding turntable, though with a different
arm and a replacement massive plinth and ditching the stock suspension it
can be made to sound pretty good.

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.

Having said that the world is your oyster when it comes to a used turntable.
For a first turntable spend a small amount on something extremely high value.

Some of the Dual models are worth checking out, they do go cheap.

For Japanese you need to do your research, I like the Trio/Kenwood KD2055.

Spending more there are lots of options but you need to know your turntables.

checkout Vinyl Engine | The Home of the Turntable

Also budget for a new genuine stylus or new cartridge.

/Sreten.
Click to expand...

Thanks Sreten, I will see that page.

The Technics Sl 1200, sounds better? What about the lenco B-52 ?
How about the Stanton 500 or the Pickering XV15 ? This fit well in the Lenco L-75. Anyway, if I need to search a cartridge, or a stylus, what parameters I need to know?
 
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#10
Hi,

I'd recommend a Technics with the seperate subchassis, I do not know
the cartridges you mentioned, the Stanton 500 EE mkII, (and that model
only) is apparently pretty good.

But there are loads of choices, value is how good it is versus the price.

The B52 is nice if you like retro but a good one in full restored working
order is not going to be cheap, for the price you likely can do better
with more modern stuff, (unrestored but needing minor servicing).

/Sreten.
 
#11
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.
 
#14
specific problem turntables

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.
 
#16
kevinkr said:
Other good turntables to consider would include some of the later AR tables, and the Thorens TD-125, TD-150, TD-166, etc..
Click to expand...

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.
 
#17
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?
 
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#18
indianajo said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
#19
Panicos K said:
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?
Click to expand...

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
 
#20
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

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And take a look here too for more info.

My 2 cents.😱
 
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