Turntable upgrade

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Magnetmaz

Magnetmaz

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Joined 2002
#1
If you had $1500, and were looking for a good used turntable, what brands and models would you go after? I realize Linn Sondek ( though i hear it somewhat colors the sound ), Gyro, Oracle Delphi (?)

advice? good / bad experiences ?

-Maz
 
#2
Hi,

As I prefer unsuspended decks I recommend the Nottingham Analogue decks.

I'm not sure if they're still distributed in the U.S. but here's Tom's home address and phone number:

AUDIOCIRCUIT

There are plenty of dealers in the U.K.

At home I use the Mentor Reference and nothing ever broke down, even the belt lasts forever.

Cheers,😉
 
#3
Magnetmaz said:
If you had $1500, and were looking for a good used turntable, what brands and models would you go after? I realize Linn Sondek ( though i hear it somewhat colors the sound ), Gyro, Oracle Delphi (?)

advice? good / bad experiences ?

-Maz
Click to expand...


Hi,

If I needed a new/other TT, I'd go for the Oracle Delphi III and up.
DON'T ever buy a LINN!

You can buy a DIY TT. Like the Terres!

All the best.


Audiofanatic 😉
 
#4
😀 why not look for a good used technics SP10mkll from what I have read and heard all over the place it is the TT of choice by the "beeb" and a lot of broadcast installations around the world capable of outperforming a lot of high priced belt drives:whazzat: cheers😉 Tomcat
 
#5
well...i already have 2 Technics 1200mk2's and 1 transcriptors Saturn w/ vestigial arm + Shure V15 mk4 (or 3..cant remember)

And i really want something that looks cool. I'd be selling the transcriptors, so i want something equally cool looking like an Oracle Delphi 🙂

-Maz
 
#7
so i honestly won't hear a big sonic difference between a SL1200 with a different arm and an Oracle?

I personally don't mind how my SL1200 sounds as is, but i was of the understanding that the rumble on the motor is pretty audible when compared to a better made TT.

*mind blown*
 
#9
Magnetmaz said:
so i honestly won't hear a big sonic difference between a SL1200 with a different arm and an Oracle?
Click to expand...

My experience is that you would hear a big difference. I've heard big Technics DD (including SP10 Mk II -- and Denons & any other number) get totally trounced by decent belt-drives of lesser quality than the Oracle...

But for $1.5k its hard not to consider a Teres & a tweaked up RB250.

dave
 
#10
Magnetmaz said:
so i honestly won't hear a big sonic difference between a SL1200 with a different arm and an Oracle?

I personally don't mind how my SL1200 sounds as is, but i was of the understanding that the rumble on the motor is pretty audible when compared to a better made TT.

*mind blown*
Click to expand...


You will hear difference between all tt's, either DD or belt-driven, as you will hear differences on different arms.
Agree that a Teres & RB250 can be interesting.
A RB250 on the SL could also be....

Arne K

BTW, my ex SL-1210 with a Denon DL-304 trounced a friends 'Gyro/SME-IV, so much that he was embarrassed...(with some help of a good RIAA ((Jocko)).
 
#12
I'd have to agree with Frank on the Nottingham Analogue tables. I recently upgraded from a Rega Planar 3 to an NA Interspace with an Origin Live RB250 arm & Denon DL-110 cartridge for $1100. While I'm still lusting after a Denon DL-103 cartridge, it still beats the pants off of my Rega or the Sondek. While I have not used the Nottingham Interspace arm (it's a unipivot that is not quite as sophisticated as the SpaceArm), I'm quite happy with the synergy between the Interspace and the OL arm.

However, whatever you do, you should audition several decks with a selection of LPs with which you are familiar. After all, everyone has opinions, but at the end of the day, you are the person who will have to live with your choice!

Cheers!

-Derek
 
#13
fdegrove said:
The arm being the weakest link here...
Click to expand...

The arm of course needs tweaking... the 250 leaving more tweak room (and more end potential) than the more commonly used RB300.

the stuff below is a good place to start.

dave
 

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#15
Re: Re: Re: Turntable upgrade

polandro said:

umm
why not?
🙁
Click to expand...

Because people love to hate them, me I'm ambivalent.

Overpriced, especially in the USA I imagine, but good
engineering and good sound. Overpriced upgrade kits.
In its earlier days optimised to work with Naim amplifiers
and Linn speakers. IMO the Linn speakers were poor.

Its a classic.

🙂 sreten.
 
#18
Good engineering? Clever marketing's more like it, no?
Click to expand...

Hi Frank,

Well at least they tried to get the best out of it. I didn't say excellent.

Have to agree with you about the marketing.
But if you remember the infamous Fons CQ30 review in HFN&RR,
it shows Linn had a point to prove , turntables do sound different.

But selling an LP12 with a LVV arm ? yuk.

🙂 sreten.
 
#19
I've got a soft spot for Linns. They may not be the best value for the money -- particularily new at their current prices), but in their day -- just before & after the dawn of the CD there was little that would touch them. The 1st TT that came along that do so reliably was the Oracle, and then once Oracle had shown it could be done, better TTs kept coming & coming -- so many that today -- 20 some years after the "death of vinyl" there are conseratively 100s more choices of "hi-end" TTs than there was then. We had shown ourselves already before the Oracle that the Linn could be bettered, by building a powered-copper/expoxy outer platter for one that was a dramatic improvement (the Linn distrib was not happy the day he heard that -- amazingly the Linn started getting factory improvements after that)

Because so many Linns were sold locally (my 1st one was $180 & i put a $75 Grace 707 on it, the 1st of at least a dozen i've owned -- and sold -- and i sold 100s new myself), there is always good used ones around. Used Oracles from the same era seem a bit rarer (we did get the ball rolling for Oracle selling over 10% of the 1st thousand they made), but they weren't as well built so there may well be more dead in people's closets.

If i had your TT budget i'd be looking at a Teres with my own Plinth, whatever arm i could fit into the budget & one of the cheap wood-body Grados (or a better arm & a $5 Grado until i could afford the better one).

dave
 
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