Help me make a decision! Turntable overload

@srereo5,

You sold Onkyo equipment  and never cared for them? I hope other dealers aren't like this?

@slaw...…………………………………………………..

Yup, that is correct.  Couldn't stand the equipment, many returns, and many came in for warranty work.  Their slogan back in the 70's was "Onkyo, artistry in sound". (yeah right) The audio store I worked in sold the Onkyo as the loss leader to get people into the store.  I personally liked the Marantz, Sherwood and Kenwood that we also sold and the real good stuff, the Accuphase.

I saw many Onkyo on the repair bench and the tech always complained about how cheaply made their stuff was, the circuit boards were as thin as a sheet of paper.  If someone really wanted one, I sold it to them but usually they traded up within a few months.  We dumped the Onkyo line for the JVC line which was much better.

Also, I was just one of the salesmen there, I was not privy to decisions on what equipment lines we sold.  I sold the equipment that we dealt with, like it or not.

Pay a lil extra and go for pro-ject classic or a used thorens td125 or td160. 

@shadorne ,

"Not looking for resolution from vinyl" ..Wow!

In my opinion the difference between 1 through 3 were minor at best but 4 stuck out like it hurt. That being said, I would have liked to hear what the various arms sound like on a popular piece that we all are familiar with. Although, 1 through 3 all sounded very good it would be interesting to compare how that front end compared to my much more modest front end.

I can say that after listening I was not in a rush to go out and buy the arm, or any variation of it. It made me reflect on what an amazing value I have in my system. I think Mike’s front end cost well over $100,000. Upgrading from what I have to his would be like burning money. I would need to be a multi-billionaire to get any dollar per sound value from it.

I’m not saying it is not the best front end around. What I’m underscoring is that the difference between the best and very good is getting smaller.

So, today we have now entered a new era. No longer is the "best the enemy of the very good" but, rather, "the very good has become the enemy of the best"!