I NEED YOUR HELP with a turntable purchase


Hello Everyone,

I need your help with my first high end turntable purchase.
I will be purchasing in May.

I am looking for a really good turntable for my system. I am not sure which way to go. I checked out a Spiral Groove, and so far I really like that one, mainly for it's no nonsense approach and the ease of use. I have also heard about Basis, SME. SME seems to get really great reviews and their owners really seem to like them. I don't quite understand the significant upcharge to US customers though.

my budget is around $15-30k, hopefully including tonearm and cartridge. i could spend a bit more if necessary. i am NOT necessarily looking for the most expensive turntable, but I want the most bang for my bucks. The phone preamp will be Audio Research Phono Ref2.

the rest of my system consists of:
Preamp: Audio Research Anniversary Ref 40
Amps: Audio Research 610T
Speakers: Wilson Audio Maxx 3
Digital: dCS Scarlatti stack

I would appreciate and help you can give me.

thanks!!
jon_p
I like the Oracle Delphi Mk VI with a Graham Phantom arm that I've heard with a Zyx Universe cart...it's on the lower end of the stated budget, but sounds fantastic to my ears.
My $15k analog rig:

Clearaudio Innovation Wood Compact
Clearaudio Universal Arm with VTA lift
Shelter Harmony cart.
I should mention my other associated equip:

Clearaudio Balance + Phono stage
marke Levinson 380S pre-amp
Pass Labs XA 100.5 class A monoblocks
Wilson Watt/Puppy 8

I am very happy with the analog rig.
Depends on the sound you are looking for. I would purchase the Oracle Delphi Mk VI as mentioned above if I wanted the most beautiful music to be heard.

I also agree with the Sota Cosmos recommendation for a no-frills, do it all excellent turntable that has no weaknesses and is easy to set up

The Basis turntables, especially at their higher end, are works of art visually and technically and are probably the best engineered table made today. I could easily live with their Ovation or their newest beauty.

After that, there are a number of tables that will do the trick, some of which may be from companies that may not be in it for the long hall. The 3 above have been around a while, and provide excellent customer service.

For arms, the Graham, Triplanar, SME or Helius would all work well. For cartridges, take your pick of any number of well reviewed examples.
Give me a 10% fee, and I'll put it all together for you and you will love it or your money back.
Dear Jon,
As you might have expected, the responses are all over the lot depending upon the bias of the person who posts. Very few of us really have a broad experience of hearing many different expensive turntables in our home systems, which is the only way to make a judgement among them. So, everyone here is correct, and everyone here is also wrong. (Plus, Syntax was being facetious.) There are a few choices that cannot be "wrong", in my own equally insufficiently informed opinion: Walker, Saskia, etc, but most of those would actually exceed your generous budget for this purchase. Another candidate not mentioned should be "The Beat", a direct-drive turntable made by Steve Dobbins in Idaho. If you get an input here from "Thuchan", do take it seriously; he is one guy who HAS heard everything in his home system, although his system preference is very different from yours. By the way, while I like the SOTA Cosmos, I cannot agree that it has "no weaknesses". Suspended, belt-drive turntables have a characteristic sound that is not generally to my taste and includes unstable pitch, at times.