2. analog
  3. 1142947107

Newbie looking for cheap dependable table

I have been lucky enough to be asked to "store" about 1,000 of my father's LP's. While growing up he would buy a few new albums every week & we would listen to them over the weekend together. They are in perfect condition, he would always clean them & store them perfectly so I know they are worth having.

My dilema is that as much as I want to get into vinyl playback it seems like a MAJOR PITA. I am intimidated by everything that I am reading here about setting up the stylus, proper cleaning & care of everything. I am not much of a tweaker with my system now unless I get off on a tangent for a little while. I also never get enough time right now to listen to my system as it is, I will need a table that is ready & waiting for me when I have few free hours. Now that being said I was intimidated when I first got into this hobby a few years ago & everyone here was kind enough to help me get my feet wet.

So the question at this point is with about $1000.00 to spend should I purchase a used Rega, Music Hall or refreshed Thorens for about $500.00? I figure with the rest of the money, I will try one of the cheaper phono stages plus necessary tools, cleaners & any other widgets.

Obviously like anything else in this crazy hobby if I find this is for me I will spend way more than I ever expected. For the moment though I am looking for a good table that will let me get used to this new world & hopefully make me want to get in over my head. If I find this isn't where I want to be I will either sell it all or offer it to my father. At this point I am still thinking I will be listening to 90% digital & only 10% analog.
fishwater
reubent
7,004 posts
 
I previously owned a Linn Axis table with a factory installed Linn Basik Plus arm and Linn cartridge. It was a very good sounding setup and it was nearly zero fuss. I wish I had not sold it a couple of years ago. I think this setup goes for under $500 used. I've seen them for about $350-$400 at times.

Enjoy,

TIC
s7horton
1,077 posts
 
I think the Music Hall MMF 5 would be a good place to start. Used you can find them for abou 500. Otherwise, you could step up to the MMF 7 if you wanted to spend a little more money.

I started with an MMF 5 and thought it sounded good even with the stock cartridge.
bartinmi
30 posts
 
I own the MMF-5 and would highly recommend it as a plug and play unit. The sound is very good also. I have not really been able to listen to a high end analog rig, so I don't know what I'm missing, but I'm happy with the Music Hall MMF-5. I purchased the table and a Music Hall phono-pak pre-amp for under $700 from Music Direct. Use the rest of your budget for a record cleaner.
uppermidfi
277 posts
 
A used Rega is a good, dependable, low maintenence table. I am not familiar with the others, I've seen and heard some Thorens, and Music Hall, but don't know enough to offere advice.

If you go with the Rega, I would recommend using a Rega cartridge too. Rega arms don't have a VTA adjustment, but are set correctly for a Rega cartridge. Who knows maybe your 90% vs 10% might change! Have fun!
pbb
1,140 posts
 
A number of people in your situation are buying Technics DD tables that are still being manufactured mostly for DJ stuff. Try Musician's Friend, the model is SL-1210 or SL-1200 if I recall. If you can stand putting up with the prejudice against Japanese products and DD tables in particular you will probably be quite satisfied and buying new certainly simplifies things. Good luck.
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