Turntable upgrade recommendations, please.
VPI is you best bet here In my opinion nothing else comes close in this price range. But after you have a good turntable the cartridge is everything. You need a good MC cartridge with medium/high output. My choice would be to pick up a Goldring Eroica or higher or a Dynavector 20X2 on this site as used. |
Turntable upgrade is always a good idea. You get less noise and more music. I suggest that you listen until you hear the magic, and buy that item, not one 'just like it', but that exact item. The reason is that, not only are there manufacturing differences from device to device, but that set up is absolutely critical. Few people, including dealers, set up to anything close to the optimum; the result is, for both reasons, LUCK is one of the biggest factors in a turntable. Especially at your price point. IMHO |
I also suggest Sota. Here's an ad that popped up today: https://www.audiogon.com/listings/turntables-sota-satellite-series-ii-turntable-with-rega-s202-tonea... That's a new rig. If you're patient, you should be able to find a Series 3 Sapphire with a better arm for the same or less money. Both could take advantage of a much better cartridge. Good luck & happy hunting! |
For those who may be interested, I spent some time at my McIntosh Dealers shop today and inquired about the soon-to-be-released McIntosh MT2. He called Mc for me to see if he could get a release date and pricing. I was stoked to hear that Mc will likely begin shipping next month, but disappointed to find out that the pricing given at the Munich High End show last May has changed considerably. It was reported at the show and subsequent publications that the pricing was expected to come in at $2500, which is right in my budget. They were willing to take my order, but the price is now $4k. The price includes a Sumiko Blue Point #2 cart. So... the search continues! I did listen to the MT10 today just for grins. Really, really nice! Just 4x my current budget. But really nice. |
