Turntables better than a Wadia 861SE w/ Statement

I think you're phono stage is your CAT is pretty good. Maybe someone else can comment. But for under 10K...you'll have a ton of options. I'd go for a used SME 20/2 with SME IV.Vi arm...approx 6k. Or a SME 10 and arm...4k. Spend about 2k on a good cartridge, Lyra Helicon, Shelter, something. $500 on a VPI 16.5 cleaning machine, $500 on a better arm cable, like a Hovland or similar.

You have a lot of options in the price range. The Basis mentioned above is also great. The SME 20/2 is a lifetime investment. You may trade cartridges...but the table will likely be a permament resident.

Good luck.

>>I've come to realize that I have probably the same level of performance I once had with a Rega and nice Grado cartridge!!<<

Comparing an 861 SE Statement to this analog combo is apples to oranges. Mount a Zyx Airy 2 or 3 cartridge with a good tonearm/turntable and it's goodbye Wadia.

Check out the Nottingham table/arm conbos,really worth checking out.Especially the Space/Acespace unit at about $3K.

CAT phono stage is excellent although the gain is pretty high for some cartridges which can make volume settings a bitch with the stepped antenuator. That was my experience with an early CAT Signature, anyway.

There are better arms than that Nottingham for less money. SME is the way to go but don't buy it from the North American distributor as you'll pay TWICE as much as from other sources.

Hello Aoliviero:

When I first got back into vinyl, I spent +/- 30% of what I had into my Levinson 37 transport and Chord DAC 64. The up-side is I have not bought a CD in three years, the down-side is I have bought in the neighborhood of $1,000 in records, and have just up-graded my turntable / arm / cartridge / phonopre, for the third time.

Best regards,

Dave