Vintage or new turntable

Vintage is the way to go but only if you can do a pick up and the unit demo'd before purchase.

The good old ARXA is the most musical and satisfying vintage table. It is also very forgiving of mediocre recordings. You do need to couple it with a good modern arm for best sound. Not so easy unless you are a capable doer, but certainly worth the effort. Their later versions, like the ES1 are easier in this regard. I had non audiophiles begging me to play more records at the Christmas party. My young and lovely wife was trying to turn it down as they all booed her. Live Doors, Live Allman Bro's, Cannonball Adderly, Satchmo, Dizzy, Willy...we rocked! They could not believe A: that this was vinyl, and B: that I have been using this same turntable since the early seventies. One guy was one of my roommates back then and couldn't believe this was the same table we all used to listen to. I have a pricey Well Tempered, but, still, the AR always puts a smile on my face.

Three cheers to that...

The good old ARXA is the most musical and satisfying vintage table. It is also very forgiving of mediocre recordings. You do need to couple it with a good modern arm for best sound. Not so easy unless you are a capable doer, but certainly worth the effort. Their later versions, like the ES1 are easier in this regard. I had non audiophiles begging me to play more records at the Christmas party. My young and lovely wife was trying to turn it down as they all booed her. Live Doors, Live Allman Bro's, Cannonball Adderly, Satchmo, Dizzy, Willy...we rocked! They could not believe A: that this was vinyl, and B: that I have been using this same turntable since the early seventies. One guy was one of my roommates back then and couldn't believe this was the same table we all used to listen to. I have a pricey Well Tempered, but, still, the AR always puts a smile on my face.

I also like vintage Thorens - TD160 Supers are cool, but still need a little work if purchased stock, I like the Linn LP12 too soundwise but they are just way too tweaky and fussy for me. Artisan used to convert TD160 Mk1 to "Super" level with a total rehaul and different plinth but I am not sure if they still work with the TD160, that was awhile ago that I saw one. If you could stretch your budget just a little, you could grab a restored and decked out Thorens TD125 from Artisan Fidelity, they even get rid of the old sloppy suspension. From what I gather, they offer another version not shown on the website with a one inch plinth for way under 2 grand. With arm and cart you would be pushing the budget a bit I know, but one heck of a beautiful classic vintage table you would have. I know they offer new motors for them also, in addition but that would probably really break the bank...gotta leave something for a good tonearm and cartridge!

Find a Technics 1200 and look up KAB for an upgrade path. I will guarantee you these tables will go up in value. Check the KAB websight for a little history of the 1200 pretty eye opening understanding that the technology behind the drive system makes the modern audio jewelry look like something from the stone age. I have SP-25 on a custom plinth coupled with a Black Widow arm. I am currently running an Empire 2000E III and have a Shure V15 III and a Grado coming. The Empire performs way above expectations in a real low mass arm. I have less that $1,400 invested in my setup including all three cartridges.