Need advice on what to look for in a turntable - budget $6K to $10K

Bill,

I can tell you that in my experience, the 30x has plenty of gain for the Proteus...I had run the Purple Heart at 15x and it was just fine......

I put wrong video link in prior post, here's the one with the Proteus on same table:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgmHbORQ5Ew

As I’ve said, I feel the Proteus to be a significant step up over the Purple Heart, but with another stepup/phono pre the results could be different....

Thanks


Eric

Hanss T-60 if you can find a good deal or the Hanss T-30. I have had my T-60 for 6 years now with no problems, sounds great, capable of 2 tonearms. You better have a good back and a buddy to help you since the platter is 44 lbs and the table is close to 150 lbs. 3 of the Absolute Sound reviews of the Newport show this year rated the Cost No Object room  the Lotus Group room that used the Hanss T-60 as the source. IMO, this competes with tables many times it's price.

I'll be the first to admit--I only have hands-on experience with a few turntables, and I've directly heard several more including SMEs, an AMG, Ayre/DPS, and a few others.

But based on what I've read, I'd give a serious look at the Merrill-Williams R.E.A.L. 101.2 turntable. It starts at $6400 w/o tonearm, but when you add an armboard and tonearm plus record weight and perimeter ring, you can hit $10K. So it spans your entire budget range depending on how you trick it out.

When the first version came out (around 2007) it was a Stereophile Class A turntable. That's quite an accomplishment considering what Class A turntables typically run. Reviews extol this turntable's low noise floor, linearity, exceptional speed consistency, and leading edge transients, not usually the strongest points for many belt drive turntables. 

I'm not saying to buy it, but it it were me, I wouldn't commit the cash until I checked one out. Looks really promising.

I have a clear audio ovation table ($6k) and a koetsu phono cartirige ($2.5k). Amazing sound through audio research reference electronics. Highly recommend this set up.

I just listened to a Feichert woodpecker with Cadenza bronze at the local Audio House dealer in denver. Dave was super nice and informative.   Amazing how much better an album sounds on a quality TT.  

I'm going to listen to a clearaudio ovation with Cardenza gold and make my decision. 

Blue water, thanks for your input on the ovation. Has anyone heard the ovation and woodpecker back to back?  I would love to hear you impressions.