Turntable upgrade recommendations, please.


Hello,

I am a bit of a newbie, but have have been chasing the "magic" every since I got started on this journey about 2 years ago. My system currently consists of:

Denon dp-47f w/ a Denon 301 mkII cartridge
McIntosh MAC6700
Magnepan 1.6qr

I am interested in upgrading my turntable, assuming that there are real sonic benefits to be had from a new rig at approx. $2500. I have been looking at the usual suspects from VPI, Rega, Pro-ject, etc. 

I am curious to hear if those of you with more experience can tell me how my Denon stacks up against these and if the view will be worth the climb. To my ears, the Denon sounds good, but I am anxious to upgrade if there are significant gains to be heard.

I am also very interested in a McIntosh MT2, but haven't seen any new info or announcements on the release.

Please share your opinions and experiences. 

Thanks in advance!


sdmbdad71
to be honest, I'd upgrade to 1.7i Maggies - big improvements for the x.7's (I upgraded to 3.7i) - free testing so call them

otherwise... VPI is a no-brainer at that price level
I recommend a Linn Sondek - secondhand about $1500. I own one and yes indeed it has that "MAGIC" sound (which has kept it in the top rank of TT's for decades!). And from my experience NOT at all difficult to set up!  Mine is the second one that I bought after selling the first one and missing that "SOUND"!           I use a Grace 707 arm and a Denon 304 with excellent results.
Thanks for all of the responses so far... I've looked at each of the tables you've suggested. Some of them are quite interesting.