Suggestions for an Analog Front-End
My advice to stay away of the cheap belt drive and with your budget look for Technics SL1200GR ($1700 new. and NO this model is not a "DJ turntable"), vintage Pickering XSV/3000-SP cartridge with Stereohedron tip (about $450 or cheaper is you’re lucky), and JLTi phono stage (Convert from AU$ and it will be just $940 with shipping), ask Joe for special mod by request (manufacturer can do that for you) to replace internal load resistors which will allow you to use optional RCA plug load resistors for MM - this is very important option as you can use 100k Ohm for MM cartridges (instead 47k Ohm). Most of the greatest MM are better at 100 k Ohm. It will be an amazing system for very reasonable cost. I know all these components very well and JLTi is my favorite MM phono stage for my big collection of vintage MM/MI cartridges, no other phono stage on the market will give you optional loading for MM. Reading an old manuals for some of the best MM from the 70s/80s i always see a range for loading, from 40k Ohm to 100k Ohm. Technics is the best you can get for the money, if the SL1200GR is still expensive, look for used one cheaper to save $300 or so. This is unbeatable turntable, it's stable direct drive with nice tonearm, build like a tank, this is real thing. The "GR" is simplified version of the the $4000 "G" model (read reviews). |
Spend more on the table and cartridge and pair it with a less expensive phono-preamp for now. I can upgrade later if desired. Open to other strategies. Glad to hear because its always good to have a plan and that is a good one. One of the great things about analog is if you buy right you can buy for a very long time. It doesn't obsolete itself every 18 months like digital. A good turntable will last a very long time. A good arm maybe even longer. I have no advice on specifics, only to keep thinking like you're doing. Because you just never know what you may find. You may come across a killer deal on a super table, then run it with a cheap cartridge or stage for a while. Or you may find a killer deal on an arm, whatever you get the idea. The phono stage will be the hardest. Its just a very demanding component, hard to get right when on a budget. Yet when you do get it right it can be night and day the difference it will make. Another consideration, my experience would have me leaning towards arms with connected phono leads over arms that use RCA and interconnect. In my experience the phono signal is so delicate you wind up spending big money trying to find an IC good enough to make up for what is lost in the extra connections. Sorry I know that sucks because a lot are built that way but it is what it is. Also the last thing you need in the budget range is having to buy more stuff like a phono IC. |
