To venture back into vinyl or not,...that is the question.

I guess its what is your sound quality you like now ?  If its a lower end setup and you are all about listening without caring about having higher end components then go for it with a 2nd hand deck.   I will be jealous as for most of us its an addiction of pursing a near impossible dream of perfection.  

I brought a 2nd hand Linn LP12 just over a year ago as I still have all my original vinyl, 1500 albums, and I'm quite disappointed in the sound reproduction compared with what I am getting from digital nowadays (Tidal and Flacs).  I then brought a 2nd hand Rega RP8 with a decent cartridge on it and its better but still the digital is superior in my setup.  I need to do some cartridge and maybe phono amp upgrades to bring it into parity which alone will be $1000's  .. so at this point its not a priority. 

I say, if you have a decent system stay with digital, listen to your old albums on a streaming service. 

The U-turn Orbit Turntable is quite nice. It hits slightly under the $500 stated price limit. Is it the best unit available? Absolutely not. Is it fun reliable and provide great sound quality? Oh yes indeed it does. They also offer, as an option, the built in phono stage. Unbox and setup time is 20 minutes or less. Easy way to re-enter the world of vinyl with minimal financial risk.

Unless you have hundreds of albums you want to revisit or have nostalgia for vinyl, I would spend you money elsewhere. Vinyl isn’t just about the sound. It is about the nostalgia of our childhoods when that was the only way to listen to recorded music. Listening to vinyl is ritualistic. Filing your albums with your personal system. Cleaning the record. Caring for the stylus and your turntable. Then there is the money spent on the associated phono preamp and cabling. Unless you have a strong desire to play the hundreds of albums you already own and or go down the vinyl equipment rabbit hole. I would pass. I am someone with those hundreds of albums and all that equipment. But if I am being honest and if it’s really about the music, I say, with some sadness, that you should spend your money on your digital system, with subscriptions of Qobuz and or Tidal. Finally Roon is a must have. That to me is the biggest bang for the buck in music quality, music discovery and sound in the digital platform. Save your money and get a lifetime subscription. 

Depends what rest of system costs in terms of ratio. I would say biggest value now is picking up great transport and DAC and enjoy CD and streaming. Unless you have good LP collection (in which case) rega p3 or the like or.... (sell all the vinyl) 

I’d get the 579 dollar (down from $1000) thorens td 203 with uni-pivot tonearm. All the European reviews seem to love it. What hifi 4 stars, and audiophiliac likes it. Yes it comes with a thorens tas 257 mm cartridge, but seemingly it’s a good match for the tonearm. Of course, you can always upgrade cartridge. Imo it’s a steal at $579 from rutherford audio. The tonearm is better than anything on any other comparable turntable, plus it has electronic speed control and a dust cover. Might grab it myself just because....


Here's a few reviews...

The Thorens TD 203 was tested in the Stereo issue 1/2015 on pages 84 and 85

Test extract:

"... after a few pages of the record we thought the TD 203, which was delivered with a dust cover made of acrylic, was ready for" interrogation ". It immediately appealed to us with its fresh, carefree manner. Whatever we put on - the Thorens kicked off easily and smoothly. There was no handbrake on in the timing and no hollow cheeked pallor in the timbres, but full-bodied guitars and lively plucking dynamics. Moto: Oops, now I'm coming!

It sounded sympathetic and appealing, but also a bit sleek and tough. If you want to find out what the flat turner can do, you have to allow it at least 15 hours of break-in time. Then its spatial spectrum widens, the slight roughness in the high frequency decreases, and the TD 203 moves closer to the TD 209 tested in issue 1/14, which was also used as a comparison device. At 1000 euros, it costs significantly more and the smaller model just kept up with its more harmonious mids and somewhat more serene, nuance-more precise way of playing.

But the law of action lay with the TD 203, who dedicates himself to the various titles of the STEREO hearing test LP with sensitivity, but above all with courageous commitment. Whether the cally dynamics of Antonio Forcione's "Attempo" or the gentle chorus in "Mitt Hjerte Alltid Vanker", whether the graceful rhythm in Louis Capart's "Marie-Jeanne-Gabrielle" or the driving percussion in Amber Rubarth's dummy head recording "Good Mystery" - the Thorens always found the right approach to music.

Even with Respighi's orchestra, which was pressed into the difficult-to-palpable inner grooves and started brilliantly, which is certainly not one of the novice's favorite pieces, the newcomer did not show any nakedness, but at least managed to keep track of things despite the vehement rush.

In the end we had really enjoyed listening to music with the TD 203. You don't even have to add the 300 euros to the TD 209. The more modestly priced model plays on low-priced systems, which in any case have more of a hit than the audiophile facets, just as sympathetically, sometimes even more appropriate. Anyone looking around in the upscale entry-level area of ​​the analog range can actually consider Thorens' new turner with the big musical heart as a kind of "small reference". ... "

Sound level: 58%

Price / performance: excellent

And another much abbreviated review..

Three turntables were tested in stereoplay issue 4/2015 on pages 42 to 49

Test extract:

"... with the preassembled MM scanner (a Thorens TAS 257), which requires a tracking force of 23 millinewtons, the tonearm, which is still damped with a ring in the middle of the tube, can be heard well coped : namely sharply outlined, precisely slim and with a lot of depth Apart from that, the small turntable gets to work vehemently, resiliently and expressively.

The Thorens ensemble "smells" very strongly of insider tip status, especially since the astonishingly small tonearm should certainly improve again with very high-quality pickups. ... "

Conclusion:

Sensibly designed single-lever offer with an astonishingly grown-up tonearm and the highest tuning potential. Wonderfully relaxed, yet never boring sound with no flaws worth mentioning. Insider tip status!

Sound: top class

Overall rating: good

Price / performance: outstanding

😁