Most hyped turntable, tonearm, and cartridge?

@ihcho ,

"I somehow thought that the 301/309/SPU is at the level of holly grail in turntable community"


No one is saying it isn't. At least not far off. Certainly not me.

Don't forget that the fabled Technics SP10 itself harkens back to around 1970.

My mint Luxman PD444 from Japan with two new armboards in 2018 cost me $2000 which was not common, but I got real lucky. Runs perfect and is one of the most gorgeous golden age tables ever made. Real cost on a mint PD444 is more like $4000 or more, if you can find it.

Russian time traveling Victor TT101 in mint-condition sitting on JP’s bench cost me $1500. Original plinth with 4 armboards cleaned up, new Teak veneer cost $500. JP’s cost is around $1500. $3500 for top of the line vintage DD.

Spend money wisely says Yoda.

I have one different question though, if I may. Which is a better table between entry level Clearaudio turntable (like Concept) or similarly priced Rega 6 and Technics SL-1200GR?

You’re comparing belt drive to direct drive here.

I prefer the simplicity of Clearaudio and Rega, but if Technics is at least as good, and if it can be used with SPU cartridges (with additional counter weight), then I would go for Technics as my future turntable. (Well, I’ve read that it is absurd to use SPU cartridges with SL-1200GR tonearm, but I’ve seen some people were happy with it.)

As ex owner of a few SPU cartridges I can tell you that you’d better look for SP-10mkII and "12 inch tonearm like Thomas Schick. I owned this combination with my SPU Spirit and SPU Classic cartridges.

If you want SL1200GR then you can still use SPU with custom made ring weight for the counterweight, but it’s a bit strange, because there are many better higher compliance MC for Technics tonearm and some killer MM cartridges (best). You can also replace Technics tonearm with something like Jelco.  

If you have and like an SPU cartridge, it is a matter of choosing a suitable arm, I don't think the type of table particularly matters.  Some people insist on being vintage appropriate, but, to me, a good table, regardless of vintage, deserves a good arm whatever the vintage.

I had the privilege of hearing a collection of four different Ortofon SPU cartridges, two were older, and two were current models, on a modern top-end Ortofon arm.  This was an interesting comparison--I liked both the highly regarded older model and the latest top end SPU model which sounded quite different from the older model.  The Ortofon tonearm is a favorite of the dealer who was doing the audition (the table was a Thorens 124).  I would suggest the Ortofon arm, but, it is made by Jelco, which recently went out of business, so it, like a lot of other arms made by Jelco, have become quite hard to find.

Rega is a great solution. I have a Planar 8 and it is stellar sounding and easy to set up