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Help buying first analog rig - Clearaudio Concept or Rega P6

I am in the process of purchasing my first major analog rig since I was teen back in the 80's. My system has been digital. I had a period of about 8 years where I did not do much with audio as we were moving and building a new home. Shortly after our home was built, but before the basement was finished and the alarm was installed, we had a break in. Among the many things other things taken, they took a box of my CD's, basically all my SACD's. So when I the basement was finished and got setup again it prompted me to get into streaming. I have a dedicated listening room which is pretty big 16 x 25 and 9' ceiling on a concrete slab (i know that helps with turntables) with laminate flooring and area rug. My System is pretty straight forward digital.
-Innuos Zen mkIII to stream and play my ripped CD's along with other hi-rez digital I have purchased and some DSD's
-Chord Qutest fed with a Shunyata Alpha USB from the Zen
-PrimaLuna EVO 400 integrated
-Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII 
-Purist Audio Venustas Luminist Speaker and RCA  cables, Shunyata Venom NR V10 power cables

The only small stack of vinyl I own is what I had as a teen, 80's rock which I may listen to occasionally, but I plan on buying new vinyl. I listen to a lot of Jazz - Coltrane, Davis, etc, a lot of modern bluegrass mostly female vocal like Sarah Jarosz, Sierra Hull, Alison Krauss.
The 2 tables that I seem to have gravitated towards are:
-Rega P6 with Hana EL 
-Clearaudio Concept wood with the black satisfy arm and either their Concept MC or Maestro V2 cartridge.

I know the Concept does not come with a dust cover, no big deal for me, I can always add one down the road.

Phono pre
-Sutherland KC Vibe
-MS Phenomena 2+

My budget was originally 3000 for the table/cart and pre, but I really like the concept wood ascetically, it would fit nicely in my rustic/industrial decor which has a lot of wood. I know its not about ascetics, but I am just not crazy about the look of Rega, but it does get great reviews. My rack is butcher block and iron pipe, so the table would sit on the top shelf next tot he PrimaLuna. I am the kind of person that does not mind tinkering and I understand the inconvenience of records vs digital, but I am looking for the natural, openness and beauty that vinyl brings to the system. What am I missing?
128x128jmphotography
cd318
2,636 posts
 
Build quality against VTA tweaking?

Surely it's no contest?

Back in my days of LP12 ownership I did experiment with adjusting VTA but it did next to nothing.

On the other hand even an increase or decrease of 1 gram of tracking weight was easy enough to hear.

None of this extra curricular dabbling into the hellish pits of audio nirvosa was ever necessary with my Rega Planar 3 / Nagoaka MP11 combo.
photomax
169 posts
 
JM,

I was on a similar quest so I can relate to your question. You will receive a lot of different opinions that will more or less justify the various responders own buying decisions. The path they chose or their research effort might differ from your mission though.

Let your ears decide. Listen to as much kit as you can. I live in Seattle and heard TT systems costing as little as $1200 all the way up to $125,000. 
I started with an all Rega system plus a SONOS Connect as my streamer. I then set about upgrading everything. This included adding a Rega P6, Ania MC and a Rega Aria II for a phono stage. I then upgraded my amplification, speakers and digital source. I found new annoying things in my digital system which led to more changes and trial and error. My mission was getting more consistent satisfaction from my digital kit as I was getting from my turntable station. I found that you never quite get there.

I found myself being both hot and cold with buying and playing records once I had a really nice system. Lately I find it enjoyable to play records. I upgraded my phono stage to a Parasound JC3+ which is a nice upgrade from the Rega Aria. I have contemplated upgrading my table and cartridge but to be honest I am really enjoying the sound!

You would not be the first digital guy to think he should go all in with vinyl but later found himself still streaming most of the time. I think a lot of this is how you pick albums to buy, the access to record stores and the kind of music you enjoy. The quality of digital recordings can be great or cold and harsh. Same thing with vinyl. So I would not bother buying a top grade “last table I will ever buy” table right now. You might suffer from poor resale if you decide to back out. Same thing with records. I would go slow: get old favs, get known audiophile recordings and get new stuff to expand your horizon. But don’t buy records just to have a large instant collection. Go slow and compare the sound against your streaming system at different sound levels. Only you can determine if adding a record collection and table station is right for you…
sokogear
1,095 posts
 
Save up for a Rega P8 - much better arm, no plinth, you just see the spinning platter and a silver brace recessed attaching the arm, and the removable dust cover design is much better (I had a P5 which is the same or similar dust cover). I have a Sutherland Insight with linear power supply which is excellent and a van den Hul MC ONE special that is a little high for your budget, so look for a less expensive non-Rega cartridge. If you do get a good MM one and your preamp has a regular 47K ohm phono stage, you may be able to eliminate that expense.

Best to put it on a wall shelf because of its low mass design. Townshend platform a plus also, as a future upgrade, make sure to get the AA size or you won't get enough movevent in the pods to have any effect. 
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