I want to move from Rega Planar 6 help me to pick a new turntable


Hi Folks,

About couple of years ago I got Rega Planar 6. Now since I got more experience with turntables and know what I want from it I am looking for a new one. 

There is nothing wrong with Rega Planar 6. In fact I enjoy it and if asked I would recommend it to other people. As long as they don't care about VTA and Azimuth. And this is the main reason I want a different table. I somewhat agree that VTA is not a huge deal and on Rega you can get a spacers, not too convenient, but not too bad either. But Azimuth for me is crucial. My experience with lots of different cartridges - most of them don't have stylus perfectly perpendicular to the surface.

I don't necessarily looking to upgrade to something much better. I want a turntable that has adjustable Azimuth. I may consider an upgrade but want to stay below 3k.

Also I don't want anything with suspension, my floors are too resonant and believe me my kids could jump upstairs so hard I sometimes have recessed ceiling lights falling off :) And for some reason I don't care about ProJect.

There is also a limiting factor of availability. Because of COVID production stopped and wait times are months in some cases.

So far I have identified the following options (based on my preferences and availability).

Technics SL-1200GR - $1.7k
VPI Prime Scout - $1.9k
EAT B-Sharp - $2k
VPI - Scout 21  - $2.8k
Music Hall - MMF-9.3 Turntable - $2.7k
EAT C-Major - $3k 

The only table outside of my price range that I might consider is Technics SL-1200G for which I've heard extremely good reviews.

The rest of the system
Cartridge - temporarily DL-103. (before I had Ortofon Quintet Black S and Audio-Technica ART9XA)
Phono stage - Parasound zphono xrm
Amp - PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium
Speakers - Martin Logan Motion 60XTi 


Thanks,
Alex 

adrobitko

In fact I had Rega Aria v3. But during the move to a new house there was an accident that destroyed my $10k work computer, $3k guitar, some other staff and Aria too. Fortunately insurance covered all of that, but I still have not got a new preamp. But I compared parasound to Rega and it did not sound significantly worse. It actually sounds really good for a $500 preamp.

I was actually thinking of upgrading amp and maybe speakers, until I’ve done my taxes and the check I own to IRS crossed all my plans for the upgrades :)

the Rega P6 is amazing and I think better than most of the turntable mentioned on your wish list. 

It is said that, out of the box, the 1200GR is 85% of the sound quality of the 1200G. As a 1200G owner, I can say that it is my last turntable. Out of all the tables you mentioned, I would say get the 1200GR. It is not apparent until tou take possession of a Technics, just how well executed this product is.

It will play just as well in 40 years as it does out of the box. 

 

@shriber as I stated in my post, I think it is an awesome table and great value for money. If one does not care about azimuth or plan to use rega cartridges I would highly recommend it. It is one of the best in the price range. 
 

 But after two years I realized I need azimuth adjustment. We all have our preferences. Some must have perfect VTA setup. I don’t care about it too much. 
 

@sandthemall that’s what I’ve heard too. Also I heard that with some upgrades one can make it sound even better than 1200G. Not that I plan to, but it tells a lot about the quality. For this reason the only upgrade I might consider is to 1200G