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

I own and love my p3 rega ....... but my next table is a VPI for the same reason.

On VTA adjustment. This is a bigger deal than some might think. Especially with the better MC cartridges. While using the AT33ptgII, I was a little underwhelmed with its performance. I finally took the time to measure VTA and discovered the tonearm was ever so slightly 'tail-up'. Luckily the Technics VTA adjustment goes quite a bit beyond the zero mark. I was able to get it level and it was an entirely different cartridge.

Also the gimbal bearings on Technics G/GR turntables are ridiculously smooth. This is not talked about enough. 

I do believe a better phono stage is also important. I really like my Hagerman Trumpet MC. But I would agree that you want to be able to deal with all cartridge/tonearm setup parameters first and that requires a turntable that makes this a simple, precise and repeatable process.

 

 

 

Thumbs up for the Audiomods arm. Can adjust azimuth as well as VTA. Sounds awesome as well.

I have the P6 with Exact cart so very interested to see where this thread goes!  I have no plans to upgrade the table but possibly the cart and definitely the pre.  I am currently enjoying the very inexpensive Graham Slee SE 2.  Sounds good, but I know I can do much better.

Great info!