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

Hello Audiogon,

In the last 45 years I have had over 200 TT and for the last 25 years have loved my VPI"S All Three! I have ventured off to customs in the last few years such as UK Builder ARB Rega, Hungarian Builder, Stradivari, But the best TT for the Money is made by S.A.M. in Croatia! It is superior to Anything Under $4000. and up! Do your homework! Ivan is really easy to work with and talk to and it will far exceed ANYTHING in its price range PLUS! 

All the Best !

Just get a cartridge that doesn't require azimuth adjustments. You may want to consider a P8. Arm is fantastic (RB880).

Here is an update. I found a local dealer who stocked Technics SL-1200GR, I went there and got it to test drive at home. I was upfront, that I am looking for an upgrade from Planar 6 and may return Technics if I won't like it. They were ok with that.

So I brought it home. Here is just first impressions.

Set up. Much easier than anything I tried before. Literally it took me 5 mins on Technics to do what it took me at lest 15 on Rega on other tables I had before. Head shell helps a lot.

I put the same Dl-103 I had on Rega and I have not bothered to set up VTA or Azimuth. Literally put cartridge, adjusted overhang, verified that it lined up with protractor (by naked eyes no tools used) and that was it.

Then I went to listen few records. The setup was absolutely the same as with Rega.

I was a little bit unprepared to what I heard. I was expecting to carefully listening to all the details and look for some barely noticeable changes in sound. I was wrong. Big time.

Immediately I heard, much better low end. With Rega it was good, I could hear bass guitar, kick drum, etc. With Technics I hear them being played. Not just that there is bass guitar, but that it is being played, with all nuances. Attack, Release, transients. It was very apparent. 

Then I noticed more details. Especially on my beloved Dire Straits first album. As you may have heard Mark Knopfler plays with fingers instead of pick. And on Technics it was very clear. I am a guitar player myself and I know what to look for and indeed all that little dynamic nuances only possible when played with fingers were there.

I will continue to listen, but to be honest I am shocked. I was not expecting it to be that different.

I then ask my wife to listen to that table. She is no audiophile and to some extent a bit skeptical. But she immediately told me that it sounds better.

I don’t think a single one of your choices is better than what you have. Just because you can’t adjust azimuth and as far as VTA goes, between the adjustment of arm height and downforce, realistically cover enough range in that respect. By adding one thing(azimuth), you lose another (stiffness) in the process. And before someone chimes in that I’m wrong about this; yes I know about using microscopes to measure the exact cartridge cantilever rake and hyper extensive tools (borderline ridiculous) for exacting measurements that in the end may still not get you all the way there for reasons too numerous to get into here. From what I’m guessing from your table choices, you are not one of these Type One audio fanatics and there is nothing wrong with that (I’m borderline) who will spend endless hours wondering if this is as good as it can get, may I suggest an alternative route. How about finding some really good audio dealers that you can reasonably travel to who are passionate, and really understand what they sell and work with you to make you happy. I know that this is not always easy for some places but if you can, it might be a better alternative than buying blind on the opinion of others. Not to mention the ability to have a pro helping you out with support and not having to ship it somewhere hoping it gets returned, repaired, adjusted as you hoped. I myself try to do this in most of my purchases but I live in Chicago, a large metropolitan area. Kinda like the two people that I trust for my scotch choices (they are on the same page as me). It narrows down confusion because in the end there are simply too many choices and unless you like that becomes more of a hindrance.

I assume your Rega is on a wall shelf? I had a P8 and P10 on a stand  and if I coughed hard enough the record would skip.