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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
rorosone
17 posts
 

@rauliruegas +1

laoman's avatar
laoman
436 posts
 

Kuzma Stabi S, or if you can afford it, Stabi R with a 9 inch 4 point arm.

sandthemall
544 posts
 

This reminds me of the days of the old Technics SL1200mk2. So many people quick to discount it as simply a DJ turntable. The many years of minute improvements, all that money invested and reinvested to make something that held its own among more novel designs. They were great with almost any MM cart but a tonearm rewire and some careful tonearm damping and you can use it with pricier MC carts.

The new Technics stuff is noticeably smoother at the gimbal. Throw whatever MC cart you want on it out of the box. Look at the prices of the turntables the 1200GR is pit against in this review. Take ownership of one of the Japan-made decks and you will discover a quality and ’feel’ that magazine photos simply cannot convey. They are jewel-like, precision instruments.

unreceivedogma's avatar
unreceivedogma
978 posts
 

Technics makes audiophile tables? Really? I had no idea.

I have had a VPI HW MK IV for 37 years. It still works.

jmolsberg's avatar
jmolsberg
467 posts
 

Earlier this year I picked up a Technics 1200gae with Hana Umami and I am smitten. Certainly an improvement over my VPI Traveler. Technics is hard to beat at its asking price. 

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