End Game Turntable suggestions

mdalton

I inherited a Thorens TD124 with an SME arm. Wonderful!

Tremendous quality, that heavy platter, in incredibly close tolerances, best most coherent bass I ever got out of a TT.

Design, moving parts below the deck are easy to understand, clean, lubricate, keep in top shape., 

My problem is my springy wood floors, so I sadly had to move on. The bearing is susceptible to vertical motion, so I traded it, moved to my current setup, also in a firmer location. Perhaps the Thorens bearing would be less problematic there. 

My end game table is a VPI Prime 21. It’s my second VPI.

I’m running a Soundsmith cart on it.

I would recommend it, or the Prime Sig with the gimbal arm.

Technics SP10 mk3 will usually cost a great deal more than a mk2 and is more difficult to find. If cost is an object, certainly the mk2 is fine. In my own experience the Denon DP80 is a bit better than the mk2 in stock form. I found the OEM mk2 in a slate plinth to have a trace “gray” coloration compared to the DP80 also in a slate plinth. But the SP10 mk3 is a world class turntable even by modern standards, in my opinion. I hasten to add that my mk3 was purchased NOS, now resides in a slate and solid cherrywood plinth, was Krebs modified, runs on JP Jones discrete chip installed and calibrated by JP. Just to say that in my experience there is more than a casual difference between a mk2 and mk3.

If you are after a end game high mass TT, then hard to go past a Nottingham Analogue Dais TT and Wave Mechanic PS with either their 10" or 12" Anna arms. Bullet proof designs that look and sound great with great customer support. 

An uncommon brand with a great lineage is Nottingham Analogue. Their Dais design was one of the last by the late great Tom Fletcher. Best to buy from the UK. Price without tax is in your range.

I have the predecessor Mentor with a custom plinth and Dais bearing, motor and power supply. It doesn’t perform to the level of my DIY all air bearing (thrust AND radial air) table, but it’s no disgrace in that company. Add a Terminator air tonearm (if available) and you have a superb piece that will last you until you have a six figure itch.

One quirk with the Dais: you have to start it rotating by hand. Fletcher’s great insight was to use a precision low power motor, which was only just strong enough to rotate the platter against bearing friction. That leaves very little energy to turn into noise. And it works out that way in practice - the background is astonishingly black.