Best turntable under $4000

@cpdkee 

Ralph Karsten (@atmasphere), one of the world's leading amplifier designers, posted this recently:

Posted October 25, 2022

The Technics SL1200G is a surprisingly good performer for the money.

It is one of the most speed-stable turntables made at any price. Its also mechanically dead, something vital to any high performance turntable to be competitive.

Its main weakness is the platter pad which is rubber. The function of the platter pad is to absorb resonance in the vinyl which can talk back to the cartridge in real time. If you can turn down the volume all the way in your system and easily hear the cartridge as it tracks the LP, then you know you have a problem with the platter pad. It will be a lot harder to hear the cartridge tracking if the platter pad is doing its job. The best I've run into is made by Oracle which is about $300.00. To use it properly it has to be bonded to the platter (using its permanent sticky backing), which means the three mounting screws that fix the platter to the motor cannot be installed, but this will not affect performance.

The second weakness of the SL1200G is perhaps the tonearm, but it more than keeps up with many high end tonearms (IMO certainly better than any Rega)! Its also a good match for the Hana cartridges FWIW. Setup, of course, is everything! Because the arm is properly wired with the right interconnect cable it can be run balanced 😃

The strength of this machine is the various damping systems it uses. The plinth and its subchassis form a very rigid mount for the motor and arm, and resonate at different frequencies and thus rob energy from each other thru mechanical coupling (they are bolted together). Rigid and dead are paramount to any good plinth. In addition, the platter is damped and there are two additional damping systems that form the base of the machine. Its well thought out and not a revamp of the older SL1200s you can find on craigslist. Its a new design from the ground up.

I designed and built a turntable 25 years ago (Atma-Sphere model 208) and it has performed well against machines well above its pay grade. Its more expensive than the Technics but I think the Technics is a better machine.

It is possible to install an improved arm on the Technics. I have a Triplanar which should be mounted on mine soon.

Enjoy the journey,

Bruce

@brskie : the Atma-Sphere 208 is a modded Empire 208. I have a stock one and even in original form is still a top-notch performer! Empire made excellent belt-drive TT’s - now sadly forgotten!

Technics is like BMW in Eastern Europe. Mostly gangsters drive it so it's associated with them. Technics is a DJ equipment so it seems foreign to a lot of audiophiles

what if you don't like the looks of the DJish Technics?

then recommend what???

@jasonbourne52 , and they were massive and good looking. I remember lusting after one when I was a kid.