I appreciate the responses. There are several brands I had not considered. I was a little surprised a couple of brands didn’t come up- Pioneer and Linn come to mind. Any thoughts on those?
Nice vintage $2k Turntable, cartridge, and phono stage
I currently have a current version Rega P3, I am looking to make a change. I have been drawn recently to vintage turntables especially with wooden plinths. The looks of the turntable are important (maybe more than they should be). I would like a good looking TT with a modern phono stage, used is fine, and a good quality cartridge. I’d be happy with a “good” not necessarily great sounding setup to go with my Simaudio integrated and KEF R5 speakers.
Anyone have any experience they can share?
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OP, You mentioned wood, I presume natural (not painted) wood. Are you sticking to that? Many of the TTs mentioned are NOT wood. Aside from the solid/veneer/wrap issue I mentioned above, Wood Plinth Construction varies. 1. a frame to drop the TT into
A solid looking wood plinth, however the top is perhaps 1 layer of 3/4" thick MDF with veneer. This one is a frame and top board, many appear like thick slabs but are not
Next are thick slabs, some solid wood, some layers of wood, some, like JVC and Denon’s (not all) are their 70mm thick 7 layer construction: 4 layers of wood or manufactured wood like MDF medium density fiberboard, with 3 thin layers of special compounds
Note: some have removable arm boards, you pick an arm, drill a hole where needed. future replacement armboards can be found, refinished, or made.
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A SYSTEMDEK IIX is a wooden plinth turntable that can be readily upgraded with any number of tonearms and phono cartridges. The initial purchase price of a stock IIX in nice condition should be no more than $300 to $400, which leaves plenty of money left for a good tonearm and cartridge and possibly even a phono preamplifier. |
@lewm yes i have heard Eclipse in 3 systems now…. it would turn a Sapphire in good working order into a formidable table. Agree on Denon or any vintage table pricing…my local shop here in San Diego has a DP-1250, Grace 707 arm and almost new Ortofon Bronze for ask of $950 to the OP - i am not a super big Linn fan for those new to TT as they require some key adjustments to get the most out of them, once tuned they are capable of great sound ( footfall skipping on bad old house floors is an issue )… |
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