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Need help buying a used turntable for $500

OK gang,
My father has left me a vintage collection of Jazz albums and I have my own collection of 70 & 80's Rock music. I have a Denon 3802 receiver which is only sending 110w per channel to a pair of B & W 604 towers. So I am looking for a turntable I can afford and still get the best possible sound.

I have been looking at used Thorens, Rega, Project, & Lencos but it is impossible to tell what model and year are a good value. Can anyone help suggest the criteria I should use for selecting a suitable turnable and offer some models to pursue?

I would greatly appreciate your advise.
Thanks
detroit82
Post removed 
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
Another vote for the Technics. At $399 its build quality, speed consistency, and durability is stupid good for the money. I think it's particularly good for the kinds of music you'll be playing--jazz and classic rock. It shines in bottom end drive and also with acoustic instruments.

Mine's exemplary on things like Bowie's "Let's Dance," anything from the Police, Cars, Elvis Costello, Steve Miller, and also Dave Brubeck, MJQ, John Abercrombie, Gary Burton, Pat Metheny.
detroit82 OP
1 posts
 
I appreaciate the help and have some concern on the Technics table or any model. Back in the early 80's I owned a Technics direct drive turntable with an Audio Technica cartridge using a Kenwood 30 amp receiver. Sound was good but when the music was soft or during start up I could hear a hum. How do I elimnate the hum or is this something I have to live with when playing LP's?
johnss
571 posts
 
Yep, I agree with Waltersalas. Get the technics 1210 available from several sources; or better yet, get the Technics from www.KABUSA.com and on their option list, order the cardas arm wire and the arm dampening trough; and you may not have to upgrade since upgrading may move you sideways and not upward.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
Back in the early 80's I owned a Technics direct drive turntable with an Audio Technica cartridge using a Kenwood 30 amp receiver. Sound was good but when the music was soft or during start up I could hear a hum.
I've been living with an SL1210 for nearly 8 months now, and it's playing through a much higher resolution system than I had in the '70s or '80s (or a Kenwood receiver, for that matter). And I listen to it more critically than I listened 25 yrs ago.

Mine does not hum, growl, scratch, rumble, or squeal. This past week I lubed the bearing with the officially correct oil and added KAB's fluid damper. Now this thing is spooky quiet. Even when listening through Sennheiser HD580 headphones, I hear no turntable noise. None. Sometimes I hear LP surface noise, but even that has dropped significantly since adding the damper trough.

Hum might have been a cartridge mismatch or a grounding issue.
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