What's a good beginner turntable at $2500+- range?

I just got my KAB Technics 1210 M5G (with upgradeded tonearm wire from factory) this week. I bought it sight unseen and although I am still dialing it in I must say this is one tight table. The fit and finish is extraordinary and the sound is pretty expansive. I mated it with the Goldring 1000 series 1042 and it seems to be a great match with my CJ tubed phono pre. My system never sounded as good. I am getting the fluid arm damper (back ordered) I should really see the difference after using it without the damper for a few weeks. It is supposed to be a great mod for an average arm, really brings it in scale with the rest of the table. So far, very impressive. You can spend more money but why??

Zenblaster..enjoy your turntable. Caution..do not read any audiophile magazines, websites, or listen to anything different than your own setup. The punishment for listening to more expensive...or even different setups is to create a hunger for better (or just different) sound. Result...an empty bank account and appeasement..for just awhile.

Johnnyb, I have the KAB fluid damper and record clamp. I'm using the stock headshell for the DL-103, but I noticed that when I put the provided headshell weight on it that the result was a much richer, fuller sound. I've heard some people say the Sumiko headshell is a big upgrade, but the simple addition of the weight made it good enough that I don't have much desire to experiment further.

When I put the fluid in the fluid damper, I did notice less background noise. I haven't played yet with different fluid levels (I think mine is about 1/3 full).

Michael

Sufentanil,

Thanks for the info. I still recommend the Sumiko headshell--it's about 4-5 g heavier than the stock Technics headshell, but it's also more rigid and the headshell wires and clips are of much better quality ($20 by themselves as near as I can tell). The Sumiko also has adjustable azimuth, though that's probably less critical with a conical stylus.

I too have my damper fluid at 1/3. 60% full (with the Denon DL-160) was definitely overdamped, but at 1/3 I feel I got the best of everything.

Just remember that $$$ is no indicator of sound. Go with what your ear tells you, not the price they want you to pay...