Turntable Choices

You might find this interesting reading:

http://www.stereophile.com/turntables/586oracle/index.html

Thanks all for the replies. I suppose I should have included my setup as that would probably affect the choices.

McIntosh C39
McIntosh MC2155
Vandersteen 2CE
All cables ate MIT

My two cartridges are Transfiguration Spirit III & a Clearaudio Discovery.

Tonearm is a Sumiko Premier MMT (this will get replaced soon)

MC step up is a Lehmann Black Cube and a Clearaudio Phono mini.

OK, so how do you like the sound of your system currently? Do you feel it's too warm or too bright? Do you have enough bass or too much? Does your current table (what is it, btw?) sound noticeable more rhythmic than your CD player, or not? It should, IMO. BTW, the MMT is not a bad arm, I would not be too eager to replace it unless you plan on spending a lot more than you are spending the table.

I like the fact that my system is on the warm side. I had a Krell amp that I found too analytical. I started analyzing the music rather than tapping my foot and enjoying it. So I went back to McIntosh. The turntable I had(I have a backup as well an Ariston RD11s) was a Micro Seiki DDX1000. The Ariston has seen better days and will be retired after I get a replacement but, I think it sounds better than the Micro.

The HW19 will be warmer and fuller sounding than the Oracle which while not the least bit clinical sounding is leaner sounding and less weighty in the bass. The Linn, you already have an idea of how it sounds since your Ariston is actually the table that the original Linn was modeled after. A modern Linn will be a significant step up in refinement over the Ariston, but a lot of the basic traits remain; nice pace and timing and good midrange. My concern would be that if your system is already warm as you like it, the HW19 might be too much of a good thing. When I bought my first HW19, I compared it to the Oracle and chose the HW19 because my system at that time benefited from the warmth and fullness of the VPI while the Oracle, while having terrific clarity, sounded too lean in my system. But man did it look cool!