advice for an old newbie

i tink ewe should strongly consider a used 'table, especially at this price-point - it puts ya on the cusp of the entry to some of the best 'tables out there: linn lp-12, vpi hw-19, sota wacuum 'tables, pink triangle, kuzma, well-tempered, oracle delphi, yust to mention a few.

i'm partial to the oracle - i picked one up in *excellent* condition - w/arm, cartridge & shipping, it was *still* only $850. of course, i got the upgrade-bug, & have more money into it now, but that's the beauty of it (besides its innate beauty!): it can be updated to current spec. even outta the box, the oracle killed my prewious cj walker cj-5, which was heavily-modded, & the sonic equivalent to what's awailable for ~$1k gnu, imho. vpi's, well-tempered's & linn's can also be updated, not sure about the others.

anyway, i believe any of these 'tables will be a significant yump in sound-quality over anyting awailable for a similar price that's purchased brand-gnu.

ymmv, doug s.

I have enjoyed upgrading my VPI turntable over the years. I started with the Jr. and have worked my way up to the mk4 with JMW Memorial arm and Benz Glider catridge. I would suggest a table that you can upgrade.

some excellent suggestions. i side , tho, with sedond and jim. the best of both worlds is to find a used basis 1400. shouldn't be too hard given aj's (conti) upgrade path. -kelly

Are you a record collector? If so, there is only one undisputable choice available nowadays...

I looked at the Perspective, Rega Planars, Music Hall MMF5, Sota Comet and the Technics SL-1200MK2.

Choices came down to Sota Comet w/Rega 300 arm vs Technics SL-1200MK2(modified: Sumiko headshell w/silver litz wires, Cardas tonearm wire, Phoenix Gold interconnect, silver solder throughout and later, a tonearm fluid damper assembly from www.kabusa.com).

I chose the Technics. Most reliable TT around. When completely modified, it will be able to use low output MC cartridges, as well as those for 78s. Try that with any of the above turntables. Try cleaning your records on the platter...try getting a service manual...try getting parts ten years from now.

Hope this serves you well.

Thanks for your inputs. I'm also putting Nottingham Space or Hyperspace with Space Tonearm on my short list. These are U.K. units & seem to be well built. Looks great too.
Has anyone auditioned these units.