turntable madness

Kt 88,

I give a strong vote for Thorens. Very well made, sound great, etc. HOWEVER, proper setup of the arm, cartridge, VTA, anti-skate, etc. are things best done by a dealer who knows what he's about and has the tools and experience to do it right. If these things are not done properly - and you as a beginner are practically guaranteed not to get it right - the best table/arm/cartridge combo will sound like junk. So while the Thorens is a great table, it may be worthwhile to follow the other suggestion of getting a new one at a local dealer and putting the onus on him to set it up properly. (I do speak from experience here.)

The MMF line is very good, not real expensive. Ditto the Music Hall series.

I am a nomad---one more reason to own a tank...

Yo KT, my comment about older turntables not traveling well was only to point out that, being the relatively delicate mechanisms that they are, without extreme care in packaging, damage is a high probability. New turntables on the other hand, have been factory packed, and are well protected from the elements (UPS, Fedex). I would'nt hesitate to buy a new one, but I would be very certain that if I were buying an older one, it would be very well packed for shipping.

Revvrun,

I understand that electronices do not like to be shipped in general, especially intricate pieces. But unfortunately I'm not independently wealthy like some of the audiogoners are. I work for a living, quite hard I might add. Also if you read further back in this thread you will notice that I said I am getting a turntable from a friend. If that one doeas not work I will most likely try one of the suggested ( thanks by the way for suggestions ) and I will most likely buy a used one. If I can get it locally I will buy if not I will buy off the net.

But still I don't see the difference between having a new talbe shipped to me. Or having a used table ( in the original box ) shipped to me. But thanks agin for your concern :)

BTW, there is a well known turntalbe expert in my city, who I'm sure could properly tweak my table if needed. Now if he would just start selling used ones I would be happy.

Hey man,

I side with the school that says that phono stage is more important than TT. If you start with a free Technics, fine. Get something like an Ortofon Concorde, change the interconnects, get a bottle of Pro Gold and follow DeKay's recipe of two Rat Shack battery phono preamps. Get the prtotractor from www.turntablebasics.com ($20). Make a good DIY base and record mat (www.tnt-audio.com) and you'll be set. Watch for VTA.

Regards,

The Psychic