Faugusta,
What am I looking for? Hmmm? I am not what one would call an equipment junkie. I tend to research a fair amount, buy something, then just hold on to if for a long time. Given that approach, I want to make sure the table I buy is going to last me a good twenty plus years, just like the Oracle. I'll probably buy a unit then I'll never research anything again unit some other part of my system goes belly up. I don't subscribe to audio rags. I just enjoy having nice equipment that allows me to 'listen' to music. In fact I spend way more time reading about and buying software than I do hardware.
I am not big into digital. I do have a decent CD deck, but my main source is vinyl. I listen to classical, jazz, blues, and rock. I am not a big bass junkie, having cut my teeth on maggies. I now run Final electrostatics, which do a very job of reproducing mids and highs. Bass is a bit weak, but fairly accurate. I don't necessarily need a table that is going to draw every drop out of the bass as I can reproduce it with my speakers.
Another concern is my preamp. I have an SP-8 that I dearly love. The phono stage requires a high output cartridge. I have no immediate plans on replacing the preamp, so I am wedded to high output cartridges. I am currently running a Grado Reference High Output cartridge on the SME IV. To keep costs down a bit, I was sort of hoping to use the SME IV arm and Grado on the new deck. But I am not predisposed to that if there really is a sonically better match for whatever turntable I end up getting.
Again, what am I looking for? I guess the turntable that most accurately reproduces the original within my $7 grand budget. I have no objections to buying used either. One thing I don't want is a turntable that takes up a bunch of real estate. I'm currently setup to accomodate 25x18, but I'll adjust to accomodate the new gear. I just don't want something that will require a lot of space. I also don't want to spend 15-30 minutes setting up before every listening session.
My local dealer carries the Clearaudio, which are nice, but I'm not particularly into all the acrylic. So I'm prolly going to buy something without having heard it first. I'm guessing most anything in my price range will sound very good. I suppose I'm just casting a net to see what some of the options are as I'm not particular well read on what's out there right now.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Ken
What am I looking for? Hmmm? I am not what one would call an equipment junkie. I tend to research a fair amount, buy something, then just hold on to if for a long time. Given that approach, I want to make sure the table I buy is going to last me a good twenty plus years, just like the Oracle. I'll probably buy a unit then I'll never research anything again unit some other part of my system goes belly up. I don't subscribe to audio rags. I just enjoy having nice equipment that allows me to 'listen' to music. In fact I spend way more time reading about and buying software than I do hardware.
I am not big into digital. I do have a decent CD deck, but my main source is vinyl. I listen to classical, jazz, blues, and rock. I am not a big bass junkie, having cut my teeth on maggies. I now run Final electrostatics, which do a very job of reproducing mids and highs. Bass is a bit weak, but fairly accurate. I don't necessarily need a table that is going to draw every drop out of the bass as I can reproduce it with my speakers.
Another concern is my preamp. I have an SP-8 that I dearly love. The phono stage requires a high output cartridge. I have no immediate plans on replacing the preamp, so I am wedded to high output cartridges. I am currently running a Grado Reference High Output cartridge on the SME IV. To keep costs down a bit, I was sort of hoping to use the SME IV arm and Grado on the new deck. But I am not predisposed to that if there really is a sonically better match for whatever turntable I end up getting.
Again, what am I looking for? I guess the turntable that most accurately reproduces the original within my $7 grand budget. I have no objections to buying used either. One thing I don't want is a turntable that takes up a bunch of real estate. I'm currently setup to accomodate 25x18, but I'll adjust to accomodate the new gear. I just don't want something that will require a lot of space. I also don't want to spend 15-30 minutes setting up before every listening session.
My local dealer carries the Clearaudio, which are nice, but I'm not particularly into all the acrylic. So I'm prolly going to buy something without having heard it first. I'm guessing most anything in my price range will sound very good. I suppose I'm just casting a net to see what some of the options are as I'm not particular well read on what's out there right now.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Ken
