Rival turntables

[Chris Munden]

Well Rega have done it again with best turntable award 2015 in that price catigory, now I'm a big fan of Rega having owned a Planar 3 for over 25 years, but I have often wondered why there has not been a serious British made rival of equal (or better ) performance at that price point, I think Rega needs some stiff competition to encourage them to move forward with new designs at the budget/mid range price points. I guess Rega work on the premise that if it aint broke don't fix it. Since they dropped the P2 model, several companies have jumped into that void left by Rega and have re branded and modded the old P2, Edwards audio being just one, but its a Rega with mods, although very good ones. Goldring and Flexon being 2 more P2 hijackers. It would be good for us punters to have more choice at the sub £700 level of British made turntables that can seriously rival a Rega and get equally good reviews, the majority of turntable sales are sub £700. Of course its obvious that Project are Rega's biggest rival (although the new Thorens range may have some thing to say about that) at similar price points but I'm looking at possible British made decks, perhaps there is one, but its not surfaced yet! This might all sound a bit controversial but I hope it encourages some thoughts and ideas from the members.

Chris

 

[stevebrock]

I just think its because Rega have got the Sub £600 market tied up - personally I dont think anything under £600 can touch the RP3 / Elys2

 

[Chris Munden]

Your absolutely right Steve, but it would be nice to have a choice of equally good performing turntables around the same price!

 

[Al ears]

There's always Edwards Audio TT1 or 2.

Part of Talk Electronics they are British but it's very much a Regards clone.

 

[Chris Munden]

Yes, I have been looking at the Edwards, What Hi FI gave the TT1 5 stars, will have to look more closely at that brand, the Thorens TD 203 looks like a good alternative but there is little known about its performance other than CNET who liked it and thought the arm was a class act.

Its a pity Edwards don't offer the RB303 arm although they claim the RB202 is as good, Hmmm, not sure?

 

[Al ears]

Yes, I have been looking at the Edwards, What Hi FI gave the TT1 5 stars, will have to look more closely at that brand, the Thorens TD 203 looks like a good alternative but there is little known about its performance other than CNET who liked it and thought the arm was a class act.

Its a pity Edwards don't offer the RB303 arm although they claim the RB202 is as good, Hmmm, not sure?

The Thorens isn't British afaiia.

 

[Chris Munden]

Yeah your right, I should pay more attention. The used market might open up a better selection at more affordable prices.

 

[matthewpiano]

This is something I've been pondering as well.

The RP3 is a fine turntable and I've had mine for about 5 years now. It does what it is supposed to do very well, though I had to add the TT PSU to get satisfactory speed stability.

It would be nice to see a bit more variety out there in the affordable turntable market. At the National Audio Show I was very impressed with the Onkyo CP1050 which displayed superb speed stability (well it is direct drive), is nice to look at, and sounded great with a Denon DL-103 on it. However, I'd still be worried about the Hanpin origins, probably without much foundation.

The Thorens TD203 looks nice - slightly more interesting looking than the Rega, but not dramatically different. However, quality reports on affordable Thorens and Dual turntables seem to be very variable these days so I'd be slightly nervous about buying one.

 

[Al ears]

Yeah your right, I should pay more attention. The used market might open up a better selection at more affordable prices.

It might as most other British turntables tend to be higher up the price range. Michell and Nottingham Analogue for example.

 

[MajorFubar]

However, quality reports on affordable Thorens and Dual turntables seem to be very variable these days so I'd be slightly nervous about buying one.

Quality reports on Thorens turntables were hard to come by even when variants of the TD160 were still available new in the 80s and early 90s. Rarely in contemporary WHF reviews did Thorens products ever score more than about 3 stars. Yet they went crackers over such as the LP12, which is by and large is the same fundamental design, but it's made in Britain. They commonly also rated it poorly against the Rega Planar turntables of the era as well. Back then (and now?) Rega turntables were just a platter, motor and arm nailed to some veneered chipboard sat on some rubber feet (admittedly the arm was very good). Now before anyone thinks I'm discrediting them, I'm not, because I haven't heard one, but when you compare that to how the Thorens was built...let's just say I feel the odds of a Thorens getting 5/5 were stacked against it for some reason (not British?) even before they opened the box.

 

[Al ears]

Forgot to mention Inspire Audio, made in Derbyshire.

 

[chebby]

... in contemporary WHF reviews did Thorens products ever score more than about 3 stars. Yet they went crackers over such as the LP12, which is by and large is the same fundamental design, but it's made in Britain.

http://www.whathifi.com/thorens/td160hdtp250/review

 

[Jim_W]

There was a British rival in the early 90's in the shape of Revolver whose turntables, both the budget Rebel and the more expensive Revolver The Turntable, were far classier-looking re build-quality; they boasted a split-plinth and came in a bewildering range of names and finishes. Additionally, they were equipped with either a Jelco (or Revolver, sourced from Jelco arm) or a Linn LVX arm. They were marketed to compete with the Planar 2 and 3 and were well-reviewed at the time. Rega won the sales battle, most buyers seemed to prefer them, although there were others, myself included, who prefered the Revolvers. I've still got mine, fitted with a Nagaoka MP110 and it 'offers pleasant perspectives' as contemporary reviewers put it...whatever that means! I think it was priced at around £220 back in the day with the Rebel going for £40 or £50 less. Apparently, the guy running the company became ill and the operation was sold; they manufactured speakers and a few years ago a new, rather expensive, Revolver turntable was marketed.

I'd always recommend either the Rebel or Revolver as great second-system turntables and they're often available on ebay; come to think of it, I'd recommend them to anybody looking for a well-built, good-looking turntable who would prefer something other than the rather minimalist Rega design. No disrespect to Rega; I like the timing and sound of their turntables too.

 

[MajorFubar]

... in contemporary WHF reviews did Thorens products ever score more than about 3 stars. Yet they went crackers over such as the LP12, which is by and large is the same fundamental design, but it's made in Britain.

http://www.whathifi.com/thorens/td160hdtp250/review

I meant 80s/90s reviews of the original line of 160/166 turntables, as I said at the start of my post.

 

[ifor]

Forgot to mention Inspire Audio, made in Derbyshire.

And AnalogueWorks made in Northamptonshire.

There's so much available second hand to fill the sub £1k market.

 

[dtmark]

I live in some sort of alternate world where I just can't see why it is that people rave about Rega's turntables, but then I've had poor experiences with them.

I do seem to be in a small minority.. however what does puzzle me is that almost nobody sells Thorens decks. Probably the best known, longest standing manufacturer of quality decks, and if it's style you want in addition to quality (thinking new buyers here, not old-school) some of their current range look absolutely stunning.

I know that when I was looking for a new TT, if I saw the Thorens decks, I'd have gone straight for those. Yet at the time I didn't know that they were still in business. Maybe they don't consider the UK market to be significant enough to be worth bothering with?

If you're after Project or Rega then you'll pick those up "anywhere" but sourcing a dealer that stocks anything else doesn't seem to be that straightforward.

But then since Rega win these awards, hi-fi stores are going to stock their products, since that's what most people coming through the door are going to be looking for, so that's not surprising.

 

[august18]

Totally agree on the stunning looks of the latest Thorens, even my 16 year olds thought they looked amazing. (TD2015/35]. Has anyone any idea how they sound? Can you audition them in the UK?

 

[Chris Munden]

I checked out the Onkyo CP1050 at my local Richer Sounds, it looks really retro but the build quality is superb, on a quck demo as it came out the box with stock cartridge, it sounded as good as a Rega RP1, but much quiter, and the Rega is quiet, but through the head phones motor noise was almost non existant, but the incredible thing was the platter speed, it was totally wow free acording to my ears, if you can put any bias away against all things not Rega or Far East, then this is a very nice deck, and fit an Ortofon 2Mred which is still a budget cartridge and you move to another level. I will check out the Thorens later when I find a dealer near enough to drive to

Chris

 

[Deleted member 108165]

I checked out the Onkyo CP1050 at my local Richer Sounds, it looks really retro but the build quality is superb, on a quck demo as it came out the box with stock cartridge, it sounded as good as a Rega RP1, but much quiter, and the Rega is quiet, but through the head phones motor noise was almost non existant, but the incredible thing was the platter speed, it was totally wow free acording to my ears, if you can put any bias away against all things not Rega or Far East, then this is a very nice deck, and fit an Ortofon 2Mred which is still a budget cartridge and you move to another level. I will check out the Thorens later when I find a dealer near enough to drive to

Chris

Surely you can't get more Far East than a Chinese Hanpin-produced Onkyo deck! Yes, Hanpin's can sound nice - I own one and it's called the Pioneer PLX1000, (Technics wannabe clone), and there are many others: Audio Technica, Stanton, Reloop, etc. They all come out of the same factory using the same components but are badged differently.

 

[dtmark]

Totally agree on the stunning looks of the latest Thorens, even my 16 year olds thought they looked amazing. (TD2015/35]. Has anyone any idea how they sound? Can you audition them in the UK?

http://www.thorens.com/support/distributors.html

Leading to..

http://www.ukd.co.uk/dealer_search.asp

 

[Frank Harvey]

Well Rega have done it again with best turntable award 2015 in that price catigory, now I'm a big fan of Rega having owned a Planar 3 for over 25 years, but I have often wondered why there has not been a serious British made rival of equal (or better ) performance at that price point, I think Rega needs some stiff competition to encourage them to move forward with new designs at the budget/mid range price points. I guess Rega work on the premise that if it aint broke don't fix it.

I think you'll find that the last upgrade to the range was quite a move forward regarding sound quality. If it wasn't, Rega wouldn't be in the position that they are now. If you were talking 20 years ago, I'd agree, but modern day Rega are still moving forward with turntable design, but are also avoiding the annoying 'new model every year' approach, which removes any real value of the product, both in terms of the marketplace and private used sales.

 

[Frank Harvey]

I am surprised though that we haven't seen a dedicated new turntable manufacturer emerge to take on Rega and Project, although the reason it may not have happened is because it would be an impossible task.

 

[jonathanbruce@me]

Hello there.

I'm not all that HiFi savvy these days but am interested in your opinions on what you think is a good deal on a turntable. I'm not that bothered whether it is the latest model or not as I currently have a turntable that is about 35-40 yrs old, the Sansui FR-D35. I do like the sound from it and the fact that it is Direct Drive, I don't know if that makes much of a difference since it is the only turntable I have. I am not sure I know what the other type of turntable is and whether it is better or not. I inherited a big collection of vinyl recently (at least 250 to my knowledge) and I'm having great fun going through them.

I am thinking of maybe another turntable for my study anyway and would love to know what everybody thinks I should get. I have seen a few good deals on the Audio Technica ATLP120USBC Turntables and also the Technics SL1210 II Turntables.

I do realise that the Technics aren't new but are/were very good. Would love to hear your opinions on these.

 

[Chris Munden]

As I said in an earlier post, as for far East made turntables go, I was very impressed with the Onkyo CP 1050, direct drive quartz lock motor turntable, it has been designed for the audiophile rather than the DJ. It has impeccable build quality, having said that, my first choice from this part of the world is the TEAC TN 300, it is belt drive and TEAC claim the lowest speed stability of just 0.2 %. (mind you I would challenge that in the lab) The deck is made in Tiawan and the arm is a Teac design? again impeccable build quality, excellent sound and check out the lovely Cherry coloured model. all the readers reviews from several review sites give it 5 stars. Of course at £299 its not going to be a Rega or a Project, but to my ears it was pretty darn close especially for the money.

Chris

 

[jonathanbruce@me]

As I said in an earlier post, as for far East made turntables go, I was very impressed with the Onkyo CP 1050, direct drive quartz lock motor turntable, it has been designed for the audiophile rather than the DJ. It has impeccable build quality, having said that, my first choice from this part of the world is the TEAC TN 300, it is belt drive and TEAC claim the lowest speed stability of just 0.2 %. (mind you I would challenge that in the lab) The deck is made in Tiawan and the arm is a Teac design? again impeccable build quality, excellent sound and check out the lovely Cherry coloured model. all the readers reviews from several review sites give it 5 stars. Of course at £299 its not going to be a Rega or a Project, but to my ears it was pretty darn close especially for the money.

Chris

Thanks for that.