Turntable Advice Please

[airliebird]

hi

I am in the market for a turntable but only have a budget of around £300. I have looked at both the Thorens Mini and the Project Genie 2. I have seen fantastic reviews for the Project Genie 2 and with being a bit of a Hi Fi novice wondered if the Thorens would be worth paying the extra for.

Many thanks

 

[Anonymous]

No doubt about it, I love my TT, but if I had £300 to spend from scratch on a TT I would almost definitely be looking for a second hand Thorens 150 or 160. Gorgeous looking decks and very upgradeable. Maybe not your thing though.

 

[John Duncan]

I think the Genie's a bit insubstantial, and would make you wonder what the fuss was about re: vinyl generally. If £300 were my absolute limit, I would go second hand or look at the Rega P2.

 

[seasiders rock]

pro-ject, 2cnd hand rpm 4 or 5... or

expression mk1, spend the change on a decent cartridge and a speed box.

yes the thorens are good, bit like running a vintage car, they need fettlin.

+ spares, pro-ject spares are readily available, the carbon fibre arm is also excellent.

 

[matthewpiano]

Forget the current entry level Thorens decks. The full size ones are just rebadged Duals (and generally the less good ones like the CS-430) and the Mini is cheap and nasty.

The Project Debut III is better than the Genie II. Its arm is far superior.

However, I'd have to agree with JD. Go for a Rega P2. IMO Regas are still the decks to beat until you start getting into Clearaudio/Michell/Funk/Roksan money.

 

[the record spot]

If you can find a P2, get one. The deck to beat for the money. Project Expression II would be another for around the same cash. The P2 also responds well to tweaking later on if that takes your fancy - rewired arms from Origin and Michell will get you a killer bit of kit.

Used: You might land a Thorens TD150 or TD160 which will be a bit more of a work in progress, but they are really fine decks. You might also get a TD166 which going back to around 20 years back was a good solid deck, very well built lovely sound and kind of like a budget Sondek. Not in the same league obviously, but one I aspired to at the time.

Other used options include the Systemdek II (or the variations thereof - II-X and II-X900) which represents ace value for money; should be able to land one for well under £200 (think around £100-£150) and in good condition it'll last for years. In fact, you could overhaul it, add on a good new cartridge and be up and running for £200.

 

[John Duncan]

BTW, are you actually from Airlie? Cos ah'm fae Kirrie

 

[airliebird]

No I'm not from Airlie and I'm not a bird either.

 

[John Duncan]

airliebird:
No I'm not from Airlie and I'm not a bird either.

Oooo flashback to Tannadice disco c.1981......

 

[airliebird]

JohnDuncan:airliebird:

No I'm not from Airlie and I'm not a bird either.

Oooo flashback to Tannadice disco c.1981......

I thought i'd stumbled on a secret forum.

 

[Craig M.]

are you from Hull? while we're guessing...

 

[airliebird]

Craig M.:are you from Hull? while we're guessing...

Correct