Turntable, around £4k

[Hifiver]

Do you consider it necessary or not, for a £4k-ish turntable to have capability for changing the whole tonearm.

I am considering a Well Tempered Lab turntable, which has a tonearm you cannot replace.

I love the sound though!

 

[Al ears]

Do you consider it necessary or not, for a £4k-ish turntable to have capability for changing the whole tonearm.

I am considering a Well Tempered Lab turntable, which has a tonearm you cannot replace.

I love the sound though!

If it does everything you need why change the tonearm.
The ability to change the cartridge is more critical.

 

[daytona600]

£4k turntable Yes most you can if required change the Tonearm & Some with detachable headshell you can change the Cartridge

 

[davidf]

Depends what sort of sound you're after. Avid Diva II. Lovely clean solid sound, firm bass, extremely low noise, you're just listening to the record or cartridge really. SME fitting as standard, but you can buy adaptors for other arm fittings too (about 15 in all), and will also offer a service to make bespoke adaptors for any other arms, for a cost, of course. Easy to upgrade the Diva II SP spec too.

 

[Rui]

My only consern is when changing a tonearm or cartridge is if the all is assembled in the right position .

Some make changes but don´t understand about the fitting place for the arm, so the cartridge and stylus fall on the right spot to play records perfectelly.

Sorry but in english i can´t writte the technical considerations to have when installing a new tonearm or a cartridge and stylus.

The geometry must be perfect.

Only made this twice in my life on a old SP-10 from technics and in a litle more younge PLC-590 from Pioneer,

the first i use a better S-shaped arm technics had available for sale(titanium made)

and in the pioneer i installed a AT tonearm that was very good at the time, and still is.

Hope you have the perfect alignment in your new tonearm and cartridge ,to enjoy records with perfect sound

 

[alexclark4234]

My only consern is when changing a tonearm or cartridge is if the all is assembled in the right position .

Some make changes but don´t understand about the fitting place for the arm, so the cartridge and stylus fall on the right spot to play records perfectelly.

Sorry but in english i can´t writte the technical considerations to have when installing a new tonearm or a cartridge and stylus.

The geometry must be perfect.

Only made this twice in my life on a old SP-10 from technics and in a litle more younge PLC-590 from Pioneer,

the first i use a better S-shaped arm technics had available for sale(titanium made)

and in the pioneer i installed a AT tonearm that was very good at the time, and still is.

Hope you have the perfect alignment in your new tonearm and cartridge ,to enjoy records with perfect sound

Well, I think assembling the gears on their right place is good but you still need to align the cartridge from the beginning using protractors to make the stylus fall on the right spot.

 

[skinnypuppy71]

For 4k I'd rather have that option to change the tonearm.....what if...you have an unforseen accident that damages it.....where would you stand after that.....plenty of other options out there for that kind of money, that have the ability to swap out your tonearm.....heck, some even have a twin tonearm setup.

 

[Al ears]

Unfortunately the Well Tempered tonearm design is an integral part of the turntable itself, you either buy into it completely or you don't.
Of course the other option is to buy a deck without a tonearm pre-fitted and then choose your own.
This, however, can have financial implications and makes it impossible to audition in the first place unless you buy both from the same dealer.
Spending that much money on a turntable and you're going to have to audition a good few I would suggest.

 

[skinnypuppy71]

Is it the versalex version of the well tempered labs?
If that's the case then the symmetrex tonearm is integral to the whole working of the turntable and is the reason to own such a design.....if you've had a demo and it's your bag, I don't see a reson not to go ahead, although if anything does go wrong with the tonearm, I imagine it could be a expensive fix when ever the warranty expires.

 

[Al ears]

Is it the versalex version of the well tempered labs?
If that's the case then the symmetrex tonearm is integral to the whole working of the turntable and is the reason to own such a design.....if you've had a demo and it's your bag, I don't see a reson not to go ahead, although if anything does go wrong with the tonearm, I imagine it could be a expensive fix when ever the warranty expires.

Personally I have never had a tonearm fail.....

 

[Rui]

Well, I think assembling the gears on their right place is good but you still need to align the cartridge from the beginning using protractors to make the stylus fall on the right spot.

that is refered by me after the tonearm installation there´s the cartridge choosen ,i´ve seen some spending money and think it´s all the same , the geometry needs to be perfect, didn´t understand your coment or didn´t you understand what i´ve written?

 

[Oxfordian]

Part of my searching for a new TT later this year bought me to Linn and their Sondek LP12, now price is a bit above my budget at just under £4k but it seems that there is a very strong fanbase for the deck and it has a good reputation for both sound quality and reliability.

Now from what I have gleaned the LP12 base model can be upgraded all the way to the top of the range through OEM parts or 3rd party additions.

This isn't a promote Linn post as I haven't actually heard one for many a year, all I am trying to say is that Linn are just one of a number of turntable manufacturers who offer similar upgrade approach.

If it were me with £4k to spend I wouldn't have my hands tied by buying a TT that has little or no flexibility for upgrading, I would be looking to get into a range at my budget point and then see where I go from there, I may stick at what I have bought or I may want to splash the cash and make some changes, having the options and flexibility to do that would be key for me.

Just my 10p's worth of input.

 

[Nico69]

If I had £4k to drop on a turntable I would most definitely look at an LP12. Not a new one but there are a lot of very good independent Linn dealers our there that specialise in making up decks from parts left from over from owners who have upgraded over the years. They can basically put a deck together for your specification and funds. You'll get a lovely deck plus 2 speed power supply with a decent arm and cartridge for £4k.

 

[Oxfordian]

If I had £4k to drop on a turntable I would most definitely look at an LP12. Not a new one but there are a lot of very good independent Linn dealers our there that specialise in making up decks from parts left from over from owners who have upgraded over the years. They can basically put a deck together for your specification and funds. You'll get a lovely deck plus 2 speed power supply with a decent arm and cartridge for £4k.

Very true, it is as you say an excellent way into a good LP12 set-up, the suggestion I was given was buy a brand new LP12 Majik kit this gave you the plinth, platter, Karousel bearing and a few other bits but not arm, chassis and some other important parts which you then add as pre-loved items according to budget.

Ultimately I think that it just depends on whether you want to start your LP12 journey with something that is brand new or whether you want to accept that mix of new and preloved in your LP12.

My concern going new/preloved is that to get to the price of a new complete Majik there are good number of very old parts being added, some bits are 20 years old and keeping these serviced is not going to be easy going forward.