Question What turntable to buy with £400 cartridge and £200 preamp

[Roland W-H]

I've got a £1000 budget for a turntable, cartridge and preamp. I've already chosen my preamp its an ALVA DUO from Cambridge Audio priced at £200 and I'm looking to spend around £300 - £400 on a cartridge but as for the turntable, I'm a little stuck. I'm looking for a turntable with a speed control button. Ideally, belt drive but will settle for direct drive and I'm having trouble finding one. I was looking at the Rega Planar 2 but it is fully manual and I really don't want to mess around too much whenever I need to change the speed.

Any suggestions as to which turntable to get would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

PS: I was also wondering if I went to a HiFi store to buy my turntable would they sell it to me without a cartridge for a lower price as I'm not going to keep the included cartridge with any of these turntables unless it sells separately for £300 - £400

 

[Deleted member 108165]

With the features you want take a look here: https://topvinylturntables.com/best-automatic-turntable/

Personally speaking I think that a £3-400 cart would be wasted on all of these.

Unless you have the necessary kit to set-up a cart correctly my advice would be to purchase a tt with the cart pre-fitted.

 

[Roland W-H]

With the features you want take a look here: https://topvinylturntables.com/best-automatic-turntable/

Personally speaking I think that a £3-400 cart would be wasted on all of these.

Unless you have the necessary kit to set-up a cart correctly my advice would be to purchase a tt with the cart pre-fitted.

Thanks for the reply, I agree that a £300 - £400 cart would probably be overkill on all of these. It seems that most high quality turntables are manual which is a shame, hopefully, I won't have to change speeds too often. I think my best option would probably be to get a Rega Planar 3 without a cartridge and get something like a Goldring 1042 which would fit my budget. Would you agree?

 

[Al ears]

You could get a Pro-eject turntable and the Speedbox accessory, this will allow push button speed changes.
See a Project dealer.
The 1042 is a fine cartridge or look at similarly price AudioTechnica
What is your amplifier and do you really need a phono preamp?

 

[Jimboo]

A thousand pound is a healthy budget for a turntable, I would do a bit more research and check the stores and ads. The cartridge budget is frankly absurd. Wait awhile save a little more and buy a clearaudio . It is beautiful.

 

[Al ears]

A thousand pound is a healthy budget for a turntable, I would do a bit more research and check the stores and ads. The cartridge budget is frankly absurd. Wait awhile save a little more and buy a clearaudio . It is beautiful.

In what way do you consider his cartridge budget absurd?

 

[Jimboo]

Well, he will leave 400 for the actual deck. If you were an advisor in richer sounds and a guy demoed a Audio Technica LP5X for instance and then asked if you could put a 400 quid cartridge on it would you say that sounds like a plan? Nothing wrong with paying that much (actually there probably is) .However , putting a cartridge of apparently superior quality on a turntable lacking the grade of a Linn deck it's arm and motor , platter etc seems to be somewhat against the grain. I suppose it depends on your ear and what you think makes a turntable sounds good.

 

[Al ears]

Well, he will leave 400 for the actual deck. If you were an advisor in richer sounds and a guy demoed a Audio Technica LP5X for instance and then asked if you could put a 400 quid cartridge on it would you say that sounds like a plan? Nothing wrong with paying that much (actually there probably is) .However , putting a cartridge of apparently superior quality on a turntable lacking the grade of a Linn deck it's arm and motor , platter etc seems to be somewhat against the grain. I suppose it depends on your ear and what you think makes a turntable sounds good.

Right. I was assuming he would spend 300 on cartridge and might go for a second-hand turntable which would be sensible.
Still trying get information on his amplifier or exactly why he needs phono preamp, or indeed why he'd want to pay for one with moving coil compatibility.....waste of money there.

 

[daytona600]

project X1

Pro-Ject X1 | EISA – Expert Imaging and Sound Association

www.eisa.eu

 

[Al ears]

project X1

Pro-Ject X1 | EISA – Expert Imaging and Sound Association

www.eisa.eu

Might not be a bad idea if he can get one without the standard cartridge

 

[iMark]

I would recommend a Project too. We have 1Xpression III Comfort with an integrated Speedbox. Really easy to change speeds. The X1 and X2 look like wonderful machines.

 

[Nico69]

2nd Hand Linn Axis (that has been recapped) and the AT 95 Shibata Stylus might be a good bet. As long as the arm is good it will proabably beat mosts modern decks hands down for the price. You'll probably have change from your £1000 budget too.

 

[Al ears]

2nd Hand Linn Axis (that has been recapped) and the AT 95 Shibata Stylus might be a good bet. As long as the arm is good it will proabably beat mosts modern decks hands down for the price. You'll probably have change from your £1000 budget too.

The last time I looked the Axis was a manual speed-change turntable....

 

[Jimboo]

No it has a single 33 - 45 switch. I have one. I cannot change the speed on mine anymore as it now has a Valhalla board fitted and is 33 only.

 

[Al ears]

No it has a single 33 - 45 switch. I have one. I cannot change the speed on mine anymore as it now has a Valhalla board fitted and is 33 only.

It must have been well hidden on the one I saw....
It would indeed be a good buy if OP can find one for the right money

 

[Nico69]

The last time I looked the Axis was a manual speed-change turntable....

You are probably getting mixed up with a Linn Basic which was. Linn Axis has a switch front left of the plinth

 

[Al ears]

You are probably getting mixed up with a Linn Basic which was. Linn Axis has a switch front left of the plinthView attachment 867

Quite possibly., thanks for putting me right.

 

[plastic penguin]

For retro looks.

Pro-Ject The Classic Turntable

Pro-Ject The Classic Turntable

petertyson.co.uk

I have this table, albeit with upgraded Goldring cart. Superb. Even with the standard Ortofon Silver it's still an excellent table.

 

[Al ears]

For retro looks.

Pro-Ject The Classic Turntable

Pro-Ject The Classic Turntable

petertyson.co.uk

I have this table, albeit with upgraded Goldring cart. Superb. Even with the standard Ortofon Silver it's still an excellent table.

Doesn't this have a manual speed change PP? I guess a Speedbox could be added, or maybe not looking at the compatibility list.

 

[plastic penguin]

Doesn't this have a manual speed change PP? I guess a Speedbox could be added, or maybe not looking at the compatibility list.

Indeed. I overlooked that part but... as we all know hi-fi is a compromise. The Classic has great retro looks and sounds the biz, but the compromise is the speedbox. If the OP can overcome manual speed change the Classic is a "must" on a shortlist.

 

[Al ears]

Indeed. I overlooked that part but... as we all know hi-fi is a compromise. The Classic has great retro looks and sounds the biz, but the compromise is the speedbox. If the OP can overcome manual speed change the Classic is a "must" on a shortlist.

I'd agree with that.

 

[daytona600]

Classic evo has electronic speed change

The Classic Evo – Pro-Ject Audio Systems

The Classic meets the 175 VPO to melt design-ideas Last Call Summer '24: Only a few last pieces are available. Get yours now. The new Classic Evo is based on th

www.project-audio.com

 

[Fleurpink]

You are probably getting mixed up with a Linn Basic which was. Linn Axis has a switch front left of the plinthView attachment 867
usa today protonmail

Where can i find one to buy it please?

 

[Al ears]

Where can i find one to buy it please?

They are all second-hand these days.

 

[Al ears]

I'd agree with that.

As daytona600 points out the new Classic Evo has a a speed control switch
Unfortunately it's way over budget at £1250 although it does have an Ortofon Quintet Red fitted which is normally £195, this might help the budget somewhat.