What turntable?

[matt78]

If you had £500 to spend on a turntable which one would you buy and why.?

 

[plastic penguin]

Couple of questions: What amp do you currently have? Are looks important?

 

[matt78]

I have the roksan caspian m1 so will be buying a separate Phono stage.. like the spec and price of the arcam rphono. Looks of the turntable? Depends how it looks lol.. im thinking the planer 2 or debut carbon dc, esprit sb. Read good and bad reviews can't Make my mind up. My gran has an akai from the Late 80s I think she said I could have. From wot I remember it looks like a technics 1210 with a pitch control.. not sure bout that..

 

[plastic penguin]

Pro-ject have faux wood look while Rega tend to aim for the bright colours. In terms of SQ there's little to choose between the two. If it was my choice I would save a little more money and go for the Pro-ject Classic. Really looks great.

Otherwise a s/hand Technics 1210 would be agood option, as long as it is purchased from a respected source. TTs are one component I would be dubious of buying private.

 

[matt78]

The projects I've seen are gloss black same as the planer 2, can't afford to save more as need the Phono stage also. I wouldn't buy 2nd hand my gran said i could have the akai.

 

[chris_bates1974]

Having auditioned a Planar 2, I can tell you it is let down by the cartridge it is most often bundled with, the Rega Carbon.

If you are going to buy a phono stage, I can throughly recommend mine - although that'll leave only 300 for the TT. A cheaper Rega stage is available.

I think you'll find the best results by going for the cheaper Rega phono stage, and then getting a Planar 2 with a different cart. The Nagaokas and Audio Technicas are very well regarded around here by some of the others, my Ortofon 2M Red less so, although I've found it works very well with my Planar 3.

As a last point, if there is a dealer you trust enough to change our mind on second had, you cannot go wrong with a Planar 3.

Have fun!

 

[matt78]

Im looking at the arcam rphono and then £500 on a turntable... my gut feeling is the debut carbon or esprit sb..and to upgrade cart to the blue at a later date. If I went with the planer is swapping the cart easy as I haven't any experience with turntables. Changing the actual cart and the weight system etc

 

[chris_bates1974]

I can't comment on whether the Arcam is worth twice the cost of the Fono from Rega. But, I misunderstood and thought you had £500 total.

For £500, you should be able to get a Planar 2 and very close to the 2M Blue. I'm surprised some of the more experienced members haven't been on to share their wisdom yet...

 

[matt78]

Didn't think of the planer 2 and ortofon blue cart... would that be easy to set up? Maybe they will tonight..

 

[chris_bates1974]

I would be extremely disappointed if I bought both of those items from a dealer and they did not offer to set up the cart whilst providing me with a delicious caffeine-based beverage.

Even more so if you were to buy the Arcam from the same place.

The place I bought my (second hand) Planar 3 and (new) Rega Fono offered to install the cart without me even having to ask.

 

[grimharry]

If you go for a project with a 2m red carrridge you could upgrade to a blue stylus at a later date.

 

[Al ears]

If you go for a project with a 2m red cartridge you could upgrade to a blue stylus at a later date.

Not much point in upgrading the Red to a Blue stylus in my opinion but whatever. Perhaps try to buy it without the Red fitted and save a bit of money, then add cartridge of joice. However I would agree, at this price point the Project turntable might be a better buy. It really depends on what dealerships the OP has in his area and whether he can audition these or Rega or both.

 

[Al ears]

Im looking at the arcam rphono and then £500 on a turntable... my gut feeling is the debut carbon or esprit sb..and to upgrade cart to the blue at a later date. If I went with the planer is swapping the cart easy as I haven't any experience with turntables. Changing the actual cart and the weight system etc

Swapping a cartridge is relatively easy but it's the setting up afterwrds that can be tricky without the right tools.

I assume you will buy from a dealer and they will do the set up for you. If so then the Project you mention would be my choice also, however, without the normally fitted Ortofon 2M Red cartridge.

Find a dealer that will sell you one without a cartridge and is prepared to fit a more expensive cartridge for you and set the deck up.

Save money on the phono preamp. Good though the Arcam is you are unlikely to need the MC side of it so why pay the extra for it? Substitute it with a cheaper moving magnet only phono preamp and spend the money saved on a better cartridge.

These are my suggestions. You will, of course, get others that may be equallly viable, but understand the quality of sound available from a turntable relates most directly to the quality of the cartridge fitted to that turntable.

For what it is worth I cannot see pairing a £400 phono preamp with a £500 turntable using a £95 cartridge a good way to spend your money.

I look forward to hearing your decisions.

 

[matt78]

I either travel 2hrs to sevenoaks and audition rega and project or 40mins to superfi for just the project.

 

[grimharry]

If you go for a project with a 2m red cartridge you could upgrade to a blue stylus at a later date.

Not much point in upgrading the Red to a Blue stylus in my opinion but whatever. Perhaps try to buy it without the Red fitted and save a bit of money, then add cartridge of joice. However I would agree, at this price point the Project turntable might be a better buy. It really depends on what dealerships the OP has in his area and whether he can audition these or Rega or both.

Probably not worth changing red for blue but at least it’s just changing the stylus against the whole cartridge *pardon* . Not sure that I wouldn’t wait till I could spend a bit more.

 

[Al ears]

I either travel 2hrs to sevenoaks and audition rega and project or 40mins to superfi for just the project.

Thanks. I'd chance the two hour journey if I was parting with £500+ ;-)

 

[matt78]

Anyone any opinions on rega 2 and project carbon dc / esprit sb?

 

[Al ears]

Anyone any opinions on rega 2 and project carbon dc / esprit sb?

What Rega 2? Do you mean the Phono MM Mark2 or the Planar 2 turntable?

 

[chebby]

If you go for a project with a 2m red cartridge you could upgrade to a blue stylus at a later date.

Not much point in upgrading the Red to a Blue stylus in my opinion but whatever.

My last Rega P2 (2007 version with RB250) ...

(Note red body and blue stylus. Upgrade worked fine. Big difference.)

 

[Al ears]

If you go for a project with a 2m red cartridge you could upgrade to a blue stylus at a later date.

Not much point in upgrading the Red to a Blue stylus in my opinion but whatever.

My last Rega P2 (2007 version with RB250) ...

(Note red body and blue stylus. Upgrade worked fine. Big difference.)

Good to hear you liked it and could hear an improvement. My feeling is you could do better, fiancially, by buying one without the £95 Red fitted in the first place. If however you go down the fitted route then this is the most obvious upgrade path.

 

[matt78]

Excellent, thank you. Some good advise

 

[matt78]

Has anyone got any experience with the audio technica at lp5? Would it be better than a planer 2 or debut carbon?

 

[nopiano]

Has anyone got any experience with the audio technica at lp5? Would it be better than a planer 2 or debut carbon?

It's rather different, being equipped with a phono amplifier and a modest cartridge. I'm sure a Planar 2 or a Debut Carbon will ultimately sound better if you have a good cartridge and set it up well, but for ease of use and versatility the AT wins easily. I've not heard any of them, but they are all reviewed by WHF in the Reviews section of this site.

 

[stereoman]

I would definitely go for a 33/45 automatic speed control in a TT, first of all. Then the looks...some french ( Elipson ) and german ( Dual, Thorens ) TTs within this price range look great. Teac is also great sounding and looking good.