Advice please - turntable up to around £400 mark

[gweaver]

Hello everyone,

I've searched through the site and I apologise if this question has been asked before. I'm completely new to the world of performance/audiophille turntables.

I wanted to know people's opinions on what they would buy as a first turntable. I have quite a few records, about 100. They've been in the loft for ages and I want to start using them again.

I've done a bit of research on the web and I understand that the Rega P3 appears to be great value for money. Can anyone advise on the Pro-ject turntables and the Thorens turntables and any other good makes that I'm not aware of yet! It doesn't have to cost around £400-£450 but I'm prepared to spend that much. At the moment I have a Yamaha amp that I use for Sky, PS3 and all that, and a Cambridge Audio 540P pre-amp for my cheap and nasty turntable that I have at the moment.

All advice is greatly appreciated!

Regards,

Gavin

 

[alexs2]

Hello everyone,

I've searched through the site and I apologise if this question has been asked before. I'm completely new to the world of performance/audiophille turntables.

I wanted to know people's opinions on what they would buy as a first turntable. I have quite a few records, about 100. They've been in the loft for ages and I want to start using them again.

I've done a bit of research on the web and I understand that the Rega P3 appears to be great value for money. Can anyone advise on the Pro-ject turntables and the Thorens turntables and any other good makes that I'm not aware of yet! It doesn't have to cost around £400-£450 but I'm prepared to spend that much. At the moment I have a Yamaha amp that I use for Sky, PS3 and all that, and a Cambridge Audio 540P pre-amp for my cheap and nasty turntable that I have at the moment.

All advice is greatly appreciated!

Regards,

Gavin

Both the Regas and Projects make excellent turntables if you wish to buy new,and in any case,are good value and good sonically.

The cost of each would leave you with sufficient to buy a decent cartridge such as the Sumiko Blue point or Denon DL110,both of which are high output moving coils.

If you wish to look at used turntables,the Thorens TD160 can be found for not much over £100 but would need a decent arm such as the Rega RB250 again at about £125.
The Thorens was a very solid and well made belt drive suspended TT and had a very good reputation...there are plenty of good examples around.

Rega P3s with an RB300 arm can also be had for similar prices all in.

 

[gweaver]

The cost of each would leave you with sufficient to buy a decent cartridge such as the Sumiko Blue point or Denon DL110,both of which are high output moving coils.

Alexs2,

Am I right in thinking then, that if I buy new, whatever the make I'll be getting the turntable, the tonearm but not the cartridge? Or should I then go and replace the cartridge that came with the turntable for a better one?

I'm not too familiar with all the components of a turntable yet. Could you also explain what makes the biggest difference to quality, the turntable, tonearm or cartridge?

Also, will the Denon DL110 work with my MM pre-amp?

Thanks very much,

Gav

 

[alexs2]

Alexs2,

Am I right in thinking then, that if I buy new, whatever the make I'll be getting the turntable, the tonearm but not the cartridge? Or should I then go and replace the cartridge that came with the turntable for a better one?

I'm not too familiar with all the components of a turntable yet. Could you also explain what makes the biggest difference to quality, the turntable, tonearm or cartridge?

Also, will the Denon DL110 work with my MM pre-amp?

Thanks very much,

Gav

Hi....what you get depends very much on whatever package may be offered for sale.

Sometimes,everything is included,and more often,just the TT and tonearm,leaving you to decide what cartridge to buy.

Each has it's own part to play in the overall sound quality,so it would be difficult to isolate any one as being the major part,except to say that if you begin with a good TT and arm,the cartridge can easily be upgraded as funds allow.


The Denon is a high output MC cartridge as is the Sumiko,and both should work with the MM input of your preamp.
An alternative,if you wanted a low output MC,is the NAD phonostage which would connect to the preamp between it and the cartridge.

 

[gweaver]

Thanks very much for the advice.

Gav

 

[alexs2]

Thanks very much for the advice.

Gav

Thank you!...also welcome to the murky world of turntables and vinyl.

It can be a bit of a minefield at first,and is worth reading up a good bit and then listening before buying.

I've had a few TTs,from an Garrard SP25 and a Goldring Mm cartridge for my first,then an ERA followed by an Ariston RD11E(basically like the Linn LP12 and with a lot of history between the 2 makes) and finally an LP12/Lingo etc etc.

Both the Regas and Projects are excellent to begin with and will offer years of good service plus the opportunity to upgrade quite a bit before you need to change completely.

 

[GDBD59]

I'm going to join in this thread, if I may, as I'm in the same situation as gweaver, & probably know even less.

The only thing I've got is a pair of LS3 5a, & want a TT, amp, & cd player.
I'm probably going to spend a bit more on the cd player, partly as it'll get more use, partly as I believe I'll need to spend more on it to get similar quality to a decent turntable such as mentioned above.

I expect to have to spend most on the amp though.

I've already bid (unsuccessfully) on a Planar2 on ebay.
Something I wondered......the ProjectIII comes with a basic cartridge. Would it be a sound idea to buy a new (or nearly) one & fit a good cartridge on it (say £100) rather than an older Rega which may need money spent on a cartridge anyway.

How many types of cartridge are there, & is the moving coil the best?

I've also read that the stylus can't always be replaced ......true?

cheers
Gary

 

[alexs2]

I'm going to join in this thread, if I may, as I'm in the same situation as gweaver, & probably know even less.

The only thing I've got is a pair of LS3 5a, & want a TT, amp, & cd player.
I'm probably going to spend a bit more on the cd player, partly as it'll get more use, partly as I believe I'll need to spend more on it to get similar quality to a decent turntable such as mentioned above.

I expect to have to spend most on the amp though.

I've already bid (unsuccessfully) on a Planar2 on ebay.
Something I wondered......the ProjectIII comes with a basic cartridge. Would it be a sound idea to buy a new (or nearly) one & fit a good cartridge on it (say £100) rather than an older Rega which may need money spent on a cartridge anyway.

How many types of cartridge are there, & is the moving coil the best?

I've also read that the stylus can't always be replaced ......true?

cheers
Gary

Taking this in order,a new Project does come with a cartridge,whereas a used TT may or may not do so.

Against this,you must weight what does come with a used TT,and sometimes you may find a better arm and cartridge than you might have bought otherwise.

There are 2 basic types of cartridge(ignoring moving iron types for the time being)....moving magnets,where the stylus moves a set of magnets,inducing currents in coils placed near to them,from which the signal is derived.....
....moving coils,in which a set of coils are placed on the stylus cantilever and these are moved in a magnetic field,producing the signal...usually the output voltage is very low and requires the use of a special amplifier between it and the phono input of your preamp....see below also.

As to which is best,virtually ALL of the very best cartridges are moving coil designs,but they are expensive to make,and when the needle or cantilever etc require attention,it's a rebuild.
Rebuilds are easy enough to get,but again aare not always a cheap proposition.

Moving magnets almost always have replaceable stylus assemblies.

The cheapest decent MCs are things like the Denon DL110 which can be used with moving magnet input stages as it has a higher output than most MCs....this comes in at around £100.

The very best cost up to several thousand pounds and would include things like the Lyra Titan,and many of the Koetsus.

 

[gweaver]

GDBD59, doing a quick search on Google shows a Denon DL110 cartridge can be had for £59 from this website

http://www.hifix.co.uk/sku.lasso?&item=e3e8440bc78da575418cb5ed4c5862a75eca5c896be67a1d&rlog=froogle

I don't know if you can get one cheaper elsewhere, have a search and see what you find.

Gav

 

[GDBD59]

Thanks alexs2 & Gav,.... okay that's some information absorbed......throws a few other questions, mind you.
I'll mull them over & see if I need to ask more.

 

[cwilson]

The best introduction to vinyl I can think of would be a new or used Rega P3 with a Denon DL110 bolted to it. The DL110 can be bought for around £60.00 and can live with stuff at 4 times that. If you need a phone stage the Cambridge 640P is very good value for money (£60,) and can stand its ground with units up to around £150m .

 

[GDBD59]

I've got an enquiry to a seller of a planar3 at the mo'........

Is the "3" appreciably better than the "2" ?

 

[inicholson]

I last heard a Rega about 15 years ago. My first turntable was a Planar 2 and my Dad bought a Planar 3. The difference was small but if anything I'd say the 2 was better! i certainly wouldn't pay extra for a 3. The Linn axis (which i traded my planar 2 for) was better than either and unlike a Linn Lp12 easy to set up.

 

[gweaver]

I've decided to go for a new Pro-ject Xpression III. Usually £325 - £280 from Superfi.co.uk. From what I've read they're very good, plus it's almost £200 less than what a new Rega P3 would have cost me.

When the supplied cartridge needs replacing (it comes with Ortofon 2M MM cartridge) I'll replace it with a Denon DL110.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Gav

 

[william lloyd]

Not sure what your after. I have the Pro-Ject Xpression111 with the Ortofon 2M Red. No need to go to a first step MC the 2M Red is OK.
William