Turntable advice - newbie

jsmcg

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Hi, been reading too many reviews and too many YouTube clips trying to settle on which turntable should my hard saved money be spent.I am returning to vinyl and realise that whichever turntable I buy it will likely be the one for a long time (age & money!) so I think I have narrowed it down to these options;
Pro-ject X1 (top of my budget, speed control, has VTA adjustment, separate rca cables, acrylic platter, heavy plinth)
Funk Firm Gett (quirky, speed control, has VTA adjustment, acrylic platter, easy to add their upgrade mat, very few on line reviews, tone arm durability?)
Rega Planar 3 (no speed control, no VTA adjustment, but great reviews!)

Is there a difference in where the belt drives I.e. sub platter or the main platter (Funk Firm Gett)

Am I possibly too hung up on having VTA adjustment?

Any comments (constructive) would be appreciated.

Thank you
 
For what it's worth ;)

Project I have no knowledge of.
Funk Firm doesn't look great to me for the money. I know it has history but it just looks naff to me. At that size the platter will be very light which isn't great. It also doesn't seem to specify what the cart is, if any though one is pictured. On the plus side there is speed control. Do you ever play singles though.
Of those three I'd go for a Planar 3 without cart and pick your own. Lots of upgrades (including VTA) to play with later on the Rega too.
Whatever you decide aim to spend at least £150-200 on your cart and you'll be glad you did.
 
For what it's worth ;)

Project I have no knowledge of.
Funk Firm doesn't look great to me for the money. I know it has history but it just looks naff to me. At that size the platter will be very light which isn't great. It also doesn't seem to specify what the cart is, if any though one is pictured. On the plus side there is speed control. Do you ever play singles though.
Of those three I'd go for a Planar 3 without cart and pick your own. Lots of upgrades (including VTA) to play with later on the Rega too.
Whatever you decide aim to spend at least £150-200 on your cart and you'll be glad you did.
Thank you for your advice much appreciated. Disappointing that there isn’t more detailed info on the Funk Firm Gett out there but as you rightly say the platter does seem on the light side and not too sure of the build quality. So looks like it’s between the Rega P3 and the Pro-ject X1 then.
 
The P3/Exact takes some beating at the price range.
If you're concerned about the speed adjustment, you can alway add the Neo PSU at a later date.
There's a ton of upgrades you can do to it if you want - new platters, subplatters, mats, belt, bearing, etc, etc.
I would suggest keeping an eye on places like Audio-T - they regularly have open-box or ex-demo models available (not that long ago they had an open box P3/Exact for the price a new P3 without cart. Rega's UK pricing structure makes getting a TT with a Rega cart almost a steal.

It's possible to change the VTA on a P3 - either by adding spacers under the arm-pillar or changing the platter/mat combination.
 
Thanks BT Bob. The price of the Rega P3 is a factor and of course as you say there are many upgrade options available.

What is the difference in performance between the Rega glass platter and the acrylic platter that’s on the Gett & the X1?

Can the funk firm achromat be fitted to the Rega platter?
Thanks again
 
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I’ve got the P3/exact with the neo psu. I love it, I know you can spend tons more £’s on turntables, but I have to say for under a £grand, I don’t know a better turntable. (Just my opinion).

PS: the Rega turntable is designed to use its own felt Matt, I have heard you can put the achromatic on the P3, but it doesn’t appear to improve the sound over the standard Rega felt mat.
 
I have an SRM/Tech acrylic platter on my Planar 3 in place of the glass platter, and I think it's significantly better. I'm also using an Origin Live mat in place of the Rega felt dust trap, and that's also a definite improvement.

Oh, and I have a Neo PSU - not so much for changing the speed, but because it makes it sound better.
 
A very happy Planar 3 owner here.
I had a Planar 2 when dipping my toes back into vinyl.
My first upgrade was the Rega fono mm phono stage.

Then I went for a Planar 3 with the Elys cart and the Neo Psu.
I listened to 6 and the 10 when I purchased the 3, the differences was there to hear as well.
 
PS: the Rega turntable is designed to use its own felt Matt, I have heard you can put the achromatic on the P3, but it doesn’t appear to improve the sound over the standard Rega felt mat.

I have used the achromat with my P3 and it changes the sound slightly by adding detail but it also kind of thins out the bass a bit. So there's pros and cons to the mat and i've never been able to decide whether it's an actual overall improvement or not so i'm now using the original felt again.

Back to the main point, the Planar 3 is a fantastic turntable and i'm pretty sure it's unbeatable in that price range.
 
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Planar 2 here. Homemade motor plinth to get rid of vibes. Arm currently at Audio Origami for new bearings and replacing the crappy rewire the original owner had done.
 
What is the difference in performance between the Rega glass platter and the acrylic platter that’s on the Gett & the X1?
I have no experience of these, but I can tell you I replaced the original "plastic" platter on my old RP1 with the SRM/Tech Acrylic platter and it made a big difference to the depth of sound. When tapped, the acrylic sounded "deader" than the original one and my impression was the sound was tighter - so I figure, less resonance.

Can the funk firm achromat be fitted to the Rega platter?
Yes - but you need to be careful of the thickness so you don't affect the VTA. Need to measure from the plinth to the top of the platter with mat and make sure that doesn't change.

I have an SRM/Tech acrylic platter on my Planar 3 in place of the glass platter, and I think it's significantly better. I'm also using an Origin Live mat in place of the Rega felt dust trap, and that's also a definite improvement.

As above - I had the SRM/Tech on my RP1 - now I have the RP6, I have the SRM/Tech Acrylic platter mat (same thickness as the original mat) and I feel the sound is a bit more detailed, but mainly when I left a record off, the mat stays behind.

I'm a big fan of the SRM/Tech products - they're great value for money.

So there's pros and cons to the mat and i've never been able to decide whether it's an actual overall improvement or not so i'm now using the original felt again.

This is a valid point with any "upgrade". You'll often hear a difference in sound, bit is it an "improvement"? I guess only the individual can decide.

Back to the main point, the Planar 3 is a fantastic turntable and i'm pretty sure it's unbeatable in that price range.

Yep - I agree. I think the RP6 is the "sweet-spot" of performance v price in the whole Rega range, but sub £1000, the P3 is very hard to beat. It hasn't been the top-seller for how-many-years(?) for no reason.
 

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