cheap but good T/T for a friend

Hi guys

A my favourite girlfriend wants to buy a cheap but good secondhand T/T. I was thinking about a Regar 2, Michell Focus, Dual CS505 or Thorens 166 or something similar. Yes I know that they all sound different but as it will go through a midi system the overall quality is important we are not talking a fanatical critical listener here but a music lover who wants to occasionally listen to records. Reliability/servicability is important. Budget is £100. She will also need a phono pre-amp. The XLPs is too expensive do you guys know of anything that can be had for £30 max secondhand?

Anyone here have a T/T that they are selling?

Thanks, really appreciate it.

Dominic

 

Have a look here

Friend of mine has a Debut running in an Audiolab/ProAc system and it sounds pretty damn sweet. Excellent vfm - slot in a better cartridge and job's a good'un.

 

can definately recommend the debut. i've just bought one for my intro to vinyl, and, i am blown away by the sound of this thing, and all for 130 quid!!!!!

i really didnt think a T/T at this price sounded as good as this. read the hype that the glossies are saying and believe it. it IS that good.

go for it, you will not be disappointed!

oh, and imo, the best colour to get is the piano black, looks much more expensive than it is! :MILD:

 

Hi is the Debut based on a Planar 2? if so is it better or worse? How does it compare to the likes of the Thorens TD166. The 166 is a good looking deck and this is a slight consideration, her being female and all that.

Also I see that Project make a £40 phono pre amp, presumably this is a reasonable unit (for her). Also any idea how it compares to the MF xpls? The reason for asking is that I have a buyer for my XLPs and might be tempted to sell and buy a Project phono pre for me as it takes up far less space. (I will be using it with a Fosus S/Linn Basic/Rega cartridge - its purple and costs £95 but I do not know its name) I only use the deck in my recording studio for sampling records.

Cheers. Dominic

 

i use a project phono se (switchable mm/mc) for mine. would have used the naim boards, but they are mc only (the project is mm). as for the project being based on the rega, i think the nad is.

also, for a good budget deck, try the new goldring gr1.2. again about 130 quid. uses a rega rb250 type arm. a lot of T/T for the money too.

my advice is go and listen to a couple.

the project certainly doesn't disgrace itself in my naim/meridian set up.

 

The Project Debut and Rega Planner 2 are similar prices but not the same thing at all.
I used to have a debutr and Project phone stage - would recommend them. I understand that the Debut III is very good indeed as it has the better Project 9 arm.
Best option may be to look out for a Debut II with built in phono stage.
Good Luck
Donut

 

Richer sounds were selling the Project Debut II for £79.95 which is a bargain, you need a voucher in the What HIFI magazine though. The Project will sound better than most things Duel could offer.

I bought mine brand new in 2000 and have had no problems with it all. I did have to renew the stylus and it will need replacing again soon but that just goes to show how much I love and use this cheeky turntable.

I use an old 1989 Rotel preamp as the phone stage as it sounds better than the Marantz built in one.