Turntable Recommendations - Midrange Price

Hi,

I am interested in getting a good medium price range turntable as I was to delve in to the world of vynl again as there seems to be a lot of good old and new stuff that is not on CD at all.

Can anyone make some suggestions on turntable, arm, cartrdge, etc.

BTW - I'll be listening to quite a varied mix of stuff from rock to classical and flamenco/spanish music.

Cheers,

Najeeb

 

What do you consider to be a midrange price?

What, if any, phono stage is the Arcam amp fitted with: is it suitable for moving magnet and/or moving coil cartridges?

 

I would go for the new Rega P5,failing that a older P25,exellent turntables,a crisp fast sound,I found the P25 to be better looking than the new range.

For a cartridge I would look for a Dynavector if you go MC,or a shure V15 for a MM.It's a simple deck,so no fussing around,add a good phono stage such as a Creek,and it will really rock!!

 

My money would be on the Nottingham Analogue Interspace a lovely little spinner with a great depth of sound. For a good respectable cart I'd go with the Ortofon MCFL25. There may be better carts at the price but this one offers a very detailed, refined and punchy sound for the price. Best to buy from Germany though as the discounts are high.

 

Again, what is midrange price?

A second hand Kuzma Stabi/Stogi S is in my view the best turntable you can buy used under a grand. If there is a better bet in that price bracket new or used, Ive yet to hear it.

Id rather have the above than a Linn Lp12, any systemdek, any Michell deck, an interspace or spacedeck, any Thorens, any Roksan.

Thats all IMHO and opinions will of course vary.

Without wanting to sound like a worn out record, there is or was one at the emporium for about 650.

I use the Kuzma Stogi S arm on my Nottingham Analogue Mentor, which was a 4,000 turntable when it was new.

 

I've been toying with getting a decent deck too, probably in a few months time and up to about a grand. I've got an old Thorens 166 which works but sounds a bit thin and is tatty enough to spoil the room... I'd earmarked the Stabi, the Roksan Radius 5, the similar-looking Project (9?) and the Gyro SE. Are there particular 'characters' to these decks?

 

Sounds of Music (www.sounds-of-music.co.uk) have a Clearaudio Solution for about a grand... I was so impressed I bought the next one up
Cracking TT, and highly upgradeable. Also, it's not as "fierce" as a Stogi/Stabi (at least that's what I found when I was auditioning!), or as flat as a Michell

 

The Stabi & the Gyro will outclass the Roksan and Project decks by a loooooooooong way. Both of these are great decks, I think the Stabi is quite a bit better (bit more forward & more detail), but the Gyro has a nice 'upgrade path' should you wish to make changes further down the line.

If you go the Gyro route, try and put something other than a Rega arm on it, it deserves better, IMO.

 

Linn LP12, preferably with Naim Aro, and on Mana will blow all the above into the weeds.

 

Agreed. The Gyro/Orbe really sing when much better arms than the Regas are installed.



Enjoy the music,

Lawrie.

 

Bub,

In what specific areas do you think the Kuzma and the Notts Analogue decks lag the LP12? I don't know many other people who have had extensive experience of the Kuzma and Notts Analogue decks at home. You must have or you wouldn't be posting the above.

Agree with Bub wrt the Gyro, never heard an Orbe properly.

Cheers

Jason

 

…and what exactly is 'mid-priced' about a LP12 with a 1500 quid arm on the most expensive support system known to mankind?

Tony.

PS IMHO the mid priced deck to beat is the Nottingham Horizon / RB300; it sounds great, is easy to set up and doesn't seem as picky about what it stands on as many other decks. Stick a nice affordable MC in it (DL-103 / DV10x4 / MC25FL) and it will work a treat.

 

Hi,

There has never been a better time to buy a turntable. There is a big choice of £500 + decks. Both new & 2nd hand. A lot of the choices have been mentioned. A lot does depend on how much you want to spend and if you will buy 2nd hand.

I would suggest you have a few dems of the competition. as you are in London, you could try Walrus. They stock one of the biggest selections of new decks. These goes from the Rega P2/P3 to the Nottingham Analogue decks to the Michell decks to the Clearaudio, to the Roksan, to the Origin live decks.

The downside is if you want to hear most of the competition, it will take a fair bit of leg work.

Good luck & it is a good move. So many cheap records on offer.

SCIDB

 

Hi Jason,

A little poetic license. Correct though. My CDP on P11 blows all non-Mana'd TTs that I've heard away, too.

Don't let me in the house, it WILL piss you off.

;-)

 

Hear that? Its the sound of one hand clapping.

Just to make sure I am correct in not being impressed, exactly how many and which non-mana'd turntables have you heard? Usual caveats about shows and dealers not counting of course ;->

Maybe I need to hear a phase 11 system, perhaps something truly amazing happens once you spend £10k on Mana. I only listened to a sysetm at phase 7 or so.


Cheers

Jason

 

"...I need to hear a phase 11 system..."

Better not, Jason. You have all your hi-fi certainties worked out in advance: I wouldn't want to challenge anything in there. Put it down to experience.

 

Not at all. Bit of a rich comment considering I'm not the one claiming that an LP12 beats a whole host of others that I haven't heard. In fact that is your basic modus operandi. Don't bother to listen, just spout whatever rubbish somebody else has told you.

I have heard several big Mana systems, but not one at phase 11. Are you claiming that the sound changes at phase 11? If it is more of the same then no thanks. From talking to others phase 11 is more of the same. Great for you, less great for me. Why is that so hard to accept?


Cheers

Jason

 

I am speaking from experience, Jason, and you aren't. But, I ask myself, so what? Whatever you say, and all that. Doesn't really matter, does it?

 

jason,
just learn to accept that bub has this blind spot which means he cannot accept that other people can have opinions and tastes contrary to his own. he's stating an opinion (in this case a bit of a shaky one but we'll gloss over that) and from that perspective he is 100% correct, however taken from your or my own perspective he's perhaps incorrect. just move along, nothing to see here.....
cheers


julian

 

Why am I the one who is automatically assumed to be mad/wrong, or whatever? Just curious.

Well, actually I'm not that curious, because I know I'm right!