Vinyl Upgrade?

I am using a Connoisseur BD2, SAU2 arm and VMS3 11 cartridge, I also have a PL12D. I enjoy playing my old vinyl collection and am impressed with the musical quality of the sound reproduction. More detail and life from the music would be appreciated also my present sound is a bit dark - Id like to cheer things up a bit - could be the LPs that I play! - The thing is my birthday is looming and the thought of yet another year gone past I do need some cheering up. Id like to persuade, she who must be obeyed that a turntable upgrade would make me really happy, but what should i BE LOOKING FOR! sub £450??

 

As I understand it the Connoisseur decks are not really that great (no offence meant!). Maybe a Project or Rega table would make a nice upgrade... you know the ones that come in all nice colours Might make it easier to get your lady to agree to it!

Note that there is a bank holiday special discount and stuff at Needles and Spins for today only, might be a good idea to move fast!

https://www.audio-forums.com/as-rediect/showthread.php?t=13443

 

Rega P3 with a Denon DL110 - £370, guaranteed to delight the ears and has the backing of a superb company.

Oh and nice colours



PS: Take the Connoisseur to the nearest Oxfam or Cancer Research - it's way off the pace these days.

 

I would go for a projekt with an ortofon.

 

Pro-Ject make some superb decks - I use the £130 Debut II with the stock Ortofon 5E cartridge and it sounds great. One of the more pricier decks - maybe the Pro-ject 1 Xpression for about £250 would fit the bill. Failing that, the good old tried and tested Rega P3 is another good suggestion from RobHolt.

Do make sure you're running it through a decent phono stage - options I'd look at are the Pro-Ject Phonobox SE at £100, the Graham Slee Gram Amp at £85, Cambridge Audio 640P at £60. However, if you can find one second-hand, the Rotel RQ-970BX is a lovely bit of kit - I bought mine from Hon (a ZG member) for about £65 and it sounds sublime with my Debut II.

Pity I've got to be up at 6:30am for work tomorrow, or I'd still be spinning vinyl with the above combo well into the early hours!

 

I endorse the ProJect Debut III plus Ortofon. I bought one as a gift for my son-in-law, and found that it was not unduly shamed by my far more exotic and expensive rig.

 

I'd consider eiither a Rega or Project deck. You can't go far wrong with either, particularly at the low end. The P3 is one of the best value audio products ever made IMO, the RB300 arm represents exceptional value and can be used on decks costing many times P3 retail. I had a Planar 3 for 15 years and only replaced it when I could afford a GyroDec with Orbe upgrades. Even then I ran it with a Rega arm. If you don't mind s/h, they crop up on ebay all the time and sell for £100 - £130 and there is practically nothing to go wrong with them.