Turntable madness!

DublinWriter

Recently I've been going back to my old 1,000+ vinyl collection and falling back in love with analogue.

Unfortunately the combination of my 35 year old Sony turntable and my Denon AV amp doesn't really cut it. Loads of warmth in the mid, but little high and low definition and overall as stodgy as a cooked Sunday breakfast.

I've decided to buy a Denon Solo Movie Amp, a decent phono stage, but I'm stumped on the turntable to purchase.

Firstly, check out the following, the 10 most expensive turntables on the planet...

http://www.bornrich.org/entry/top-10-most-expensive-turntables/

I really don't want to get into the audiophile anal zone.

I priced a fully-speced Linn Sondek recently at Dublinn Hi-fi for 10K (I laughed too).

The trouble is, when it comes to turntables, it's all pretty much subjective. I knew I was on shaky ground when a certain US Hi-fi magazine reviewed turntable tables (basically the four-legged pieces of wood that you sit your turntable on) and ranked them by their 'musicality'.

Basically my choice comes down to a new Technics 1210 MK5, a second-hand Sondek, or the new Sondek Majik bundle.

Personally I think the 'money' in the equation comes down to the choice of cartridge. Sure, I can see where the arm and the platter influences the overall sound, but I really distrust the whole Linn world that says upgrading to a 'Vahalla' PSU will enhance the overall sound (basically the Linns use a generic Phillips 32V DC motor to turn the belt, so I don't see how spending an extra €1000K to deliver that 32V to the same motor could improve things signficiantly).

Audiophiles seem to deride the Technics decks as being 'DJ' only, but all the research I've done seems to suggest otherwise. The Technics range were born out of some serious Audiophile R&D back in the 1970's.

For all the cachè Linns have, you're still taking off the platter and manually adjusting the belt to switch from 33rpm to 45rpm and they seem to be quite high-maintenance...and where do they get off charging €250 for a perspex lid?

So should I go the Linn way or the Technics way?

Slaphead07

DublinWriter wrote: »

So should I go the Linn way or the Technics way?

Go second hand (technics are for club djs, forget them from a musical point of view). <SNIP>

axton1

Slaphead07 wrote: »

Go second hand (technics are for club djs, forget them from a musical point of view). <SNIP>

I agree with slaphead,
you would be better of with a rega or good project turntable and a good headamp, as the phono stage in most amps is lacklustre.
heard a whisper that acousticd might be doing sonateer phono amps ,don't know if its true though
God a half decent turntable and a tube amp and the cd collection would go out the window (convenience has taken over ).
Nearest thing I have heard to a turntable was a tube cd player with a decent dac.

cheers

MediaTank

Rega or Linn. The direct drive mechamism on the SL1210 is not good for home listening.

MT

DublinWriter

I'll be auditioning a Linn Magik in Belfast next week.

At the end of the day, I'm an infrequent vinyl listener and I think even the Linn Magik is overkill.

I'm still not convinced by the whole "1210 Mk5s are for DJs only" argument as the product-range came out of some serious audiophile R&D by Technics back in the day.

Slaphead07

DublinWriter wrote: »

I'll be auditioning a Linn Magik in Belfast next week.

At the end of the day, I'm an infrequent vinyl listener and I think even the Linn Magik is overkill.

I'm still not convinced by the whole "1210 Mk5s are for DJs only" argument as the product-range came out of some serious audiophile R&D by Technics back in the day.

Yep. Back in the day... and even then Technics NEVER produced an audiophile turntable.

anyway.... The Linn is lovely but troublesome and very fiddly - you might be seeing a lot of that shop on the Lisburn Road. You really should seriously consider the cheaper, but still excellent quality, Project decks.

DublinWriter

Slaphead07 wrote: »

anyway.... The Linn is lovely but troublesome and very fiddly - you might be seeing a lot of that shop on the Lisburn Road. You really should seriously consider the cheaper, but still excellent quality, Project decks.

Point taken - I've heard that Linn LP12's need a lot of TLC over their lifetime.

The Pro-jects look nice, but I'd like to get a turntable with a perspex lid!

Slaphead07

DublinWriter wrote: »

The Pro-jects look nice, but I'd like to get a turntable with a perspex lid!

I think you can get lids for them... I know the one I had came with a hinged lid. You can always use an old LP.... when Tom Waits was asked circa 1987 what he thought of The Eagles new album he said it was ideal for keeping the dust off the platter.

doc crock

The project Debut III is a cracker for the money good simple reliable design and they do come with a lid to keep the nasty dust at bay!

DublinWriter

doc crock wrote: »

The project Debut III is a cracker for the money good simple reliable design and they do come with a lid to keep the nasty dust at bay!

Looks nice and it's a tenth of the price of the entry-level Linn Magik. I could probably spend a lot of the money saved on a good MC cartridge and phono stage.

What's the deal with switching to 45RPM on it? Another off-putting thing about the Linn was having to remove the platter to do this - I mean, come on, it's 2008 FFS!

doc crock

yeah you have to remove the platter on the D III unless you upgrade it with the project speed box (dont know if its worth it ) , heard one the other day with one of the new orthofon 2m red mc just straight into a basic rotel amp with an internal phono stage in one of my friends systems and it was really brilliant!!

meta

Does anywhere in Dublin stock the Project turntables?

Slaphead07

meta wrote: »

Does anywhere in Dublin stock the Project turntables?

I think Cloney still do.

big_moe

Slaphead07 wrote: »

I think Cloney still do.

yeah they do. i got a debut II from them and i recently upgraded it to the RPM5 superpack. the superpack comes with the speed box. got a pain in my arse with the debut II and manually changing the drive belt.

both decks gave great sound for the money i reckon.

meta

Thanks all.

phelixoflaherty

You should try Munster Sounds too. Picked up a 2nd hand Goldring last year for 125 and received in galway 2 days later. They sell project too.