[Dood Lee]

Hi guys! I've decided that I want to start up a vinyl collection, and my friend has some connections and he said he could get me a pretty decent turntable. My friend's friend has a Pioneer PL-71 and a PL-570 that he is willing to part with. Out of these two specific models, is one better than the other? Also, I did a search on eBay and found a Pioneer PL-530, but I'm assuming that it's not as high a model as the 570? At this point in the game, I'm either going to go with these one of those older turntables (I love the wood bases) or probably a technics which everyone raves about. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[bacobits1]

You may want to do some reading here>>>Lots of vintage stuff.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=28&order=desc


D

[toocool4]

Only one way to find out if one is better then the other, have a listen to both. Try and see if you can get an audition of both decks, It does not matter what anyone tell you the best way is to use your own ears at the end of the day you have to live with it.

You did not say how much you wanted to spend? You can always look at the Rega’s or Pro-Ject turntables as they are very good value for the money you pay for them.

Chris

[lcrim]

There is a good reason why the Technics 12xx series are raved about.  If you are new to TT's the Technics 1200, is simple and straight forward to set up.  All adjustments can be accomplished by a newcomer.  There is even a jig for putting a cartridge into a headshell.  I bought both of my present TT's from KAB and I recommend Kevin highly.  He's a straight shooter and no pressure type.
When you are ready to upgrades, KAB offers a full line of mods.  Cost effectiveness of this line is out of all scale.  You'll never need to buy another TT.
If you buy the Technics new from Kevin, he throws in a free inspection and while you may find cheaper alternatives, nobody needs headaches that can be avoided.

[blakep]

Depending on the cost my vote is for the PL 71, which was supposedly the top of the line Pioneer at the time, if it is in good condition.
 
It is a manual table which, all things being equal (of course they never are ), should be both better sounding and more reliable than its automatic or semi-automatic counterparts.

If you do go with the PL 71, try and seek out a more substantial mat for it, which need not cost a lot of money but will probably be a fairly significant improvement over the standard mat. I have a Pioneer PL 12D in a secondary system in the house and it is a very competent table with a little attention paid to it, IMO better than the entry level budget offerings (Rega P1, Project, Music Hall) of today which sell for $300-$400.