Thinking of a new TT

LeeH · « **on:** 14 Sep 2012, 06:39 pm »

Ive had the Technics SL 1210 MK2 for nearly a year now and have been thinking of making a change. Ive got around £1000 / $1700 to play around with, any ideas as to what I could upgrade to, would be thinking possibly second hand, candidates Ive looked at so far are

Acoustic Solid 111
Michelle Gyrodec
Linn LP12

Would I be wasting my time or is it a definite upgrade for me?

Rest of my kit is

Eastern Electric M88
EAR 834 phono stage fully modded
Denon DL 110 cart or shure M75 ED
Totem Forrest speakers
Audiolab 8200 CDQ c/w a mac mini
Silnote Morpheus I/C
Chord Epic speaker cables

Any help much appreciated

Ericus Rex · « **Reply #1 on:** 15 Sep 2012, 12:20 am »

The Acoustic Solid/Acoustic Signature tables are very good. They're not suspended and your other two options are. Have you given this factor any consideration?

jarcher · « **Reply #2 on:** 15 Sep 2012, 01:29 am »

Not to far below that budget (and at about it w/ a cartridge) are the Clearaudio Concept and the VPI Traveler, both well reviewed. I have a VPI Traveler and am quite happy with it, though I did change the stock Grado cartridge.

2gumby2 · « **Reply #3 on:** 15 Sep 2012, 01:40 am »

George Merrill recently introduced a new turntable. You can see it at the link here:
http://www.gmanalog.com/es-turntable.aspx

Berndt · « **Reply #4 on:** 15 Sep 2012, 02:02 am »

You are in the UK?

Berndt · « **Reply #5 on:** 15 Sep 2012, 02:03 am »

Just a deck, or a deck and an arm?

LeeH · « **Reply #6 on:** 15 Sep 2012, 10:06 am »

Hi guys

I am in the UK and want the deck to have an arm

Keep the suggestions coming please, all help much appreciated

Thanks

Lee

SteveFord · « **Reply #7 on:** 15 Sep 2012, 01:00 pm »

Here you go:

http://www.townshendaudio.com/turntables/the-rock-7

simoon · « **Reply #8 on:** 15 Sep 2012, 02:21 pm »

I'm not sure I'd look any further than that Acoustic Solid table you have listed.

Especially if you can get it at your budget.

doug s. · « **Reply #9 on:** 15 Sep 2012, 04:32 pm »

this looks pretty cool:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261097634956

as everyone here knows, i am a big fan of the empire. if you could get them to work on 50hz power in the uk, it would be something at the top of my list.

i would also be looking at a refurb'd lenco. while i have never heard one, those who have, say it is competitive w/decks $5k and above. and, they are much more plentiful in europe than the usa. everything below is in europe, some in the uk...

ready for mods:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/200817440661

http://www.ebay.com/itm/190725391567

us as/is; mod later:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251150239770

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LENCO-L-78-/130763951641

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenco-L-78-Plattenspieler-/180970425917

(refurb'd, stock)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/200817444260

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200817441343

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200816202761

needs arm, but already has nice custom base:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261096131903

already modded:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221124900501

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221124810135

modded, but stock arm:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221124014308

this guy makes plinths in warious finishes/prices:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/150819620742

doug s.

doug s.

hifitommy · « **Reply #10 on:** 15 Sep 2012, 06:50 pm »

i would be looking at used sota sapphires or vpi hw19s. both are exemplary sounding TTs. the sota must be shipped with the bearing disengaged to prevent fracture of the sapphire bearing plate. both tables are capable of VERY deep bass.

Wayner · « **Reply #11 on:** 15 Sep 2012, 07:55 pm »

Lots of tables suggested here would be a huge step backwards, IMO. Unless you want something that just sounds different (and they will).

The Technics SL1210 is an awesome machine (I believe 3.5 million SL12XX were sold during their production life) and the tooling, tolerances and the test of time have certainly proved their praise for the
last 30 years or so.

I would suggest a cartridge upgrade rather then a table upgrade. I'm not a Shure fan, but there are many choices out their that could take the performance of this deck to another level.

Wayner

J-Pak · « **Reply #12 on:** 15 Sep 2012, 08:44 pm »

Quote from: LeeH on 15 Sep 2012, 10:06 am

Hi guys

I am in the UK and want the deck to have an arm

Keep the suggestions coming please, all help much appreciated

Thanks

Lee

As you're in the UK I would suggest looking into Nottingham turntables since they have a good dealer network there. I have a Spacedeck and it sounded better than my VPI Scout and Rega P5.

Photon46 · « **Reply #13 on:** 16 Sep 2012, 02:00 pm »

Quote from: Wayner on 15 Sep 2012, 07:55 pm

Lots of tables suggested here would be a huge step backwards, IMO. Unless you want something that just sounds different (and they will).

I would suggest a cartridge upgrade rather then a table upgrade. I'm not a Shure fan, but there are many choices out their that could take the performance of this deck to another level.

Wayner

Listen to Wayne carefully. He's giving you wise and accurate advice. A better cartridge is a very good idea and a high value proposition. If you really want a different turntable, read as many reviews as you can and try to listen to as many choices as possible. You've got a Linn LP12 , an Acoustic Solid 111, and a Gyrodec listed as potential choices. All are good machines but quite different in engineering and sound. This makes me think you've not yet settled on or discovered what kind of sound you favor. Nothing wrong with that necessarily, it's just that one can easily go down an audio path that you won't care for if you are picking your products at random or based on advice from someone you don't know. One thing you quickly learn is that people have wildly varying ideas about what sounds good.

LeeH · « **Reply #14 on:** 16 Sep 2012, 02:20 pm »

Quote from: Photon46 on 16 Sep 2012, 02:00 pm

Listen to Wayne carefully. He's giving you wise and accurate advice. A better cartridge is a very good idea and a high value proposition. If you really want a different turntable, read as many reviews as you can and try to listen to as many choices as possible. You've got a Linn LP12 , an Acoustic Solid 111, and a Gyrodec listed as potential choices. All are good machines but quite different in engineering and sound. This makes me think you've not yet settled on or discovered what kind of sound you favor. Nothing wrong with that necessarily, it's just that one can easily go down an audio path that you won't care for if you are picking your products at random or based on advice from someone you don't know. One thing you quickly learn is that people have wildly varying ideas about what sounds good.

Its all good advice and keeping the technics aint out of the question, if I did keep it what cart would you recommend for a moving magnet type?

Cheers

Lee

Photon46 · « **Reply #15 on:** 16 Sep 2012, 04:05 pm »

Quote from: LeeH on 16 Sep 2012, 02:20 pm

Its all good advice and keeping the technics aint out of the question, if I did keep it what cart would you recommend for a moving magnet type?

Cheers

Lee

Well, tell us what you'd like "more of" or what you find lacking in your audio system. Hard to give specific advice without knowing more about your tastes. Goldring, Ortofon, Garrott, & Audio-Technica immediately come to mind as manufacturers offering you good choices, depending on your price point.

LeeH · « **Reply #16 on:** 17 Sep 2012, 04:16 pm »

Quote from: Photon46 on 16 Sep 2012, 04:05 pm

Well, tell us what you'd like "more of" or what you find lacking in your audio system. Hard to give specific advice without knowing more about your tastes. Goldring, Ortofon, Garrott, & Audio-Technica immediately come to mind as manufacturers offering you good choices, depending on your price point.

I have only ever had a shure and denon cart fitted in the TT and this being my first TT I am not that familiar with the sounds from other cart manufacturers. I like the sound to be fast, suited to my 3 types of musical genre which are rock, classical and Jazz, I also like the sound to be full and not to be thin and screechy.

I am asking too much from one type of cart or is there something out there for me?

Many thanks

Lee

neobop · « **Reply #17 on:** 17 Sep 2012, 05:01 pm »

Maybe it would help to listen to a few samples that you can download. You can also compare to your carts which are on this site.
http://daveyw.edsstuff.org/vinyl/cartridges/mm-cartridges/

neo

Photon46 · « **Reply #18 on:** 17 Sep 2012, 05:37 pm »

Neobob's link to .wav files of cartridges is a useful place to start. I listened to a few files of cartridges I'm familiar with (at work over an iMac and a pair of M-Audio Q-40 headphones.) I don't think the Mac's internal dac is resolving enough to reveal the kind of differences I hear over my system at home, that's for sure. In any event, I think the Goldring 1042 does a credible job with all three genres of music you listen to. One thing to remember when soliciting advice about how a component sounds in a vinyl rig is that vinyl playback quality is the result of the entire chain of components. Everything matters and contributes to the final sonic result: the platform the turntable sits on, turntable, arm, headshell, wiring, cartridge, and phono stage. It's often hard to meaningfully apply what someone else hears changing one component in their system to what you'll hear if you install that same component in your system. An expectation of the need to experiment is in order to avoid frustration.

Wayner · « **Reply #19 on:** 17 Sep 2012, 07:54 pm »

I am currently running the AT440MLa in my SL1200MKII. The sound is airy, very 3D and lots of reverb can be discovered in the recording.

I'm running a Grado Master Reference wood body in my Technics SL-Q2 with bass in spades, nice stereo imagery as well.

Wayner