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Rooze, it's hard to respond to this sort of query in a public forum without inadvertently inflaming some individuals with strongly held beliefs regarding analog vs digital sound. In my experience, it's also difficult to offer meaningful advice without familiarity regarding the TOTAL system in question. After lucking into a chance to purchase incredibly revealing Tidal Piano Cera speakers for a price that worked for me, I realized how much just one thing in the whole reproduction chain can influence your perception of digital vs. analog. I too felt that there was little to be gained in the pursuit of digital improvements after a certain price point, but the insertion of more revealing speakers has opened my ears and mind to the reality that there's more digital goodness and improvement possible than I'd previously thought. There is a definite organic "rightness" obvious in analog that offsets less than desirable distortions evident in less than state of the art systems. I recently purchased a Luxman D-05 SACD/Cd player that has really gotten me listening to digital more frequently. My analog system is pretty decent (Acoustic Signature Final Tool, AudioMods tonearm, Ortofon Kontrapunkt H, RCM Sensor Prelude phonostage) and the Luxman holds my attention quite well in comparison. I'm not saying that the Luxman exceeds the specific virtues than makes analog uniquely compelling, but it has its own set of virtues that makes it a great partner for listening. Some of us seem to fixate on a narrow range of specific aspects of audio reproduction and elevate them to the top of our "must have" list. Others can appreciate that, for instance, digital has a lower noise floor that lets very low level details shine through exceptionally well. In the case of the Luxman, the differences of dynamic gradation between ppp to ffff is more evident and pronounced than it is in analog (or any other semi-affordable cd player I've heard.)Now that my system has reached a certain level of revealing clarity, I can appreciate that there are PLENTY of less than stellar analog recordings, just as there are wide variations in digital. Unfortunately, neither great analog nor digital playback hardware overcomes this fact. It would be great if we could all figure out early in our journey towards getting the best system we can afford what our own audio prejudices and "must haves" are. It would sure make the journey more direct and ultimately affordable. You are quite right to be wary of some used analog gear in my experience. I've had both great and poor experiences purchasing used analog stuff. I wouldn't have any qualms about purchasing used analog gear from good and reputable brick & mortar stores though. I think cartridges are items subject to great misrepresentation by some less than honest individuals (spoken from experience here )I have also heard many tales of woe regarding purchases of turntables from individuals who had NO idea how to pack them. There's a lot of wisdom in the last comment to just buy a VPI classic variant and be done with it. They are a great value.
The part about: ""Well, as my CD based system has become more resolving, my dislike for the format has grown. Each improvement in sound quality basically resigns another batch of mediocre CD's to the 'back shelf', where they remain "" I would say I do not have ANY Cds which sound bad enough to say I do not want to listen to them.My digital stuff has a different sound than my records.. but not 'better. nor worse. just different
I would go with these TT in order: Rega, VPI, Clearaudio.
I have little to offer, but was curious if you had a price range you'd like to stay within.Bob (vinyl noob)
The part about: ""Well, as my CD based system has become more resolving, my dislike for the format has grown. Each improvement in sound quality basically resigns another batch of mediocre CD's to the 'back shelf', where they remain "" I would say I have had success in creating a great sounding CD.. even as I upgraded my other stuff.I mote than doubled the value (retail cost) of my pre/amp/ speakers..And still kept my digital stuff. The main ingredients which allowed me to really enjoy digital are a super quality tube buffer (I tried a cheap one, no way..) I bought a used VAC Standard to use as a 'tube buffer' and it is wonderful. Then the power conditioning.So now both my Cds and vinyl sound really great.I would say I do not have ANY Cds which sound bad enough to say I do not want to listen to them.My digital stuff has a different sound than my records.. but not 'better. nor worse. just different
I use an older Well Tempered, Ortofon 2M Black and a Jolida JD9 w/ JJ Tesla tubes.That beats up on CDs pretty well and shouldn't exceed your price point by too much if you are patient in your shopping.Maybe you can find a good shipper or luck out with a local seller.The cartridge is MM but it certainly performs well at my house.Good luck!
I've been intrigued by some of the older turntables and how they stand up to modern examples. My LP12 was from 85, it performed well but I'd expect something modern in the $1500 range to beat it, but that's just speculation on my part.
Thanks Wasatch. Are you the same Wasatch from the hot pepper forum?
How about a B-Stock VPI Scout for $1399 and then you have $400 to deal with the cartridge.http://www.musicdirect.com/p-16119-vpi-scout-jmw-9-standard-b-stock.aspx
FYI, I enjoy bigtime my vinyl music played on my vintage Thorens 125II (circa 1976) with a no-name MM cartridge, given proper alignment & vibration-free DIYed some100lb dead-weight stand, matching the right phono-preamp.
The only problem with rooze keeping and using his LP12/Ittok turntable, is that he mentioned in his OP that he sold it about 16 years ago, which is why he is looking to buy another turntable and cartridge. Personally, I think a $1500 budget may be not be enough to get the job done. The cost of a good LOMC phono cartridge may be the factor that pushes him over his budget.Scotty
