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These are true words, you just need to choose and match wisely. I have heard very expensive systems that sound like crap because people have not done their homework.
Our past moderator, John The Chair Guy, sang praises of the inexpensive JVC QL-F6 (with minor mods) as a $150 table and arm that hung with the big boys... and it does. Add a used $3-400 cartridge,a Herbies mat, a Vista preamp, and you've got a very respectable vinyl rig for well under $1K. There are lots of ways to go to find excellence in vinyl for under $2K.
Honestly, I don't know if there is one. In general, new gear just doesn't offer the bang for buck of used gear. The QL-f6 has better speed stability than the older Technics 1200 and a far superior arm. I don't know how much better the new 1200 is, but I think it's price is at the upper end of your range. But/ there soooo many older models that perform way above their price. Do your due diligence looking at the upper range of Denon, JVC/Victor, Yamaha, Technics, Kenwood, Empire and lots more. Excellent tables pop up starting at around $250. Even the highly regarded Technics SP10 MKII are available close to a thousand bucks. It's just been a couple of weeks that I saw this very nice table that sold for peanuts...https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=160616.0
I would say old tables are great. The one problem may be old TTs that have electronic speed control. Those 20 30 year old capacitors are gonna' die soon if not already dead.Getting them repaired may be a challenge.The other problem with old TTs is the demand is higher than the supply recently, so the prices are kind of high.
I personally would go without for a bit longer so I can save a bit more money to buy something new that is good. Vintage is hassle and most people don’t want to deal with it and all the uncertainties that goes with it, are you going to end up with a lemon that will cost you a fortune to get running or something that works with little effort and little outlay? You don’t know.
On the other hand...Buying a once very expensive CD player, now 'only' a thousand dollars, or two...Run AWAY!! Yeah you may get lucky, but 50/50 you will not be lucky. and soon own a doorstop you paid a thou for.
But we aren't talking about a "bit" more money. Not everyone will put the resources into vinyl that TooCool4 has in his. As far as that "lemon that will cost a fortune" I could replace a very high end Victor TT-81 TEN TIMES for the cost of the turntable shown above... and another 10X for the cost of the tonearm.
The real vintage to avoid at all costs are 'not fully working' record changers. They are complex, hard to get working once they have broken, and usually parts, particularly SPRINGS, are impossible to match if they are missing. The other really bad thing to avoid is any used TT with no counterweight. The money you saved buying it, you will spend triple (but only if very very lucky to find a replacement) for that little forgotten weight.On the other hand...Buying a once very expensive CD player, now 'only' a thousand dollars, or two...Run AWAY!! Yeah you may get lucky, but 50/50 you will not be lucky. and soon own a doorstop you paid a thou for.
...Not knocking digital or vinyl fans at all, I have about $5k invested total in two digital systems, what would I expect to spend for a TT setup of reasonable or better sound?
But, is it really that bad of a purchase? You buy a previously crazy expensive transport for cheap and get some use out of it. It shouldn't break because it is high end, right? I got handed a cheap Sony DVD player and it still plays. Thinking about grabbing someone's Marantz Blu-Ray and it shouldn't crap out that quick either.If I could have grabbed that Victor, I know someone who could have fixed it for me. But, any modern transport should be at least some what reliable.
I have two digital set-ups, one a Marantz Blu-Ray. The sound is not bad at all.
What I was questioning was the comment of buying used expensive transports and them breaking quickly and related it to cheap ones. Not the sound of any of them.
Many vinyl fans here who state that one does not have to spend that much money for good sound, using examples of vintage TTs. I wonder how much each person has spent on their personal vinyl rig. I mean what is the cost of your daily TT, tonearm, cartridge and phono amp. I will excuse the ones with playback systems over $50k.Not knocking digital or vinyl fans at all, I have about $5k invested total in two digital systems, what would I expect to spend for a TT setup of reasonable or better sound?
