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So Circus, what exactly are you looking for in a table? Are you hellbent on vintage? If so, just remember that, like a 30-40 year old car, a machine that old will almost always need servicing. So, I'd keep that in mind and keep an eye out for a good technician or repair shop.If you're looking for a brand new, fresh out of the box table, then yeah, the suggestions here are pretty spot on. I suggested the 1200 because its built like a tank, sounds pretty damn good for the price, parts and service are pretty easy to come by and they look great. So, its possible it could be the only turntable you'll ever need. Here's a pic of a gold 1200.

jurgis rudkus wrote:enframed wrote:as far as i last heard from someone who knows, music hall and pro-ject are essentially the same tables made in the same factory in czechoslovakia. music hall is marketed far better than pro-ject. that's the main difference between them.There's still a Czechoslovakia? Weird.excuse me, czech republic.

the$inmusicisallmine wrote:Also, I know may here love grado cartridges -and for the money they are nice and smooth sounding, but when that thing wears out, get a nicer MM cartridge, and that whole set up will really sing.Do it, do it.i'd suggest a high output moving coil.

as far as i last heard from someone who knows, music hall and pro-ject are essentially the same tables made in the same factory in czechoslovakia. music hall is marketed far better than pro-ject. that's the main difference between them.

SergioGeorgini wrote:etch wrote:This guy is a really good seller. Very honest and packs his tt's so that they're bulletproof.I've recommended a few people to him and he has always delivered. With his TT's you get vintage tables that have been restored which is critical unless you know how to do it yourself. The build quality is far superior on these older tables than the under $500 tables that are offered in today's market.The guys name is Dave, I don't know him personally or have any relationship with him but I've referred a couple of people and it always goes well.Thanks a lot! I was going to say in this thread that it's worth just restoring a vintage record player and keeping it for the rest of your life. The modern expensive record players will just make it sound like a CD anyways.No problem, before I got preoccupied with learning to record, I spent a lot of time building amps and messing around with TT's and stuff for my hi fi set-up.If you have the wood-skills and the inclination you can buy one of these and turn it into this.I have one and it's a monster: around 100 lbs. Sounds amazing as well and the arm choices are endless; you can also put two arms on it if you want a mono/stereo set-up.

circusking wrote:Do you have to manually move the belt under the platter to switch speeds between 33 1/3 to 45 rpm on these?Any decent turntable designed for high quality home listening will require this. If you go with a Technics for the convenience, you will sacrifice sound quality and upgradeability. Whether you care is obviously up to you.Doesn't anyone still make a rebadged Rega Planar 2 that comes with an RB250 tonearm? NAD used to do this and it was less than $500. If you're buying new, that's what I'd look for, not least because you can take the arm with you when you upgrade later. I'd stretch for the Planar 2 at $550 over any of the music hall or pro-ject low end with the hinky threaded counterweight. Of course, I'd also buy used (Rega, Systemdek, the better Pro-jects) to get more for my money.

jurgis rudkus wrote:enframed wrote:as far as i last heard from someone who knows, music hall and pro-ject are essentially the same tables made in the same factory in czechoslovakia. music hall is marketed far better than pro-ject. that's the main difference between them.There's still a Czechoslovakia? Weird.Anyway, to belatedly answer Circusking from last night:I own a Planar 1 (that's what they called it back then) and 15 years later it's still great. I suppose I could go for something nicer now but with a nice cartridge the P1 still satisfies me.Can't see dropping $1-2K just to have a shiny new contraption in my house. I'd probably be better served spending that $$ on amp/speaker upgrades... the Rega is plenty good to reside in a nicer overall system.After perusing the web, I am going to suggest you skip the P1 and go P2. Back when I bought my Planar1, it was $500 (new, here in Chicago) and had the glass platter and same tonearm as the Planar2. I just read that the new P1 has an MDF platter and cheaper tonearm.So, the new entry-level Rega is significantly inferior to the old one. And at only $550, it seems the P2 is the current equivalent of the old Planar1.I use a Micro Benz Gold cartridge. It's affordable and has performed well. I am sure I paid less than $200 for it (new, in California) but for some reason I only see it offered at $375 or so now. Perhaps I'm not looking in the right places.Last thing: since I bought my nice, reserved, all-black Planar1, Rega seems to have gone all gaybo on the graphics and colors... WTF? I mean a lavender P3? Suitable only for playback of Lilith Faire artists, I presume.

enframed wrote:as far as i last heard from someone who knows, music hall and pro-ject are essentially the same tables made in the same factory in czechoslovakia. music hall is marketed far better than pro-ject. that's the main difference between them.There's still a Czechoslovakia? Weird.Anyway, to belatedly answer Circusking from last night:I own a Planar 1 (that's what they called it back then) and 15 years later it's still great. I suppose I could go for something nicer now but with a nice cartridge the P1 still satisfies me.Can't see dropping $1-2K just to have a shiny new contraption in my house. I'd probably be better served spending that $$ on amp/speaker upgrades... the Rega is plenty good to reside in a nicer overall system.

eephour wrote:So Circus, what exactly are you looking for in a table? Are you hellbent on vintage? If so, just remember that, like a 30-40 year old car, a machine that old will almost always need servicing. So, I'd keep that in mind and keep an eye out for a good technician or repair shop.If you're looking for a brand new, fresh out of the box table, then yeah, the suggestions here are pretty spot on. I suggested the 1200 because its built like a tank, sounds pretty damn good for the price, parts and service are pretty easy to come by and they look great. So, its possible it could be the only turntable you'll ever need. Here's a pic of a gold 1200.Jesus, that nasty thing looks like a washed-up rapper's grill.

SergioGeorgini wrote:The modern expensive record players will just make it sound like a CD anyways.that's some bullshit right there. I got nothing against old ARs, Thorens, etc. But many modern belt drive tables, even the cheaper ones like the regas, musichalls, lower end VPIs, are at least as good, if not better than those old things, and they don't need so much expensive tweaking to sound good out of the box. Modern state-of-the-art tables, arms and cartridges are simply breathtaking. And breathtakingly expensive. And not one of them will sound anything like a CD player.