If you're willing to pay 2k+ for TT than you don't need the entry level forum any longer. I don't mean to sound offensive but you probably got the "know how" to give that sort of advice yourself. From this point on you're just going to get advice on what you can buy for your money. You're going to get people "baby talking" you into spending a lot of money. But its your money. Sounds like your current TT is fine.

For 2K you are just going to get something different to your Rega

You really need to find a good dealer and trust them.

Buying from recommendations in the forum is a not a good idea, the forum can help in a lot of ways but it is not a substitute for listening to equipment. I guarantee that you can spend 20 k on a TT and not improve on what you have, you could also spend $500 on a perfectly matched cartridge or arm upgrade and be happy, thats what a good dealer will do for you

Alan

jhendrix,

My 2

A+ advice. Good work.

Its interesting.

Struts makes good points and I am fully in agreement with him, except the items he recommends I would avoid. Now I dont mean this as any form of attack at Struts, i am saying that the items he mentions are all well respected great sounding items but i personally do not like the Nottingham sound and I did not like a Dynavector that I owned at all. My point is just to stress that you have to listen to whatever you choose before purchase.

There has been an interesting shift in the dynamics of hifi, it used to be in the 80's that you assigned a large portion of your budget to the TT with the advent of digital this has changed around so that a much larger portion is now allocated to speakers.

Alan

Interesting. Of course, I've got a rebuilt Realistic LAB-440. Probably originally manufactured by Hitachi and built like a brick house. The old turntables are still good ones.

No offense taken Alan but I'm curious. If you don't like the Michell or the Nottingham what do you like in this price range??

I'm perhaps equally mystified by your disdain for Dynavector. I've spent quality time with all the models from the XX-2 on up and personally think they're stunning performers, I'd put them up against anything at their respective pricepoints. I haven't listened to the 17D3 much but it is a true classic and has a fanbase about as rabid as any you'll find out there in audioland.

We remain however in violent agreement, it's all a question of taste and all we can do is toss out some ideas, only the OP can decide what is best for him/her.

By the way, jhendrix, one thing I missed off my list:

• Just because a product is new (and therefore recently reviewed) doesn't mean it is better. Many of the top picks are designs that are thirty-or-more years old now but still fully competitive. Even if they have fallen off the radar a bit these products are still worthy of serious consideration. One of the big advantages here is that the used market for such products is bigger and there are some serious bargains to be had. This, just by way of example, should show your current rig a clean pair of heels in just about every sonic department.

And a clear recommendation I missed off my list is the Kuzma (doh!) Getting expensive now that Slovenia has joined the Euro, but such a sweet sounding deck.

Once again, good luck. Please let us know how you get on!

After looking at the reports from CES and the price of much of the new gear coming out, maybe $10K+ IS the new entry level for high end audio. After what Mikey spent on his Wilsons, the DCS stack, and plenty of other gear the line of entry level may be a moving target for sure.

For $10K I would sure be looking and auditioning the SME 10 and the better VPI tables, but I would be taking the P5 along for a direct comparison to make sure I was hearing $10K more. I would also be making sure that the $10K you are dropping should not be going on new speakers or something else in the audio chain beside the TT and cart.

Regas are great in that they allow for so many modifications..these modifications take them from good to great.

the Groovetracer add-ons are fantastic. tonearm rewire is also a good idea. the modding of the tonearm by Audio Origami--another good idea.

My thoughts on it-- buy the Groovetracer subplatter, platter,counterweight, and some better feet...with those and a better cartridge, youll have no need to "upgrade"...and youll come in way under budget, too.

www.groovetracer.com

I bought a shiny new SOTA turntable recently, and truth be told, my modified rega gives me every bit as much satisfaction, if not more..because I had a hand in the improvements.

the real joy in this hobby, for me,... is not spending multiple thousands of dollars on audiophile jewelry... my fulfillment comes from buying good equipment and making it great. any yokel with a credit card/trust fund/welfare/good job can throw money at an audio pimp... but wheres the fun in that?

Struts

Must be honest i have heard a fair bit of VPI and Nottingham but not the Michell. The Nottingham to my ears had a very detailed sweet sound but it lacks the dynamics that I look for, now maybe it is just the location and other factors but in the same room ive heard the Rega's and I really like their sound. Im also a big fan of the Clearaudio TT's. Like i say this is only an impression and i would certainly not say anyone was wrong to pick up the brands you are talking about.

I had a Rega 3 with the either the DV10 or 20 X ( cant remember !! )and it was OK but again it lacked that extra energy that i like.

My taste is more to big live sounding equipment, if i have to give up some detail to get this im OK with that, as my taste is very much towards rock and symphonic works.

I currently have the Marantz TT 15 which as we know is a Clearaudio, this suits me for now but im looking to upgrade soon as well and the items on my radar are the P9 and a better Clearaudio. Its very hard to select cartridges however as audtioning has become almost impossible you really do have to take a leap of faith.

Alan

Quote:
Regas are great in that they allow for so many modifications..these modifications take them from good to great.

the Groovetracer add-ons are fantastic. tonearm rewire is also a good idea. the modding of the tonearm by Audio Origami--another good idea.

My thoughts on it-- buy the Groovetracer subplatter, platter,counterweight, and some better feet...with those and a better cartridge, youll have no need to "upgrade"...and youll come in way under budget, too.

www.groovetracer.com

I bought a shiny new SOTA turntable recently, and truth be told, my modified rega gives me every bit as much satisfaction, if not more..because I had a hand in the improvements.

the real joy in this hobby, for me,... is not spending multiple thousands of dollars on audiophile jewelry... my fulfillment comes from buying good equipment and making it great. any yokel with a credit card/trust fund/welfare/good job can throw money at an audio pimp... but wheres the fun in that?

I have to agree since I have taken my Rega to new heights with aftermarket mods. One of the best that improved the tracking of the arm is the Michell Technoweight and of course the arm rewire is an improvement. The Deepgroove subplatter helped with the speed issue. The Funk Firm Achroplat platter created a more solid and focused sound over the glass platter and felt mat. Improving the sound of the Rega for not much money may surprise you and entertain you while you are shopping for the next ttable.

Quote:
I have to agree since I have taken my Rega to new heights with aftermarket mods. One of the best that improved the tracking of the arm is the Michell Technoweight and of course the arm rewire is an improvement. The Deepgroove subplatter helped with the speed issue. The Funk Firm Achroplat platter created a more solid and focused sound over the glass platter and felt mat. Improving the sound of the Rega for not much money may surprise you and entertain you while you are shopping for the next ttable.

Yup, pimping the Rega is of course another valid approach that I forgot to mention. The basic Rega recipe is very simple and as one moves up the range it doesn't really change. The execution is however successively refined with better materials, closer tolerances, and more sophistciated subsystems like tonearm and outboard power supplies. Most of the mods I have seen are simply variations on these enhancements or make them available lower down the range, however some do actually introduce novel engineering solutions. I have heard folks express surprise that the better Regas sound as good as they do, however I think the really surprising thing is how good the simplest Regas sound even when built down to extremely aggressive prices. That basic recipe is pretty darn good!

I have no idea how far above its weight a Rega can be made to punch with these sorts of mods. Of course vendors of the mods (and their customers) will probably tell you they leave $10k tables in the dust and vendors of $10K tables (and their customers) will doubtless tell you the opposite. One thing to bear in mind with this approach is that rather like with extra equipment on cars, one rarely gets any of this investment back at resale time. This may or may not be important to you. One way to think about this is 'Do I want to live in the cheapest house in an upscale neighborhood or the nicest house in a cheaper part of town?' There's no 'right' answer here of course, it really is horses for courses but IME very few people answer 'I don't really care'.

In my opinion all the advice you've received here is pretty sound, but at the same time I am wondering if we have helped or hindered. Maybe you were looking to narrow the field rather than broaden it? Maybe we've just made the whole thing seem completely intractable? However, on one point I think we're all in violent agreement. Start auditioning and your biases and preferences will hopefully start snapping into focus pretty quickly. And take your time. Many of us find the journey just as much fun as reaching the destination!

Good luck.

Maybe a good time to think German.

I got to spend some time recently with the Feikert Woodpecker and it sounded great!

The Artemis Labs Schroder SA-1 is also very good. It has great "PRaT!" I've been able to listen to this baby, as well, and could happily live with it. Great engineering and thought put into this table.

Two great suggestions Buddha, I particularly like some of the engineering aspects of the Artemis as well as loving its aesthetics. Another one I would put on the list is the Well Tempered Amadeus.

The problem, unless the OP lives near a major city with two or three really sizable dealers, would be tracking these decks down for audition. Nottingham missed getting my business a couple of years ago because of the difficulty I had arranging an audition. It's a shame, but at the end of the day it is not suprising that so many folks end up buying online.

Of course others think up particularly creative ways of solving that problem, eh Buddha?

Quote:
Two great suggestions Buddha, I particularly like some of the engineering aspects of the Artemis as well as loving its aesthetics. Another one I would put on the list is the Well Tempered Amadeus.

The problem, unless the OP lives near a major city with two or three really sizable dealers, would be tracking these decks down for audition. Nottingham missed getting my business a couple of years ago because of the difficulty I had arranging an audition. It's a shame, but at the end of the day it is not suprising that so many folks end up buying online.

Of course others think up particularly creative ways of solving that problem, eh Buddha?

Particularly creative!

And aesthetically pleasing, as well!

Quote:
Particularly creative!

And aesthetically pleasing, as well!

Struts

I can feel a whole thread coming on about the acoustical properties of a callaway ball against a Titeliest against a Nike, personally i find the midrange clarity and bass extension of the original wound feathery to be pleasing

Alan