My quest for my first deck

[Epicurus]

Dave, why are you banging your head on the wall? I live in an area where support for anything outside Technics, Dual, Thorens (up to the TD-320 and its siblings) and the occasional Sondek is non-existent (at best), especially after the complete abandonment of anything vinyl-related. There are about ten record stores in this city and not a single one stocks or orders LPs. In fact, if you even mention vinyl to anyone, they'll look at you as if you've just landed from Mars or some other planet, whether it belongs to our solar system or not.

[Alex_UK]

For my part, my lol @ the wall was because you're chosing to "slate" Rega on one hand because they won't provide a warranty if you modify the deck, and on the other ignoring that any other manufacturer would do the same including Technics, but you don't care because the Technics won't need it anyway... I wonder how many Regas get returned under warranty - my 27 year old (unmodified) example looks (and works) as good as new.

... and the shims... I know Greece has got problems, but is it really beyond the system to accept a parcel sent from the UK and deliver it to your door? (Serious question - do you not have a postal service that delivers to your home?)

[Alex_UK]

...but I agree you should get the Technics anyway!

[Epicurus]

... and the shims... I know Greece has got problems, but is it really beyond the system to accept a parcel sent from the UK and deliver it to your door? (Serious question - do you not have a postal service that delivers to your home?)

Well, I do have this option, but I'd rather buy locally and support the network of people I know. And there's another issue: Let's say I have the shims sent to my place. Personally, I'm not particularly keen on installing them myself, because I have absolutely zero experience with setting up a turntable and I wouldn't like to make an expensive mistake.

Which is why I mentioned/implied my need for local technical support. If I can't get something done here, I'd rather not try it at all. I know this might sound extremely conservative, but that's how things are outside the two biggest urban centres (Athens and Thessaloniki). And believe me, I've seen so many horrors with technicians "repairing" or "modifying" equipment they never saw before that I've been traumatized for life. Like that other guy who gladly undertook the task of upgrading the innards of an AV receiver owned by a friend of mine and ended up frying the unit, or the guy who wrecked an American serviceman's Beogram 4000 and then claimed the damage happened to its "faulty North Korean parts" (now's the time for some serious headbutting the wall: ).

So, to put it in a nutshell, I need something local technicians have had considerable experience with, reliable and tweakable. Regas are completely unknown to almost everyone in this city (as are Pro-Jects), Duals and Technics are well-known to them.

You guys speak knowing that most technicians in your respective areas are at least somewhat familiar with what you use. Unfortunately, this is a luxury I don't have here: having loudspeakers, amplifiers etc demoed to me before I buy is unheard of - and don't even think of telling the salespersons to have stuff installed in your living room to see if they'll work well in there, and there is only one dedicated audio shop here, which only supports a small number of manufacturers. So, basically, people here buy without knowing what their equipment of choice will sound like and either buy something that looks cool or something that got a good review in the mags (provided they know there are mags for it); the only ones that get to try something out before they buy it are vehicle buyers and musicians - provided, of course, that what they've set their eyes on is in stock and available for a tryout.

Does it sound like the Stone Age? I think it doesn't just sound like the Stone Age - it is the Stone Age.

Like I said earlier, most of the brands mentioned in this forum are completely unknown to both the buying public in my city and the repairmen. When it comes to audio, they only know companies like Sony, Marantz, Luxman, Linn, Dual, Technics, Onkyo, Philips, Kenwood, Aiwa, TEAC, Yamaha, Pioneer and Sherwood. Anything else will have them scratching their heads wondering what you're talking about. It's really a very sticky situation.

[Alex_UK]

All understandable, thanks for the detailed explanation. I think you'll be onto a winner with the Technics anyway, the most important thing is to enjoy!

[DSJR]

Rega tonearm wiring is cr@p for ONLY one reason - it doesn't look very *posh* or *boutique* enough - people buy with their eyes quite often IMO.... In the 250 and 300 arms, the internal wires are good quality Hitachi derived and the copper in the exit leads was of excellent quality as I remember, lovely and shiny, the cable from the RB300 making a superb general purpose interconnect IMO.

A few years ago, there was only ONE individual in the UK outside of the factory, to my knowledge officially trained by Rega to service and re-wire their tonearms and that's Mike Harris of Moth Marketing, who does the "Incognito" rewiring service.

[Spectral Morn]

You could perhaps ask these guys http://www.new-aca.com/ ? Some of them could set up any turntable you might get, if any live locally to you....just a thought/suggestion. They can't all live in Athens

Seen this before but its interesting ......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs1aUws0Lrs


Regards D S D L

[Epicurus]

I've checked the Audiophile Club of Athens out a few times in the past; the good thing is that I've found a decent technician who has worked on SL1200s for thirty-odd years and knows it inside and out, so he knows what to do.

[Hypnotoad]

Welcome
Seriously, I think the Techie would be great in stock form for your needs and, once you have the measure of it, the sky (and your wallet) is the limit

Its pretty much compulsory to own a "Techie" on this board, I own two.