Does your tt punch above its weight.

[paulf-2007]

Dangerous I know, but I got to thinking about totting up how much I've spent on my turntable. Denon DP80 in a ply plinth with rosewood veneer, stands on a 25mm thick polished aluminum sub plinth with the arm pod fixed to the sub plinth. Arm is a Stax UA-70 12" arm with Shure Ultra 500 cart in a Martin Bastin body.
Oh and let's not forget the copper mat.
All in around 2 grand. So I looked on eBay at turntables and chose highest price first and worked my way down to 2k and beyond. First up SME 30 I think with a decent SME arm ( if you like those clinical arms and tt's ) £18000. To be honest I didn't see anything I would swap mine for and that's the absolute truth.
I haven't come to any conclusions yet but am interested in what others think about what they spent and if they think its been money well spent or could you have achieved the same sound quality for less.

[struth]

my td160 cost over a grand which was a lot for me. it was a project i wanted to do at time so no regrets. it was a very good deck

[Bigman80]

My only HiFi regret was not being able to get the money to buy that Grant. Ot haunts me to the point of considering doing one for the spare arm I now have.


My TT I s Toshiba SR-370 (Free) arm is Mission 774 (£275) with a ZYXBloom (£250) really really good for the price

[paulf-2007]

My only HiFi regret was not being able to get the money to buy that Grant. Ot haunts me to the point of considering doing one for the spare arm I now have.


My TT I s Toshiba SR-370 (Free) arm is Alphason HR100 MCS (£600) with a ZYXBloom (£250) really really good for the price

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalkdid you just get the arm and not tried it yet Oliver?

[Bigman80]

Yes mate, I meant to say I had a mission 774! I got distracted doh!

Alphasons on the mind!


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[struth]

My only HiFi regret was not being able to get the money to buy that Grant. Ot haunts me to the point of considering doing one for the spare arm I now have.


My TT I s Toshiba SR-370 (Free) arm is Alphason HR100 MCS (£600) with a ZYXBloom (£250) really really good for the price

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Think u landed on ur feet with the tosh

[danilo]

Sigh.. I was.. given.. an unwanted Tosh 1200 TT a couple years ago.
Fooled with it a bit. Frankly underwhelmed by it's performance. So I took it to bits :lol:
My discoveries: Platter was cheaply made (crap imo) Motor? Nothing to brag about.. and the Arm?
Geez that contraption weighs close to 2 lbs!
Yess..I still have all the bits . Albeit in a Box, simply because I have a predeliction to Hoarding ;)
But I remain unimpressed by the thing.
NO idea why some revere these TT's.
Absolutely no evidence of goodness in the design /various bits.
Clearly, we ALL have differing goalposts.

[alphaGT]

My latest 'table is my VPI Scout. I bought it used with the acrylic platter. Considering I paid some $1100 used, and bought a brand new, well never opened, Sumiko Evo III second hand for $300, I feel like it's really performing well for whet I've got invested. There are a few upgrades made for it, but I don't really feel compelled to buy any of them. And I've shopped, and it seems like it would cost me a major chunk of change to reach a level higher than where I'm at. I've seen a few others who've spent similar amounts and I am not in the least jealous. I feel like it would take twice to three times to really reach the next plateau? Or maybe I'm missing something? I can't wait to get a $2k cartridge on it!


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[petrat]

Well, mine weighs 65Kg, so the answer is probably 'no' :lol:

[paulf-2007]

Well, mine weighs 65Kg, so the answer is probably 'no' :lol:
That's great Peter, it might discourage burglars from lifting it. Mine is quite heavy but not 65kg.

[karma67]

Sigh.. I was.. given.. an unwanted Tosh 1200 TT a couple years ago.
Fooled with it a bit. Frankly underwhelmed by it's performance. So I took it to bits :lol:
My discoveries: Platter was cheaply made (crap imo) Motor? Nothing to brag about.. and the Arm?
Geez that contraption weighs close to 2 lbs!
Yess..I still have all the bits . Albeit in a Box, simply because I have a predeliction to Hoarding ;)
But I remain unimpressed by the thing.
NO idea why some revere these TT's.
Absolutely no evidence of goodness in the design /various bits.
Clearly, we ALL have differing goalposts.

your coming across as a twat again!
you should hear ians or geoff or olivers toshiba.

[Bigman80]

Sigh.. I was.. given.. an unwanted Tosh 1200 TT a couple years ago.
Fooled with it a bit. Frankly underwhelmed by it's performance. So I took it to bits [emoji38]
My discoveries: Platter was cheaply made (crap imo) Motor? Nothing to brag about.. and the Arm?
Geez that contraption weighs close to 2 lbs!
Yess..I still have all the bits . Albeit in a Box, simply because I have a predeliction to Hoarding ;)
But I remain unimpressed by the thing.
NO idea why some revere these TT's.
Absolutely no evidence of goodness in the design /various bits.
Clearly, we ALL have differing goalposts.
Its a shame you're so far away. You could have come round, had a listen, ate some humble pie and left happy 😉



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[Bigman80]

Think u landed on ur feet with the tosh
Id say so Grant.

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[blackholesun]

I haven't come to any conclusions yet but am interested in what others think about what they spent and if they think its been money well spent or could you have achieved the same sound quality for less.

I bought my Sony PS-X65 for £100 on ebay, tbh it was rather in a poor condition. Had it thoroughly serviced for around £160 (rewired, tonearm work incl. bearings and c/w fitting, automatics, optics, lid polished, etc. etc.). End result - I sold my RP6 which I had for nearly four years. I think it was money very well spend and the sound quality surpassed Rega.

Problem is I still think about buying something else, like an LP12 (never had one) or Spacedeck (really liked the sound)... :)

[cre009]

I bought my Sony PS-X65 for £100 on ebay, tbh it was rather in a poor condition. Had it thoroughly serviced for around £160 (rewired, tonearm work incl. bearings and c/w fitting, automatics, optics, lid polished, etc. etc.). End result - I sold my RP6 which I had for nearly four years. I think it was money very well spend and the sound quality surpassed Rega.

Problem is I still think about buying something else, like an LP12 (never had one) or Spacedeck (really liked the sound)... :)

I have had an LP12 since the early 90's, spent a small fortune on it and still really like it. Got a Sony PS-X600 earlier this year and am using the same cartridge as the LP12 (an AT-F7) and would struggle to distinguish between them in a listening test. At the moment I rank them in the top 3 out of my 14 decks. I could probably improve the LP12 with a Keel and Radikal but that would be an even bigger fortune.

[Bigman80]

I bought my Sony PS-X65 for £100 on ebay, tbh it was rather in a poor condition. Had it thoroughly serviced for around £160 (rewired, tonearm work incl. bearings and c/w fitting, automatics, optics, lid polished, etc. etc.). End result - I sold my RP6 which I had for nearly four years. I think it was money very well spend and the sound quality surpassed Rega.

Problem is I still think about buying something else, like an LP12 (never had one) or Spacedeck (really liked the sound)... :)
The Sony's are prestige in performance but unfortunately, one always thinks there is "better" because they aren't considered as high end TT. I had a PS-X70 and to be honest I think if I had it now, rewired the arm and put the ZYX on it, it would match the Toshy/Mission combo. It was clean, authoritative and had the best stability of any Turntable ive owned. If I hadn't had it so early in my progression path, I would have appreciated it more.

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[blackholesun]

It was clean, authoritative and had the best stability of any Turntable ive owned.

Absolutely spot on. Every cartridge I fitted on Rega and Sony, I preferred the Sony presentation. I would love to buy another turntable, just out of curiousity, but Sony does its job so well that I decided I will use the Rega funds to buy me a nice amp!

[Bigman80]

Absolutely spot on. Every cartridge I fitted on Rega and Sony, I preferred the Sony presentation. I would love to buy another turntable, just out of curiousity, but Sony does its job so well that I decided I will use the Rega funds to buy me a nice amp!
Fantastic idea. I have a few recommendations in that dept too lol

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[Idlewithnodrive]

My turntable cost me £100 and my cart £80, so how could it not punch above its weight ? :lol

[blackholesun]

Fantastic idea. I have a few recommendations in that dept too lol

Would like to hear them, but perhaps that would derail the thread! :D

[Bigman80]

I'll PM you.

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[Magna Audio]

SP-10 in heavy slate plinth, ebony armboard, Fidelity Research FR64s arm, SPU Royal N cart.
Not as heavy as 65kgs, but I think it plays very nicely for its weight :)
It could probably do with something like the Vidar phono stage to top it off though.

[CageyH]

I have no idea if mine punches above it's weight.
I like the sound of it, and that is pretty much all that counts.

[Idlewithnodrive]

Agreed.

Repped (if I could).

[Wakefield Turntables]

3 TT's. All very heavily modded and all saved from various garages and ebay sales. Each has been a journey and I have no idea what I've spent on them. They all do different things and no they are stopping in my listening room. Do they punch above their weight? Probably!!

[struth]

mine is small but fairly heavy I guess being mostly slate. i would never sell it unless i had to

[Yomanze]

I've spent around £1,000 on my setup all in, so Pioneer PL-71, Reson Reca & Vista Audio Phono 1 mk2. I would say that yes it sounds a lot better than a standard £1k turntable. It's a slippery slope though, because I think I'd need five figures to beat my existing digital setup, and listen to more digital than analogue media, so instead, I go for a 'ah that's good enough for me' with the turntable... ;)

[Haselsh1]

I am getting used to the sound of my current Interspace with Origin Live and DL103. Could I better it...? Of course I bloody could. I doubt there is a turntable out there that could not be bettered but I am currently debating a Harley Dyna Wide Glide. Much better way to spend my money ;)

[JohnMcC]

35 years ago I built a Connoisseur BD1 into a heavy ply plinth mounted rigidly to a 45cm square paving slab. I had an Acos Lustre arm (possibly the weak link) with an AT120e cartridge - which I still have and use. The arm was mounted independently from the TT but also attached to the slab. I think the TT cost me a tenner, the arm was about £40 and the cartridge then about £40. The paving slab was free from a friend, the ply was salvaged from another friend who was building a boat. That really was a combination which punched above its (not inconsiderable) weight. And you could modify it easily and cheaply in small ways - tinkering delight! Still have the Connoisseur in the garage somewhere, motor still runs but all the rubber has perished. One day I'll start tinkering with it again.

[walpurgis]

I have a couple of BD1 turmtables too and intend to get one up and running again. Great little units.

Here's my last one:

http://i64.tinypic.com/m9n0og.jpg

[JohnMcC]

Nice!

[paulf-2007]

My turntable cost me £100 and my cart £80, so how could it not punch above its weight ? :lola lenco is an excellent example of punching above its weight.

[paulf-2007]

SP-10 in heavy slate plinth, ebony armboard, Fidelity Research FR64s arm, SPU Royal N cart.
Not as heavy as 65kgs, but I think it plays very nicely for its weight :)
It could probably do with something like the Vidar phono stage to top it off though.and so it should Steve, having said that it would out perform many turntables 10 x the price.

[paulf-2007]

I have no idea if mine punches above it's weight.
I like the sound of it, and that is pretty much all that counts.best move along then , nothing for you here.:)

[walpurgis]

Years ago I had a Micro Seiki DD-24. It didn't look much but sounded extremely good. A very musical turntable.

http://i63.tinypic.com/b9ivic.jpg

[Barry]

Not sure what you mean by 'punching above it's weight'. Do you mean something that didn't cost much but has a good SQ? If so, then I offer my Thorens TD124/II turntable (£38) plus SME 3009/II arm (£25) plus Shure M55E (£20).

[petrat]

Not sure what you mean by 'punching above it's weight'. Do you mean something that didn't cost much but has a good SQ? If so, then I offer my Thorens TD124/II turntable (£38) plus SME 3009/II arm (£25) plus Shure M55E (£20).

Yes, but you bought them new in 1967, didn't you? :D

[The Black Adder]

I swapped my Michell Gyro SE for my Thorens TD124 and even though it needed some TLC it always surprises me in it's sonics especially with an SPU ( :) Petrat).

The way it reproduces the music is astounding. It's solid and not overly bass heavy. Really nice sound and the quality is bonkers in comparison to today's offerings.

So, yes... IMO it punches through the ceiling.

[walpurgis]

My Toshiba SR-370 turntable with Mission 774 arm is a seriously good combination. Cost me around £300 to put together. The sound is very tight, solid and clean, better than the 401/Ittok I had.

http://i67.tinypic.com/xkqepy.jpg

[CageyH]

best move along then , nothing for you here.:)


My point is that I have not had the opportunity to do a comparison to decks costing much more.

[tlscapital]

Sadly no ! Never had I the chance to come across the wonderful phono gear to be disposed off like others with "fairy" story told on here. If I did get my share with the records as a crate digger though, not with gear. On this other hand, my phono life had to be paid in full for with no "mentor" to guide me in the first steps.

So, I've manage through the decades of mistrials, stubbornness and determination, with time and penny savings to finally bit by bit and piece by piece upgrade, change and finally tweak for a phono set-up that PUNCHES ! but for it's weight IMO. So it still sits in the safety zone I might say.

I don't envy another one turntable anymore since it gives me un-replacable pleasure musical time and I can only look at it spinning my 45's with pride and joy. I will post pictures when it's cosmetically finish for good. It still awaits a custom made top-plate and a laquer finish on the plinth.

[Beobloke]

Does your tt punch above its weight.

Which one? ;)

[Barry]

Which one? ;)

All of them! :D

[cre009]

All of them! :D

As an owner of loads of decks some of mine don't punch above their weight - the question for me then - is it the fault of the deck or my fault (positioning, set up, choice of cartridge etc)?

[walpurgis]

I only have six at the moment. I'm not greedy.

[Barry]

I only have six at the moment. I'm not greedy.

Two more than me. ;)

[Barry]

Yes, but you bought them new in 1967, didn't you? :D

Fair enough!

OK, so how about Thorens TD124/II + SME 3012 + Shure M55E for £750? Or a third TD124/II for £350.

[Arkless Electronics]

Thorens TD150 = free, Trio KD-2055 as donor for the marble loaded plastic plinth = free, NOS Audio Technica AT1005 MkII = free, NOS Technics EPC-200MC cartridge = free. Excellent value for no money I believe...

5 TT's here but apart from the one in use the only other one capable of quickly being put into use is the Manticore Mantra with Linn LVX. The rest need plinths or arms fitting or both or in the case of the Technics SL-150 MkII I've been getting round to repairing it for 10 years or so.. one of these days!

[Barry]

Thorens TD150 = free, Trio KD-2055 as donor for the marble loaded plastic plinth = free, NOS Audio Technica AT1005 MkII = free, NOS Technics EPC-200MC cartridge = free. Excellent value for no money I believe...

You win! :)

[chris@panteg]

My 1210 with all the mods + sme 309 arm and Audio Technica OC9 MLII cost about £2150 and I would say for this money you could buy an alternative turntable that would give it a run for it's money I would expect, so I would say no my deck doesn't punch above it's weight although I don't really know for sure but I'm happy with it.

[paulf-2007]

My 1210 with all the mods + sme 309 arm and Audio Technica OC9 MLII cost about £2150 and I would say for this money you could buy an alternative turntable that would give it a run for it's money I would expect, so I would say no my deck doesn't punch above it's weight although I don't really know for sure but I'm happy with it.
Your happiness is all that matters Chris. As with my 2 grand Denon Stax combo, I could probably be content with less but I put this tt together to find out how good it would be and couldn't contemplate selling it.

[chris@panteg]

Your happiness is all that matters Chris. As with my 2 grand Denon Stax combo, I could probably be content with less but I put this tt together to find out how good it would be and couldn't contemplate selling it.

Thanks, yes that's part of the appeal for me that my deck is very much a project and especially now that the mods I have are unavailable it's fairly unique.

[Colinijohnson]

My tt thorens 166 bc with refurbed sme 3009 does not punch above its weight. Does anyone know someone who could "upgrade" the deck with mods around the south east? All is set up fine.


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[struth]

for the going price of mine I guess its better than the cost. Ive seen plenty more expensive ones that are not as good across the board. Its not the greatest deck in world by a stretch but it sounds very good and is built like a tank which is for me, its strongest point

[struth]

My tt thorens 166 bc with refurbed sme 3009 does not punch above its weight. Does anyone know someone who could "upgrade" the deck with mods around the south east? All is set up fine.


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what cart is on it Colin. Have heard they can sound thin sometimes. dont know what mods there are for it tbh

[Colinijohnson]

Nagoaka 150 - some lps sound superb- others muddy including New pink floyd ?!
I've seen someone in Chesterfield that offers significant upgrades- bit far tho


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[struth]

could be the cart... Nags can do that sometimes ime. maybe try another cart first. usually plenty secondhand ones come up here. Will tell you if its deck or not. even a cheapie at95e can sound decent. I used one for years and it was fine; maybe not as refined as it could be but very musical and not muddy. Can always be upgraded with a shibata or an HE stylus later

[Bigman80]

The AT95E is a quality cartridge. I loved mine. The Acutex 410e is better and NOS was on eBay for £40 or two for £50.

Look at this on eBay http://www.ebay.it/itm/252983101315

[struth]

The AT95E is a quality cartridge. I loved mine. The Acutex 410e is better and NOS was on eBay for £40 or two for £50.

Look at this on eBay http://www.ebay.it/itm/252983101315

had one of those too:eek:

[Bigman80]

had one of those too:eek:
I would never have got rid of mine but once I heard the ZYX I knew I wouldn't need it again.

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[Colinijohnson]

had one of those too:eek:

Mmm great:) I paid over £250 for my cartridge last year - would be p•••d if it was a mismatch


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[struth]

Might not be. That's why I said a cheap one or a loaner