Turntable...decisions oh decisions.

[selby]

At some point in the next 3-6months I want to get back vinyl...my last turntable was a Luxman PD264.

I've been looking at Pioneer PL71s, Sony 6750 and Technics SL1210 all of which seem to sell for between £300 and £500.

I was wondering how these would compare to a Project Debut Carbon or a Rega RP3, not just in terms of sound but in terms of ease of use, maintenance etc. I don't want playing vinyl to become a chore but for it to be a pleasure...

Thoughts?

[Audio Al]

The Technics SL1210 is BOMB proof

Very reliable

No belts

No idler wheels

Sounds very decent in standard form, and can be upgraded if you feel the need

However ALL TT's need to be set up correctly , Cartridge fitting / VTA ( vertical tracking angle )

And you need to be careful with all TT's as heavy handed use costs

Cheers

[Soulman]

The RP3 really needs the TT PSU upgrade if you intend listening to 33's and 45's (IMHO) but seems pretty simple and bulletproof. All of the other decks are easier to use out of the box and will have a different sound to the Rega.

None will become a chore.

[YNWaN]

Yeah, in terms of ease of use there's nothing to pick between them - they are all easy to use.

The Rega does need you to move the drive belt if you want to play 45's (if you don't have the external power supply option), but that is quick and easy to do (though not as quick and easy as pressing a button).

[Andrew B]

I love Regas, so no point saying the same stuff over again. If they interest you, then have a look at the slight cosmetic seconds being sold by Lintone Audio on EBay. You can have RP3s in some lovely finishes brand new boxed for £349 and free postage. A total no brainier IMO.

Good dealer too, again IMO

[selby]

Think I'm going to opt for a SL1210...I've used one a few times and they do seem bomb proof.

Need to find a nice clean example now! What cartridges do people recommend and what are the simple upgrades/improvements that can be made?

[Clive197]

Try for the SL1210M5G as that is considered to be the best model, but it's a bit more pricey. There are loads of Mk2's about but you need to be a bit more careful as a lot did not have any tender loving care.
Cartridge recommendations are a little harder, as you will need to decide on MM or MC first. The arm is not that bad, especially if you change the headshell. Basic upgrades are mat and feet after that you can spend many hundreds of pounds and fettle the deck to your hearts content. Good Luck.

[DSJR]

Of course, being me, I *should* be shouting Rega from the rooftops and pushing HiFi Dave as the seller, since he loves dealing with AOS members, but I have to say the techie does have very many friends around these parts and offers great pitch stability as well as silent backgrounds in bass frequencies if it's properly isolated, something the *cheaper* pro-jects may have difficulty with, even after all the drive revisions to the basic models in fairly recent times. Loads of parts are available for the techie still and the mk5 tonearm did apparently offer tonearm refinements over earlier versions. This is of course, long before we start on the upgrade journey which is so well documented here.

As for the other 1970's DD decks, few if any spares are available now and condition must be paramount, although as said above, prices are getting silly on the better known and better performing ones...

Rega? well, important spares can still be got for the original Planet model from forty years ago I believe and tonearm apart, the Planar models all use(d) bits available now, pretty well, so bearings, platters and motors should be easily replaceable if necessary. I believe someone found the (video machine derived?) replacement toothed bias belt for the R200 arm as well, although they wanted a good price for them - maybe AO's Johnnie has more info here.

ALL these decks need careful siting, older Rega's especially if bass quality and feedback of any sort is to be avoided. Good luck and if the final choice is either Techie or Rega, both brands are well served with setting up and tweaking experts here

Hope I've been fair to both main brands above..

[shane]

This looks quite tasty:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TECHNICS-S...item3cd351368f

[Clive197]

This looks quite tasty:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TECHNICS-S...item3cd351368f

IMHO I'd say avoid, looks like it has had very heavy use. Arm base looks very manky, same by stop/start.