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Best intermediate turntable upgrade.


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Hello Vinyl Nuts

 I was hoping to get some suggestions for an upgrade for my turntable. I am currently using a Technics SL Q212 which i picked up from hard rubbish . I took it up to Thornbury Records and had a Orofon stylus put on. Sounds pretty good to me but I feel I could probably do better. I am using a Creek Phono Pre and have a resonably good system and am thinking that a turntable upgrade might be the next move. I listen to Country, Blues ,Folk and Jazz sort of stuff.

 Have heard that it is a good idea to purchase a new turntable as opposed to vintage or second hand but was told this by a sales person so not sure if this is right.

Thanks Jim

 

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Those aren't bad turntables considering you got it from hard rubbish its a bit of a nice find a better stylus is probably your best bet for an immediate upgrade apart from that it starts getting complicated like new wiring better phono stages it gets a bit silly after a while.

 

Which Ortofon stylus did you put on if it's entry level then a better one will improve things?

Edited by BATMAQN
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Keep an eye out for a second hand one in the classifieds most of the guys here baby their gear and a good quality second hand cartridge isn't a bad option. 

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Thanks  wen for your reply.

 I did check out the Garrott and learnt a little about the company and thier history, interesting stuff. You can still get a re tip in Melbourne as well.

My initial post was not very well composed and what I was really thinking was what would be a good replacement for the whole turntable. 

 Thanks Jim

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Hi Jim,

I think everyone got the idea of your original post, what they're trying to say is that you already have quite a good table in the Technics. To go to a better table is going to start chewing at your bank balance quite hard. Once you have that better table, without a better cart/arm, you won't necessarily get any greater sound quality. All the table has to offer is vibration free accurate speed rotation of your record. With that done (and your Technics will do that well), all the sound comes from the cart and arm. This then has to be processed by the phono stage to deliver a good source for your amp and speakers. Check out some of the threads covering arms, carts and phono stages, there's some impressive stuff attached to humble tables producing wonderful sound. Many of these setups punch well above their weight with respect to $ spent.

 

In a nutshell, you have quite a good table, and I would suggest that the Creek is more than adequate too. My thoughts would be to get a tech to fully service the table and set it up with the best cart you can reasonably afford. From this point if you still want to go better, you will have a very saleable table giving you funds to put toward that greater upgrade.

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Thanks Mike

This is good advice. I feel that the set up sounds good and the phono stage is real good. It's just that you read all this stuff about Thorens , Linn etc. My turntable prior to the technics I purchased new in the 80's from Encel, it was a yamaha and it was crap. When I plugged in the Technics I was rapt.

Thornbury records gave me a good deal on an Orofon 10 so all in all I am doing alright.  Thanks again Mike.

Jim

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i would suggest new cart. there are plenty of options and you'll get a whole tin of recommendations. the ortofon is entry item.

try find a fine line / micro line that will compliment the TT or work with your current system and area, plus sits comfortably with your idea of value

 

i like the idea of trying to pursue a really polished replica of how the TT would have sounded at its best in its day -  showcase its design characteristics 

you can get a style upgrade for the cart you have or look at what the TT come with originally and work to that - maybe a AT 440 ?? 

 

this is were the fun really begins !!

Edited by wasabijim
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@jimbobbity The main part of a turntables work is to isolate the tonearm and cartridge from energy sources that raise the noisefloor and not allow the cartridge to transduce properly from mechanical energy to electrical energy. Then there is speed accuracy.If you can get all the detail tracked by the stylus properly to the preamp without any interference, then your in a good place.

Depends on your budget. Are you thinking $500-$1000 or $1000-$2000?

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 Hi Wimbo 

I was thinking in the $500- $1000 mrk for a new turntable, but will have a think about it and possibly just upgrade the cartridge as I am currently using an intro level one.  The old technics really are pretty easy to live with.

Jim

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