Redoing my stereo into my theater room. Looking at turntables in the 1500-2500 range plus mc cartridge. Been a longtime since I upgraded my table.


Fwiw I only buy lps and iTunes nowadays. I have about 2000 lps. 

Any audio nerds that have recommendations?

Pro-Jett? Rega, VPI? 

Thanks

I thought those things went away back when colored TV's were invented, no?

I don't have any recommendations for specific turntable, but I do have a suggestion regarding features.  

A few years back, I bought a Stanton turntable with SPDIF output so I could digitize some of my LPs.  I've been pretty happy with it, even though it's not a high-end unit.  I did figure out that the SPDIF was redundant.  It works fine, but I found that Ii could get good results without the digital output since I have a decent sound card.  I think that my sound card probably has better converters than they could afford to include in the turntable.  If you have in interest in that area, it's something to consider.  

Good luck.  

I'm still using my 30 year old Sony. I recently upgraded the cartridge and stylus with a top of the line Shure M97xE unit. Even after all this time, it tracks well, and the plater is still very stable. My Rotel has a fabulous phono preamp (one of my requirements when shopping for a new amp a couple of years ago, along with being pure stereo).

Hi,
 
I had a Pioneer for 30 years, and replaced the belt twice on it in that time. Never failed. Three years ago, I dumped the turntable because Pioneer no longer made the belts ... PL120 it was I think.
 
Had a Stanton Cartridge, 681EEE I think it was, and that Cartridge was bought for $300 dollars in 1980 or so, and it lasted quite a while. It outlasted the turntable, and finally gave up.
 
When I went looking for a turntable, I finally bought one from Stanton T.92, and I have to admit that it is a fabulous little thing ... and I can pull that little FM radio trick ... slow things down 2% so the albums sound heavier than they really are ... makes Black Sabbath sound better on their first album! Hehehe! Deep Purple ... sounds even heavier than their pop music!
 
Only concern is that the Turntable does not have a hard cover, which is a bummer. I liked the nice cover, so in that sense it has an edge that is rather cheap all around.
 
Cartridges ... I really thought that the 681EEE was the secret and the trick to listening to all those imports 30 years ago ... because the quality of the sound in Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze with that cartridge and ESS Heil AMT1 Speakers, was ... way out there ... and the trippiest thing ever. I just tried this with the Stanton, but I can tell that the cartridge that it came with is not half as good as the original cartridge was!!!!! I still have the speakers, and JaMac here in Portland has re-coned them twice so far ... so at least you know what kind of quality/comparison I am doing.
 
I can tell you that the "fidelity" of the sound I had with the ESS Heil Speakers, Pioneer turnatable with the Stanton Cratridge, 30 years ago, made a huge difference on my learning to trip with music ... and the main reason why "radio music" and specially "AM" did not make it ... it was crap by comparison. Today, a lot of this has changed, but there still is no "fidelity" as clean as the one on the masterful artists out there ... for whom radio is NOT their end ... the work itself is!
 
Hope this helps

@CraigB, actually LP sales have been increasing in the last few years and they are predicted to surpass CD sales. Most would rather own a digital format song and if its physical media, LPs are cooler and to some sound better than CDs. I blame the hipsters. And the music lovers.

Moshkiae


Hi,
 
I had a Pioneer for 30 years, and replaced the belt twice on it in that time. Never failed. Three years ago, I dumped the turntable because Pioneer no longer made the belts ... PL120 it was I think.
 
Had a Stanton Cartridge, 681EEE I think it was, and that Cartridge was bought for $300 dollars in 1980 or so, and it lasted quite a while. It outlasted the turntable, and finally gave up.
 
When I went looking for a turntable, I finally bought one from Stanton T.92, and I have to admit that it is a fabulous little thing ... and I can pull that little FM radio trick ... slow things down 2% so the albums sound heavier than they really are ... makes Black Sabbath sound better on their first album! Hehehe! Deep Purple ... sounds even heavier than their pop music!
 
Only concern is that the Turntable does not have a hard cover, which is a bummer. I liked the nice cover, so in that sense it has an edge that is rather cheap all around.
 
Cartridges ... I really thought that the 681EEE was the secret and the trick to listening to all those imports 30 years ago ... because the quality of the sound in Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze with that cartridge and ESS Heil AMT1 Speakers, was ... way out there ... and the trippiest thing ever. I just tried this with the Stanton, but I can tell that the cartridge that it came with is not half as good as the original cartridge was!!!!! I still have the speakers, and JaMac here in Portland has re-coned them twice so far ... so at least you know what kind of quality/comparison I am doing.
 
I can tell you that the "fidelity" of the sound I had with the ESS Heil Speakers, Pioneer turnatable with the Stanton Cratridge, 30 years ago, made a huge difference on my learning to trip with music ... and the main reason why "radio music" and specially "AM" did not make it ... it was crap by comparison. Today, a lot of this has changed, but there still is no "fidelity" as clean as the one on the masterful artists out there ... for whom radio is NOT their end ... the work itself is!
 
Hope this helps

Im with you on sound quality,  spent small fortune on vandersteen model 5s about 15 years ago.  They make all the difference in sound.  I need to upgrade them, but that will have to wait until bonus time.  Very costly but worth it

IK Obi


@CraigB, actually LP sales have been increasing in the last few years and they are predicted to surpass CD sales. Most would rather own a digital format song and if its physical media, LPs are cooler and to some sound better than CDs. I blame the hipsters. And the music lovers.

I would think the ONLY reason that LP sales are gaining on CD's is the fact that many people (including myself) can now download the CD and not have to store the thing after I've sucked it into my computer.

offnote

What brand is this?