Flasher1170
New Member
I am the happy own of a Technics SL-QD2. Do I need more/better? Some background...
A long story short, I recently picked up a vintage Dave Brubeck Time Out album at a garage sale for 1$. I was intrigued because I love Brubeck, but unfortunately I had no turntable to play it with. After a very brief interlude with a cheap portable Crosley player, I had the vinyl bug.
A quick call to my parents later, they were more than happy to give me their old vinyl collection that had been sitting in storage. It is pretty extensive, includes classic rock as well as classical, jazz, and folk. I also received their most recent turntable, a Technics SL-QD2. It's a direct drive, quartz lock, p-mount table circa early 1980s.
The stylus on the Shure Me75P was broken. I ended up replacing the cartridge with a Grado Prestige Green1. I'm running it through an NAD PP4 pre-amp, NAD C326BEE amplifier, and Klipsch Reference RCW-5 in-wall speakers.
I could spend more money on a "better" turntable. But honestly, my setup sounds great as far as I can tell. I listen to everything, classical, jazz, classic rock, some Hip Hop and modern stuff (LCD sound system, etc.)
So here is the basic question: Will I be blown away spending money on a better turntable? I like the idea of looking at a beautiful finished-wood plinth on a classic system such as a Dual 1219 or Thorens TD-160. And if I wanted to, I could spend a lot on an expensive Rega or Pro-ject or whatever...But would it actually sound SUBSTANTIALLY better so much so that I won't ever look back? Or would the difference be limited to minor differences on specific passages of music (and when the moon is full, the humidity is >52.05%, and Jupiter is ascending in the first house of Uranus, and well, whatever...)
I get that this can be an expensive hobby, and in life, sometimes you get what you pay for. Other times there are diminishing returns. I have listened to setups that cost many thousands of dollars. The problem is, I knew they cost a lot when I listened to them, so the experience and my opinion is biased.
I'm open to information and thoughts on the quality of the TT I already own. Not that much written on it that I could find. Seems like a sort of relatively cheap, mass-marketed sort of product. But at the end of the vinyl era, I would think they would have perfected a lot after 100 years of trying! And 20 years after the vintage Dual/Thorens that people covet, and that currently cost much more, I wouldn't be shocked if it had somewhat reasonably comparable attributes after 20 years of technologic improvements.
I'm happy to be talked into buying more stereo equipment... but do I really need to and will I actually notice a difference?
A long story short, I recently picked up a vintage Dave Brubeck Time Out album at a garage sale for 1$. I was intrigued because I love Brubeck, but unfortunately I had no turntable to play it with. After a very brief interlude with a cheap portable Crosley player, I had the vinyl bug.
A quick call to my parents later, they were more than happy to give me their old vinyl collection that had been sitting in storage. It is pretty extensive, includes classic rock as well as classical, jazz, and folk. I also received their most recent turntable, a Technics SL-QD2. It's a direct drive, quartz lock, p-mount table circa early 1980s.
The stylus on the Shure Me75P was broken. I ended up replacing the cartridge with a Grado Prestige Green1. I'm running it through an NAD PP4 pre-amp, NAD C326BEE amplifier, and Klipsch Reference RCW-5 in-wall speakers.
I could spend more money on a "better" turntable. But honestly, my setup sounds great as far as I can tell. I listen to everything, classical, jazz, classic rock, some Hip Hop and modern stuff (LCD sound system, etc.)
So here is the basic question: Will I be blown away spending money on a better turntable? I like the idea of looking at a beautiful finished-wood plinth on a classic system such as a Dual 1219 or Thorens TD-160. And if I wanted to, I could spend a lot on an expensive Rega or Pro-ject or whatever...But would it actually sound SUBSTANTIALLY better so much so that I won't ever look back? Or would the difference be limited to minor differences on specific passages of music (and when the moon is full, the humidity is >52.05%, and Jupiter is ascending in the first house of Uranus, and well, whatever...)
I get that this can be an expensive hobby, and in life, sometimes you get what you pay for. Other times there are diminishing returns. I have listened to setups that cost many thousands of dollars. The problem is, I knew they cost a lot when I listened to them, so the experience and my opinion is biased.
I'm open to information and thoughts on the quality of the TT I already own. Not that much written on it that I could find. Seems like a sort of relatively cheap, mass-marketed sort of product. But at the end of the vinyl era, I would think they would have perfected a lot after 100 years of trying! And 20 years after the vintage Dual/Thorens that people covet, and that currently cost much more, I wouldn't be shocked if it had somewhat reasonably comparable attributes after 20 years of technologic improvements.
I'm happy to be talked into buying more stereo equipment... but do I really need to and will I actually notice a difference?