Well, I've been kicking this around for several months, knowing that I'd be getting a little performance bonus $$$ from work. I've been living with 30 year old vinyl playback devices, and generally pleased with the performance. My latest two tables are a Thorens TD-145 MKI, and a Pioneer PL-600 (silver version). However, I've been thinking that I'd like to pick up a "modern turntable" (kind of oxymornonic, eh?).
The prevailing wisdom out there is that belt drive units are the way to go. Better isolation from vibration, more "audiophile" features and benefits, etc. I must admit that, while I've always been able to get decent sound from my Thorens, with some of the analogdept.com tweaks applied, I've never been overwhelmed by the playback of the Thorens vs my PL-600. The PL-600 has always acquitted itself quite well.
Much research and discussion later, I have my eye on a Rega P3 with the RB-300 arm, and I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on one that I've found local to me. However, I can't get free of the arguments for direct drive. I have owned direct drive tables in the past, including some Technics 1200's during a 20 year period of working part time as a mobile DJ.
What ire the 1200 seems to inspire in the "audiophile" community. Not sure I completely follow the logic of all the arguments. Sure the 1200 is currently the de facto standard for DJ's, but having owned a set of these in the past, I'd hesitate to call them DJ - only tables. When set up correctly, and with the right cartridge, the 1200 can sound great. When you stop to think about what you get for the money with one of these tables, its rather amazing. The table, essentially in the same form today as when it was released 30 years ago, is a superb piece of engineering. Many of the "DJ" benefits lend themselves to improved performance in home use as well. But I suspect that if this table were being released into todays market place as a "new" item, with the associated engineering and development costs that it would take to bring it to market in today's economy, the 1200 would costs well over $1000. At its current selling price, its a relative bargain.
Finally, doing some additional research, I find that Technics has recently released a version of the 1200, the 1210M5G, with some "hi-fi enhancements, including an improved tonearm (and these have always been pretty respectable arms) and thicker, OFC copper wire from cartridge leads to interconnects.
So, today, the new turntable came home. Here it is:
http://www.panasonic.com/consumer_electronics/technics_dj/prod_features_sl1210m5g.asp
I've got this thing in the early stages of setup. I've slapped a Shure M97ex cartridge on it (for now), and let her rip tonight. And the results?
Well, with fairly basic set up, this thing easily bests the tweaked Thorens, and does have a leg up on the PL-600 as well. It seems capable of delivering, even with the modest cartridge that is playing now, a wide open soundstage, with extended highs and bass. The Shure has a "warmish" character to it, and this is also evident with the Technics.
A cartridge upgrade, maybe one of the specialty integrated cartridges that Kabusa sells, will hopefully be in the near future!
The prevailing wisdom out there is that belt drive units are the way to go. Better isolation from vibration, more "audiophile" features and benefits, etc. I must admit that, while I've always been able to get decent sound from my Thorens, with some of the analogdept.com tweaks applied, I've never been overwhelmed by the playback of the Thorens vs my PL-600. The PL-600 has always acquitted itself quite well.
Much research and discussion later, I have my eye on a Rega P3 with the RB-300 arm, and I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on one that I've found local to me. However, I can't get free of the arguments for direct drive. I have owned direct drive tables in the past, including some Technics 1200's during a 20 year period of working part time as a mobile DJ.
What ire the 1200 seems to inspire in the "audiophile" community. Not sure I completely follow the logic of all the arguments. Sure the 1200 is currently the de facto standard for DJ's, but having owned a set of these in the past, I'd hesitate to call them DJ - only tables. When set up correctly, and with the right cartridge, the 1200 can sound great. When you stop to think about what you get for the money with one of these tables, its rather amazing. The table, essentially in the same form today as when it was released 30 years ago, is a superb piece of engineering. Many of the "DJ" benefits lend themselves to improved performance in home use as well. But I suspect that if this table were being released into todays market place as a "new" item, with the associated engineering and development costs that it would take to bring it to market in today's economy, the 1200 would costs well over $1000. At its current selling price, its a relative bargain.
Finally, doing some additional research, I find that Technics has recently released a version of the 1200, the 1210M5G, with some "hi-fi enhancements, including an improved tonearm (and these have always been pretty respectable arms) and thicker, OFC copper wire from cartridge leads to interconnects.
So, today, the new turntable came home. Here it is:
http://www.panasonic.com/consumer_electronics/technics_dj/prod_features_sl1210m5g.asp
I've got this thing in the early stages of setup. I've slapped a Shure M97ex cartridge on it (for now), and let her rip tonight. And the results?
Well, with fairly basic set up, this thing easily bests the tweaked Thorens, and does have a leg up on the PL-600 as well. It seems capable of delivering, even with the modest cartridge that is playing now, a wide open soundstage, with extended highs and bass. The Shure has a "warmish" character to it, and this is also evident with the Technics.
A cartridge upgrade, maybe one of the specialty integrated cartridges that Kabusa sells, will hopefully be in the near future!
