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Under $500 for new Turntable. Any good options ?

BushmasterM4

BushmasterM4

Well-Known Member
I currently have an older Pioneer PL-518 Im using along with my Sansui 9090db and Polk 10's. And the Pioneer has a new (maybe 20 plays) $90 Audio-Technica Cartridge installed. Not sure of the model number on the cartridge. Is there anything in the $500 range that would trash my current TT ? Should I keep the Pioneer and buy a better cartridge ? Thanks
 
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If you're on a budget the best way to upgrade your vinyl experience is to get a more expensive cartridge. With U$500 I'd explore MC cartridges (yes including the MC phono stage).
 
What he said. From what I've found in my own research and shopping, you'd have to spend more than $1000 to get a new turntable that's significantly better than your Pioneer. $500 might get you a 'table with a slightly better arm, but it probably wouldn't do as good a job of spinning the record at a steady and accurate speed. You'll get much more bang for your upgrade bucks by spending them on a new cartridge.
 
One thing you also might try is a thin felt mat on top of the rubber one on your Pioneer. I use a $20 Pro-ject mat and it smooths out the frequency response on my old Japanese tables (I have Pioneer, Technics and Toshiba). Those old tables were pretty good. New budget tables like the Rega P1 and Preoject Debut III sound different but IMO not better (I own one of each)
 
I admire your gusto to upgrade.

But- at $500, you would get, in my opinion, a lateral improvement, give or take a small margin either way.

At $500, perhaps slightly used would net you a fairly modern deck that would be an improvement- perhaps Rega P3 and Music Hall MMF 5-5.1, with some luck, or a non-abused Technics SL-1200MK2.

Or a better vintage direct drive- plenty of them in the $150-$350 range.

Or a semi-vintage Ariston, Systemdek, Sonographe, or vintage Thorens.

You could get a fantastic cart within the $175-$350 range as well.

A quality new cart and an upgraded vintage or used table would easily fall within your healthy budget.
 
Just to emphasize what thedelihaus expressed: NEW you won't get a lot for 5 bills, but USED you could do reasonably well. The prime contenders being what he listed. The main issue being that you'd have to do a bit of scouting until something comes up. In the meantime researching the various brands he listed to help you decide what your preference might be.

As to where to shop... First druthers would be to mention that if you become a subscriber you'll have access to Bartertown. Local CL listings would be next since there's no shipping to contend with and you might presumably get to audition a deck first. Audiogon quite often has well cared for decks on offer from fellow audiophiles. Lastly would be ebay where real care needs be taken with the seller to ensure your purchase arrives safely.
 
I'd get some spare headshells and try some cartridges on your Pioneer. If you like one sound over another, you then know which way you are going. Say you get a Grado (pick a color) and you like that sound. Then that will tell us and you which way you should go with your table. Not all tables work well with all cartridges. But, your Pioneer will do well enough that you can get a good feel for what cartridges and upgraded styli can do. Once that info is in hand, you start looking for that candidate table :)
 
Thanks. I'll start researching cartridges more. The Pioneer PL-518 was a garage sale find ($5) and I'll double check the existing cartridge today and post what it is. While it sounds good now, Im always striving to do better. On a lighter note I got a Seeburg Jukebox which is about to be loaded up and fired up. Received a new stylus and lights for it yesterday and Im gonna finish to cleanup/maintenance on it today.
 
4dryhme said:
Just to emphasize what thedelihaus expressed: NEW you won't get a lot for 5 bills, but USED you could do reasonably well. The prime contenders being what he listed. The main issue being that you'd have to do a bit of scouting until something comes up. In the meantime researching the various brands he listed to help you decide what your preference might be.

As to where to shop... First druthers would be to mention that if you become a subscriber you'll have access to Bartertown. Local CL listings would be next since there's no shipping to contend with and you might presumably get to audition a deck first. Audiogon quite often has well cared for decks on offer from fellow audiophiles. Lastly would be ebay where real care needs be taken with the seller to ensure your purchase arrives safely.
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I too will be seeking a phono set up soon. I have big fears of buying used and getting a bum TT. Have no idea what to look for feature or spec wise. Am also curious if a phono stage is need if intending to connect to a headphone amp? If I did try new is there a top contender or are the <$500 choices varied? I would upgrade cartridge later after initial purchase shock wears off ;~)
 
I originally set out to get in to vinyl again by purchasing a turntable under the $500 limit.I did alot of research and auditioned some different contenders. I settled on going with Rega. I did alot of research on the P1 but the more I researched and thought about what I wanted to get out of my turntable the more it was telling me to move up in quality. I researched and considered between the P2 and P3-24. I seemed to be coming to the conclusion that for what I wanted to benefit out of having a turntable that I needed to at least have a P3-24. Of course I also went with the TTPSU that significantly added to the price and I'm also currently waiting for delivery of a groovetracer reference subplatter. Tomorrow I'm going to buy a Graham Slee 2Se. Now I think I'm finally done and I can concentrate on buying vinyl. Even though through all this last couple of months I've managed to buy about 60 albums.
 
guitarman50 said:
I originally set out to get in to vinyl again by purchasing a turntable under the $500 limit.(...)

I needed to at least have a P3-24. Of course I also went with the TTPSU that significantly added to the price and I'm also currently waiting for delivery of a groovetracer reference subplatter. Tomorrow I'm going to buy a Graham Slee 2Se.
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So, it looks like you spent about $2k for you your "under $500 limit"?

:scratch2:

this hobby'll do that to you.
 
Brett a said:
So, it looks like you spent about $2k for you your "under $500 limit"?

:scratch2:

this hobby'll do that to you.
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Every hobby I've ever taken up has done this to me. Its not the hobby. Its the personality type.

I'll list my hobbies either past or present

Music (guitar player)
Photography
Golf
And now audio.

Of all these hobbies I can see audio being the cheapest as my interests are focused on vintage stuff. Not because its better just because I find it more interesting.
 
Red Horn said:
I too will be seeking a phono set up soon. I have big fears of buying used and getting a bum TT. Have no idea what to look for feature or spec wise. Am also curious if a phono stage is need if intending to connect to a headphone amp? If I did try new is there a top contender or are the <$500 choices varied? I would upgrade cartridge later after initial purchase shock wears off ;~)
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Honestly, your best bet is to do a bit of reading for background. There are a few <less than $500 tables around: The Denon was mentioned above. There's Pro-Ject, and Audio-Techinca...(Thorens has a couple entry level decks too) in a pinch it's a toss up between the first two imho that I'd recommend. And unless the headphone amp has a phono input or the table has one built in then you'll most likely need a separate phono-amp. They can be had from very cheap and up.
 
I'd go to audiogon, or the Bartertown here, and see what pops up in your budget. You have a better chance there than trolling the thrifts or CL looking for a Systemdek IIX or whatever. The better tables just don't tend to show up at random, the people that have them either keep them or sell them in more controlled environments (I've seen and bought some really nice used tables on CL though). I just got a fantastic deal on the Clearaudio/Marantz TT in our Bartertown section, that was local to me, so you never know. All of the new turntables at that price point have drawbacks. That doesn't mean they're bad turntables, but they have their compromises due to the reality of the cost to produce a turntable these days vs how many are sold. Used gets you less compromises at that price.
 
guitarman50 said:
Brett a said:
So, it looks like you spent about $2k for you your "under $500 limit"?

:scratch2:

this hobby'll do that to you.
Click to expand...


Every hobby I've ever taken up has done this to me. Its not the hobby. Its the personality type.

I'll list my hobbies either past or present

Music (guitar player)
Photography
Golf
And now audio.

Of all these hobbies I can see audio being the cheapest as my interests are focused on vintage stuff. Not because its better just because I find it more interesting.
Click to expand...

Yeh, I'm actually with you on this one. After a couple TTs that showed me what the medium can deliver, I ended up with a Well Tempered with $1,000 in electronics on either end of it. (cartridge, phono amp and cables).

Although I'm really glad i worked my way through a few other 'tables from $5 to $400 on my way here because of the experience and knowledge it left me with, I can see the wisdom of doing careful research and going for what you need/want right off the bat. And it'd be hard to find anyone who would say you made the wrong choice with that set up.

I think as far as initial outlay, Audio is my most expensive hobby; my other is bicycling, both on and off road, and although I can buy two bikes for about the price of my audio set-up, the upkeep and clothing, etc keeps demanding money. --but then, so does music...:scratch2:

Anyway, I'll stop rambling now.
 
JohnVF said:
You have a better chance there than trolling the thrifts or CL looking for a Systemdek IIX or whatever.
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I had a chance to buy a Systemdek IIX for $300. I'm not sure if that was a good deal or not. It had upgraded interconnects and an arm that was supposed to be good quality. Can't remember which arm. I decided against that as I know nothing about how to set them up and optimize them. I bought new and they did all the set up and will service them as needed. I suppose I could have bought the Systemdek IIX and had them set it up and service it but I was worried that if I needed parts I'd be sol.
 
Brett a said:
Although I'm really glad i worked my way through a few other 'tables from $5 to $400 on my way here because of the experience and knowledge it left me with, I can see the wisdom of doing careful research and going for what you need/want right off the bat. And it'd be hard to find anyone who would say you made the wrong choice with that set up.
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I think taking a measured approach like that gives you a lot more context for where you end up. It's one thing to be told that your setup is pretty good, it's something else entirely to know it is, by experience, because you've been through the upgrades yourself and owned a lot of gear before getting to your goal. You can learn a lot about how turntables work by owning one that doesn't work very well...then getting on that does. It also makes it much easier to ignore the people who inevitably tell you that you could have gotten 90% of the performance for 10% of the price.
 
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