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VPI Classic, Rega p5, Pro-ject Perspex, used Linn etc Purchase advice

You may want to take a look at a Nottingham Analogue (Hyperspace, SpaceDeck, Space Ship, Interspace) turntable as well. Blows a lot of the competition out of the water. I have a heavy-platter Interspace (middling to near-bottom of the range) and love it - way better than any Rega I've ever heard (and I've heard them all).

-D
 
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I went and listened <slightly brief> to the Rega P5 P9, and Well Tempered turntables. They all sounded good, the Well Tempered was a big jump from the p5, both it and the p9 sounded nice, but the comparison was unfair because they were running different cartridges. I don't think I could justify 5k plus cartridge for the Rega, and the cosmetics of the Well Tempered turned me off, just didn't look like 3k worth of craftsmanship, the fact that it was dusty probably didn't help my perception any. Nice sounding tables though. Ended up picking up some nice records while I was at Whetstone, really nice guy. I might pick up a cartridge or phono pre from him, he had some attractive options for my other setup.
 
RickB said:
Even the Well Tempered is no longer made here but in China...bummer....which just leaves VPI....
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Isn't it just the new Amadeus that's made in China, and by a recently formed company? Stanalog stills markets the Well Tempered Reference and Record Player models and, as far as I know, these are still made in the U.S. At least that's what I was told when I bought a Well Tempered Record Player from them last year. I've found the WTRP a nice step up from my LP12/Ittok LVIII, and I've been an LP12 owner and proponent since 1985.
 
There has been some great advice here, But the 9C arm on your Pro-ject is a fine one and will support many great cartridges. I am running a Sumiko Blackbird on mine with great results. Like most things in audio, synergy is everything. Is it the table, the arm, the cartridge, or the preamp it is fed through? Me thinks it is the combination that produces the nirvana we all seek. At the level you seem to be headed towards, any reputable store should allow an audition of a properly set up table. I would hold off on the table purchase until you decide on the final speaker choice though, Then attack your Vinyl source. IMHO
Regards,
Jim
 
jrtrent said:
Isn't it just the new Amadeus that's made in China, and by a recently formed company? Stanalog stills markets the Well Tempered Reference and Record Player models and, as far as I know, these are still made in the U.S. At least that's what I was told when I bought a Well Tempered Record Player from them last year. I've found the WTRP a nice step up from my LP12/Ittok LVIII, and I've been an LP12 owner and proponent since 1985.
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I believe you're correct about the Amadeus, although my preproduction version was, not surprisingly, built in the good ol' USA.
One of these days I'll have to take the proto-Amadeus over to my friend's house and do a comparison with his Rockport table. We've done comparisons with a extensively modified Thorens (model ?) and Garrard 301 (the grease wheel model) and the Rockport was better. At approximately $80K (w/o cartidge) I guess one should't be surprised, but the difference through his system showed that the other TT's were doing awfully well by comparison. All had pretty expensive cartridges (by my standards), so my Grado Silver may not be up to it, but it is the best turntable I've owned, or may ever own, for that matter.
:banana:

Best Regards,
TerryO
 
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jrtrent said:
Isn't it just the new Amadeus that's made in China, and by a recently formed company? Stanalog stills markets the Well Tempered Reference and Record Player models and, as far as I know, these are still made in the U.S. At least that's what I was told when I bought a Well Tempered Record Player from them last year. I've found the WTRP a nice step up from my LP12/Ittok LVIII, and I've been an LP12 owner and proponent since 1985.
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It might have been...I just perused their site and saw the "Made in Beijing" on the back of one...and in this day and age I really prefer keeping money in the good old USA as much as possible...

Besides that, I'm a gearhead and really love nicely machined and finished stuff...the VPI's arm falls into that criterion, the WTRP's just looks more like some kind of decent homebrew execution...it may work superbly, it may appear nicer in real life than the pictures seem to make it, but, to me, it just does not have that well machined, precision instrument look that Harry's does...

I've owned my LP12 for over 15 years now, and was taught how to maintain and service them nearly a decade ago, and I do mine at least once a year...new grommets, new belt, tweaked and tuned...I also work on tables of all kinds for customers of the guy I work part time for, for instance, I recently restored a Michell Hydraulic and an Oracle Alexandria, have done bunches of Linns, Thorens, Heybrooks, Aristons, Regas, you name it, I work on it....and still, of all the new and used tables that I have worked on I would much rather have the Classic...it just is so neutral, and therefore tunable with cartridges and cables, and needs so little maintenance, and really, is one of the best buys for the buck with that great arm, the good drive, the impressive platter, making the Classic, of all the other tables I have had personal experience with, clearly my favorite....

But hey, if we all liked the same thing then this would be an awful boring place to hang out, right?
 
I agree with your statement ehoove. Funnily enough i'm seriously considering switching from my sonus faber domus concerto's to the sonus faber auditor m's. I've listened to them extensively and was really impressed. I also happen to have seen a pair for a really good deal. Whatever the case may be with the Pro-ject arm and table, I know that i'm not satisfied with it in it's current state with the bluepoint cartridge. I really notice a lack of low end extension when compared with the same record to my friends linn/lyra scala. My speakers even have a sub and I have less bass than his esl 63s when playing vinyl. My current setup has a very good phono stage in the c2300, it has the same stage as the c1000.
 
Stacked said:
I agree with your statement ehoove. Funnily enough i'm seriously considering switching from my sonus faber domus concerto's to the sonus faber auditor m's. I've listened to them extensively and was really impressed. I also happen to have seen a pair for a really good deal. Whatever the case may be with the Pro-ject arm and table, I know that i'm not satisfied with it in it's current state with the bluepoint cartridge. I really notice a lack of low end extension when compared with the same record to my friends linn/lyra scala. My speakers even have a sub and I have less bass than his esl 63s when playing vinyl. My current setup has a very good phono stage in the c2300, it has the same stage as the c1000.
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But do you really think that has a lot to do with the turntable? It's more likely an issue with the cartridge IMO.
 
I'm not knowledgeable enough about the intricacies of vinyl playback to have the answer, but I do feel as though my vinyl playback setup is the weak link in my system, as my digital sources have shown me what my speakers etc. are capable of. In the interim I guess I could try a better cartridge, but it would have to be one that would work well with something like the vpi. Have you tried different cartridges on yours?
 
I have never heard the VPI so can't comment on that. I have had Regas and found them OK, not much more, and preferred the Technics 1210 to them.

However, the Linn LP12 remains an extremely good turntable so I'd definitely give one a listen.
 
I have a technics 1210 that I haven't hooked up to my main system, I was going to get a new cartridge for it and use it with my office setup. Maybe I should do a shootout with the Pro-ject. I was thinking about putting an ortofon MM cartridge on the technics, red or blue 2m. What cartridge are you using?
 
If your sole issue is bass extension, give the 1210 a try. They aren't used by DJs for nothing..they can get down there. The VPI, IMHO, will do a much better job at it, and be more articulate but a 1210 with a good cartridge is nothing to laugh about.
 
Stacked said:
My sole desire isn't bass extension, but PRAT is the thing I have found most noticeably lacking.
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Then I still think you should go with the Classic. One of the biggest draws for me is the sense of momentum it gives to the sound.
 
Stacked said:
I agree with your statement ehoove. Funnily enough i'm seriously considering switching from my sonus faber domus concerto's to the sonus faber auditor m's. I've listened to them extensively and was really impressed. I also happen to have seen a pair for a really good deal. Whatever the case may be with the Pro-ject arm and table, I know that i'm not satisfied with it in it's current state with the bluepoint cartridge. I really notice a lack of low end extension when compared with the same record to my friends linn/lyra scala. My speakers even have a sub and I have less bass than his esl 63s when playing vinyl. My current setup has a very good phono stage in the c2300, it has the same stage as the c1000.
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The Sumiko's including the BluePoint#2, and the Blackbird are very VTA sensitive. If you drag the tail a bit you will see a big change in the lower bottom end. FWIW
Regards,
Jim
 
Stacked said:
If you don't mind, what were the prices of those two cartridges? What made you chose the Pro-ject 5?
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I don't mind at all. I bought the Glider used over a year ago. IIRC the guy claimed way less than 100 hours on it, and I paid about $400. I was not disappointed at all, and I've since put the Glider aside to save it for another day. The ZYX was a "now or never" situation. Long story short, the company behind ZYX dropped the sole US distributor without warning, and now sells the same cartridges through other dealers at about twice what they were originally. The Yatra was one of the last ZYX cartridges that original distributor had left, which he was selling at the original, considerably lower prices. I paid $900. The current version will now cost you closer to $2000. It's quite an amazing cartridge too.

Honestly I'm a little fuzzy about the time when I bought the RM-5. As I recall I was about to buy yet another vintage turntable, then somehow talked myself into shelling out the money for a good new table. I believe it was a combination of the price, the good reviews, the relatively small footprint, the unusual design, and of course, above all, the tonearm.
 
Stacked said:
My sole desire isn't bass extension, but PRAT is the thing I have found most noticeably lacking.
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I've found that the Classic does the PRAT thing as well as, and perhaps better than, my LP12, which is often considered to be the standard by which other TTs' PRAT capabilities are measured.
 
Santa brought our house a VPI Classic :) I'm using it temporarily with a Sumiko Bluepoint cartridge, and am very impressed with it. The speed accuracy is dead on perfect when we tested it. Now time to order a dust cover and pick out a cartridge.
 
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