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What is a good entry to mid-end turntables?

Yeeterkeeter

Yeeterkeeter

Kermit the Frog
I just went to the 2023 Capitol Audio Fest, and I have realized that I need to get a better turntable. The requirements are as follows

- 100-300 dollars new

- The tonearm must be removable, I want to be able to try different tonearms on it

- If the phono amp is internal, it must have the option to switch it off, since I have a phono preamp.

- An auto-stop function is a must.

Optional requirements

- If it could play 45s, that would be nice.

- I would prefer it to have an auto-start function, but if that isn't possible, I would be okay with that.

If you guys know any good turntables that fit this criteria, please share them down below.

Note: for anyone wondering, the reason this isn't in BT is that I am not looking to buy anything right now, and I would like this thread to remain open for longer than 14 days so that discussion can continue after that.
 
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You can't get all of what you want new in your price range (IMO). My advice, find something you want and keep an eye on the used market. My initial thought is to look for a used Project or Rega, but they will be 100% manual. $300 in the new market really won't buy much, asking for auto functions AND a removable tonearm at that price is pretty much impossible.

Edit - add U-turn to your new list if you can come off some of your unreasonable wish list items. Add a Q-up and you have a great table with auto-lift. Gonna cost >$300 though...
 
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mprince said:
You can't get all of what you want new in your price range (IMO). My advice, find something you want and keep an eye on the used market. My initial thought is to look for a used Project or Rega, but they will be 100% manual. $300 in the new market really won't buy much, asking for auto functions AND a removable tonearm at that price is pretty much impossible.
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Auto functions and removable tonearms are mutually exclusive in my experience, at pretty much any price level.
 
What do you have now? If it's the Sony PS-X40 in your signature, then nothing $100-300 new in today's market can beat it, not even remotely, let alone having those features you want...
 
Yeeterkeeter said:
I just went to the 2023 Capitol Audio Fest, and I have realized that I need to get a better turntable. The requirements are as follows

- 100-300 dollars new

- The tonearm must be removable, I want to be able to try different tonearms on it
Click to expand...

There isn't any, as far as i know, that covers what you want.

If you can consider a secondhand turntable, then you can get what you are looking for.
 
Yeeterkeeter said:
I will probably get something used off of eBay, since it appears new stuff is out of my price range by a long shot.
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Count your blessings, you will benefit from significantly better quality and also value. When i decided to get back into vinyl I made a huge mistake buying a brand new bd TT from a well known brand, spent (threw away) 2K! Then a relative happened to give me a Sony PS-X4 that had been stored for a long time (one step below model I linked) and I was blown away by how good it was. Perfect speed regulation, heavy mass plinth, beautiful sounding. The BD is long gone and now I'm all DD vintage. Expensive lesson.
 
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This is a great time of year to look, I've found some great bargains between now and mid-January, everyone seems to be spending on Christmas and forgetting Ebay and other sales sites.

The swapable tonearm is going to be hard to find, I've been hunting TT's for years and I think I only have one, the Sony PS-2251. Locally I've never seen a boxed tonearm for sale, either new or used.

Personally I've picked up at least four TT's for much less than your top price (for all of them) over the last 16 months including a ELAC 50H, a JVC QL-Y3F, a JVC DC-7 (this is a monster and kind of rare). Record shops, vintage stores and vintage audio stores are great places to look locally. If you keep your eye on the classifieds you might also catch something much nicer in your price range. And don't forget to ask, the ELAC was a freebie because I asked if they had more stuff.
 
Bone Yard said:
This is a great time of year to look, I've found some great bargains between now and mid-January, everyone seems to be spending on Christmas and forgetting Ebay and other sales sites.
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Got it, I will check out eBay and other used websites.
Bone Yard said:
The swapable tonearm is going to be hard to find, I've been hunting TT's for years and I think I only have one, the Sony PS-2251. Locally I've never seen a boxed tonearm for sale, either new or used.
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Got it, I will drop that requirement. I do want to be able to change the carts, for expandability reasons.
Bone Yard said:
Personally I've picked up at least four TT's for much less than your top price (for all of them) over the last 16 months including a ELAC 50H, a JVC QL-Y3F, a JVC DC-7 (this is a monster and kind of rare). Record shops, vintage stores and vintage audio stores are great places to look locally. If you keep your eye on the classifieds you might also catch something much nicer in your price range. And don't forget to ask, the ELAC was a freebie because I asked if they had more stuff.
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eBay has been one of the greatest resources for me. I have bought almost all of my equipment from there (minus my speakers which I got for free and my headphones which I bought from Amazon). It's a great place for finding cheap old equipment. I will also look around near me for antique shops, since there are quite a few where I live.
 
Yeeterkeeter said:
An auto-stop function is a must.
...

- I would prefer it to have an auto-start function, but if that isn't possible, I would be okay with that.
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Why? In my opinion you'll end up with much better quality if you eschew auto functions.
All those clunky rods and levers and god-knows-what are just a nuisance if you ask me.
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