Turntable upgrade for £250

uzzy

Grumpy Old Git
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Apr 16, 2006
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David
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
I agree with what Lurch said. I don't think you'll get a significant improvement with a budget of £250.
The Systemdek IIx900 and virtually any of the suspended subchassis Thorens, Ariston RD80, Heybrook TT2, STD etc. can all be had for around the £250 mark or less and will give significant improvement in fact if you compare these turntables against those costing up to 5 times as much (and more) second hand there is only a shading of difference as the law of diminishing returns kicks in.

Unfortunately you do not list what you are using in your profile and as a result we do not know how many turntables you have had through your hands in your experience.  

Having said that if a person with a dual wants to upgrade into moving coils at some time in the future,  the only real route is to change turntable. However, if their penchant is for moving magnet cartridges significant improvement can be obtained by upgrading to an Ortofon 2M black or the upper market Audio Technica Moving Magnets.

At the end  of the day it is horses for courses, if you do limited listening on vinyl then the cartridge change option may be the best route but if you really intend getting into vinyl then for the budget given the recommendations given provide the possibility of much greater listening enjoyment.

 
F

forgot-my-id

Guest
I think the STD may not sell at all. If not, make an offer, they good decks, I know nothing about the arm its got.  Equally I know nothing about the CJ55 so cant comment. Wont stop me trying :)

 

James of hifilandia

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Oct 27, 2019
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Thank you ALL for your replies... I have spent several days reading and rereading, looking about reading reviews based on your suggestions. I've almost pressed the button on an eBay listing or two.

Then I remembered, triggered by the post by @JamieMcC , that as a teenager I borrowed a thorens TD 150 from my father until I bought a second hand direct drive marantz TT (yes, i know, but i was a poor student). I contacted my father and low and behold, he still has the 150... I should be picking it up in the next couple of weeks and thanks to some very detailed resources i've found, will be renovating/restoring it.

at the time i used a ortofon vms 20e mk2 cart but have read some good things about the nagaoka mp range of carts and if I can get the table set up well, will be investing this way... I'm hopeful that this will provide a good jump in quality that I'm looking for.

Thanks again for your contributions, you've highlighted several classic decks that I wasn't aware of, interesting stuff indeed!

 

awkwardbydesign

Perfect, apparently.
Wammer
Mar 5, 2012
10,399
2,293
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HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Unless you want to spend the rest of your life* chasing the Holy Grail** of hifi, try to resist upgrading.

*48 years and counting.

** Just like the real Holy Grail, the definition of what it is and actually finding it will always be ahead of you.

 

Jules_S

Wammer Plus
Wammer Plus
Jun 7, 2019
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HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Great news on the deck - you're wise to keep some money aside for servicing and / or repairs if need be. Probably at the very least belts and bearing oil, and hopefully not much more.

I'd also back up previous recommendations of either one of the Ortofon 2M series (where you also have the option of a less expansive upgrade path from Red to Blue, Bronze to Black without chucking the whole thing) or the Goldring 1042, a capable and often underrated MM. I would imagine either one would suit the Thorens nicely without costing an arm and a leg.

Let us know how you get on, and if we can help spend any more of your money  :D (Wammers are experts at that...)

 

uzzy

Grumpy Old Git
Wammer
Apr 16, 2006
8,563
4,632
158
NN38TA Northampton
AKA
David
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
at the time i used a ortofon vms 20e mk2 cart but have read some good things about the nagaoka mp range of carts and if I can get the table set up well, will be investing this way... I'm hopeful that this will provide a good jump in quality that I'm looking for.

Thanks again for your contributions, you've highlighted several classic decks that I wasn't aware of, interesting stuff indeed!
Personal view is I preferred the VMS20E to the Nagaoka MP10 and 20 back in the day.  I actually moved over to a dearer Grado at that time then forayed into MCs (still have my FR1 MK2 which was the last one I bought) and then discovered Decca and that was it.

Personal view would be to get a listen to the Ortofons and Audio Technicas now, if you are looking for a MM cartridge.

Well done on the TD150 - great turntable even better if you mount it in a more substantial plinth.  

Keep us posted of developments.

 

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