Can someone recommend a quality vintage turntable?

pglbook

I am in the market for a nice quality vintage turntable.
My budget is in the $300-$350 range.
Can anyone recommend a quality tt?

The search is on....

Thanks.

pglbook

Sorry for posting again...but I forgot to add that I am looking for a vintage turntable for the following setup:

Yamaha CR 2020 receiver
Polk SDA 2B TL speakers

thsmith

There are a lot of choices. What are you looking for specifically?

Direct drive
Belt Drive
Auto return

Personally I would look at some of the Regas, hard to find but they are out there.

Technics is the most plentiful.

Marantz is some of the prettiest IMO

Then there is Thorens.

pglbook

Thanks, thsmith. I am familiar with some of the better "names" like Thorens and Technics and Pioneer, etc but there are so many models to choose from that it is quite confusing as each manufacture has many different models to choose from, all the way from the cheap low-end models to the very high-end stuff. And that is where I need some help.

What models would be a quality intermediate (neither cheap low-end nor too expensive high-end) vintage turntable?

For example, I liked the Thorens TD-126 MKII model a lot and just missed getting one of those locally.

What other models of Thorens (or other brands) would you recommend in my price range?

I do not know if belt drive or direct drive is preferrred. Is one better than the other?

Thanks.

Timothy Smith

I have had a Thorens TD-160 for almost 36 years.

I have found a few of the same fmodel or friends for around $200. You can too maybe if you are patient.

PolkieMan

yea be real patient, Thornes are getting pretty high. Local is better Ups likes to play kickball
I prefer direct drive (on belts).
A pioneer is a good one to look for from pl 510,514.516,518,530.560
You want a S tonearm so that a standard cartridge will work
Technics sl1900 sl2000
Lots of choices.

Timothy Smith wrote: »

I have had a Thorens TD-160 for almost 36 years.

I have found a few of the same fmodel or friends for around $200. You can too maybe if you are patient.

Irrenhaus

There is a lot of choices in that price range. I got a Philips 406 for a good price way down in your range. But the fun part is getting the thing back in shape....

Cheers

gdb

Be really different, find a Kyocera ! :biggrin:

disneyjoe7

What no Yahama??? How does this fell in other TT?

mhardy6647

Yamaha, like many of the 'big' full-line Japanese manufacturers, sourced OEM turntables from CEC as far as I know. CEC made tts for many, many brands, including, e.g., Radio Shack and Marantz. Nice if unremarkable hardware. I am referring to early/mid 1970s models with "S" shaped arms. There was a revolution of sorts in the late 1970s, to turntables with considerably flimsier if more stylish construction values (e.g., plastic "plinths") and much lighter, straight arms, better suited to the then-fashionable high-compliance cartridges (e.g., Shure V-15, AKG, and Sonus cartridges) - I don't know who made the straight-arm Yamaha TTs.

Here's an example FWIW:

disneyjoe7

Own a Yamaha YP-211 TT not sure what a new TT would be at the same level?

Other words what would replace this TT if I did it?

mhardy6647

YP-211 was entry level, semi-automatic belt drive as I recall; roughly comparable to the entry level Regas or Music Halls or Pro-Jects of today (although they, of course, are fully manual and reflect rather different design philosophy than the old Yamaha).

Functionally, something like the Marantz TT42P or Denon DP300F or Thorens TD-170 1, TD-290 2, or TD-235 may be fairer comparisons.

disneyjoe7

Great Thank You, I always like to know where I am.

evhudsons

I had a BSR McDonald turntable I inhertited from my Dad. It lasted over 30 years and you could stack several records on it so it would play consecutively. But...since I got a Technics turntable I have to say my BSR McDonald sucked for over 30 years although it worked.

Some people say that DJ turntables are not audiophile equipment, but they do sound great to me and they are plentiful enough to get somewhat cheap. I would love to get a really really nice turntable one day. I like the high end ones made in wood. I also think that my favorite I've visually seen would be DarqueKnight's turntable, simply incredible.