Turntable Upgrade Advice

xsmi

Hi guys, trying to decide which way to go. Right now I have a Debut Carbon from about 4yrs ago. I'm very happy with it's performance. It's bone stock, so, I've been thinking about adding the Acrylic's-it platter, and speed box S. That upgrade will be just under $400. OR, I could do the Debut Esprit with built in speed box, and acrylic for $500 through Music Direct. I could also, trade my current table in to them to offset some of the cost of the new table. I have also been looking at the Fluance RT85, which is also around that $500 price range. Or, maybe another table all together staying less than $1000. This all started because I have to take the platter off of my Debut to change the speed. Any suggestions?

chumlie

I bought a Fluance RT85. Hard to top for the money IMO, Really enjoy it.

jdjohn

Are you set on buying brand-new? If not, what city do you live near, so we can check local Craigslist?

xsmi

Thanks Chumlie. @jdjohn, Toledo, OH.

jdjohn

Had to expand the search up into Michigan to find some good candidates.

This Yamaha YP-D8 looks good: https://annarbor.craigslist.org/ele/d/chelsea-yamaha-yp-d8-turntable/7089928235.html

Here's a Technics SL-1200 MkII: https://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/ele/d/taylor-technics-sl1200-mkii/7087977130.html Would want to make sure it wasn't abused for DJ use.

Kenwood KP-990: https://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/ele/d/west-bloomfield-kenwood-kp-990-turtable/7079187357.html

There are also interesting options from Luxman and Michell.

On Facebook Marketplace, found this Denon DP-59L: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/501753960486839/

pitdogg2

Boy if I was in the market this one sure looks nice...


This Yamaha YP-D8 looks good: https://annarbor.craigslist.org/ele/d/chelsea-yamaha-yp-d8-turntable/7089928235.html

displayname

If I was going for new under $1k I'd likely look at the Pioneer PLX 1000. Under that I'd go for the RT85. I've never been a fan of the debut line due to the length of the arm. Yes, they go a little exotic with the carbon on the arm, but high end materials won't overcome the deficiencies of an arm under 9" in my opinion.

xsmi

I'm not much into DD TT. But the Denon, really does intrigue me. I'm going to look so more at the used market and see what I can find. Thanks guys.

mhardy6647

Direct drive tts are/can be just fine.
I was a Euro-style tt snob for a long, long time (decades) -- I got over it.
Denon has made some fine, fine tts over the years.

There are certainly some Euro-style tts I'd still love to have, but I can't afford 'em (i.e., cannot justify their purchase).

DSC_8876 (4) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

dromunds

Big fan of DD especially Denons

chumlie

Driving distance.https://cleveland.craigslist.org/ele/d/chardon-denon-dp-62l-turntable/7075798308.html

tratliff

If you like Denons check this one out that I picked up a few months back. I have not spent lots of time with it. As my VPI is difficult to not fire up. But the more time I spend with the Denon and cart the better it gets. It’s a nice setup. I picked it up with all accessories including the original box, alignment tool and even the tag that hung on the headshell. It’s in awesome shape.

My goal was to add a DD to the system.

xsmi

This one is drool worthy.

tratliff wrote: »

If you like Denons check this one out that I picked up a few months back. I have not spent lots of time with it. As my VPI is difficult to not fire up. But the more time I spend with the Denon and cart the better it gets. It’s a nice setup. I picked it up with all accessories including the original box, alignment tool and even the tag that hung on the headshell. It’s in awesome shape.

My goal was to add a DD to the system.

Upstatemax

I also have the Debut Carbon, it’s a great table for the money.

I’ve added the acrylic platter and I’ve been using a record weight. Very happy with both of those additions. With the platter, better focus and lower noise floor, also helped a lot with a static issue I had. The record weight tightened up many albums, if you have a really warped album it’s not going to help. I ended up getting a great price on one made by “Turntable Labs”.

The speed box is next on my list of changes. Like you, I don’t want to remove the platter to change the speed.

Milito

Also have a Fluance RT85, very happy with it. Picture of it when I first got it checking it out to make sure there were no issues.

soundfreak1

A lot of nice TT listed here but I'd deside on cartridge first. Than get a TT that will support the cart best. The cart determines sound quality more than TT. TT will support cart not the other way around.

xsmi

This will be shipping out to me tomorrow. It's not quite what I thought it was, but it will do for a while. I think eventually, I HAVE to have a VPI Scout. When I think of turntables, that's, what I see. But at $3-5K, that's a couple of years out.

xsmi

Oops. Prime.