Turntable: Thorens TD 190 or Music Hall MMF-5

Those both look like very nice machines.

The Thorens certainly looks more user friendly w/ the automatic features. I'm sure it would perform beautifully.

But, personally, I'm really drooling over that MMF-5. Dual Plinth, green glass platter, man that's one sweet rig. I've seen it before and would buy it in a heart beat if I had the funds.

Still, the Music Hall will definitely be a more hands on TT. It will probably need more tweaking and maintenance on a regular basis (compared to the Thorens). To some hardcore vinyl junkies tweaking the rig is half the fun.

You mentioned in your original post that your wife wanted a TT. If she will be playing records, as well as yourself, ease of use may be important. The Thorens probably offers that more than the Music Hall. You need to pay more attention with a manual TT. You shouldn't really put on a disc and walk away. At least not without being aware when the record is done since it won't lift the arm off the record for you.

Does your receiver/pre-amp have a phono out? If not you will need a phono pre-amp top go with your TT. But that's a whole other issue.

I don't mean to be mentioning anything her that is obvious to you. I just like vinyl. I listen to it more than cd's. My own turntable is decent but certanily not great and it will probably be a long time before I'm in a postion to upgrade it. So I'm living vicariously through you and your search for a cool new rig.

Good luck and have fun. And speaking of living vicariously, if you decide you really want to splurge check this out:

http://www.musicalsurroundings.com/clearaudio/reference.html

Or better yet, this:

http://www.elpj.com/about/index.html

I would probably go with the Music Hall. It's rated very well for an entry level TT and it comes with a clamp and a fairly good cartridge.

I just like vinyl. I listen to it more than cd's. My own turntable is decent but certanily not great and it will probably be a long time before I'm in a postion to upgrade it. So I'm living vicariously through you and your search for a cool new rig.

You're not alone, they are a few here that love vinyl as well. Myself included.