DSJR
Major Contributor
I'd love to know whether a good, relatively inexpensive setup can deliver "good as it gets" sonics, and to what extent we can color it to sound like very costly, audiophile-approved setup via DSP and maybe by introducing harmonics.
Forgetting the used market, where vintage Thorens and Lenco decks are fetching a small fortune now as well as other second or third rate sh*t once available in the 70's, take a look at a current Rega Planar 2 (latest one with user adjustable bias correction/anti-skate - don't go there as to why they thought to remove this adjustment for a few years), fit an AT 95ML or better perhaps, 540, use an external stylus force gauge to fine tune around 2g and then with lid removed entirely to play, site as carefully as possible. We're lucky in the UK as prices are much lower but the performance and basic sonics of such a combination *should* offer very satisfying noises for most people. I don't know the cheap far eastern alternatives very well at all, but I think AT make a nice equivalent if the Rega is either too expensive or too tacky in some respects.
Next level up and I must try to find out how good it is as I love the original mid 70's version, but I wonder how good a Technics SL1500C (£900) with aforementioned AT or Ortofon 2M Bronze cartridge would sound? I love the Rega Planar 6/Neo, but US prices are mad frankly...
I know there are other cartridge choices but I personally find Nagaokas dirty at this price level and Grado's are so coloured and well, dull, I find them a joke if used in a multi-format system.
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