jmd@aluxe.UUCP (Joseph M. Dakes, AT&T Bell Labs, Reading, Pa.) (02/21/85)
I am presently in the market for a new turntable. After looking at quite a few units I am considering the Phase Linear 8000A. Does anyone have any pro-con advice on such a purchase? Thanks in advance. Joseph M. Dakes AT&T Bell Laboratories Reading, PA aluxe!jmd
wwb@ihuxn.UUCP (Walt Barnes) (02/21/85)
> I am presently in the market for a new turntable. After looking at quite a > few units I am considering the Phase Linear 8000A. Does anyone have any > pro-con advice on such a purchase? Thanks in advance. > I just replaced my old turntable and looked the market up and down. I have the following suggestions, formed after hours of listening: 1) Spend as much as you can, the turntable (and cartridge) are the most important part of your system. If you don't get the information off the record, no matter how good your amp and speakers are you won't be able to recover the lost information. Under identical conditions I listened to a $2,100 system with a $1,500 linn-sondek table, a $300 amp and $300 speakers and a +$5000 system with a $400 table. The cheaper system with the better table sounded much better. (Putting the good table with the expensive components produced better sound yet.) 2) For the same bucks, you'll get better performance from a fully manual table. In the $400 price range I compared the fully manual Systemdek IIX, the semi-auto Harmon Kardon T45, and the fully auto B&O TX-2. Although the B&O was the best sounding fully auto table I found, it did not sound as good as the HK, which did not sound as good as the IIX. I listened to several other fully manual tables that all sounded about the same as the IIX, it just happened to be the one offered by my preferred dealer. 3) Stay away from direct drive tables at all costs. Although I was warned that even though direct driver units could produce comparable specs, they just don't sound as good, I still started out considering some of these units - boy, what a mistake. A $400 Denon 45F and the $450 Luxman 101 (both direct drive) sounded sad when compared with a $175 HK table. The salesman who was pushing the more expensive Denon told me not to bother to listen to the cheaper HK he had in his demo room. I said "humor me." After listening he was very uncomfortable. He could tell the difference. After a lot of listening at other dealers, I decided the difference wasn't specific to Denon and HK, but was generalizable to all the tables I listened to. Belt drive tables out performed direct drive tables even when the price difference exceeded 2 to 1. (I don't mean to say that every belt drive table is a good one, just that no direct drive table is as good as some belt drive tables that cost much less.) 4) Be sure your cartridge and table/tone arm go well together. One place advised me to spend only a few hundred for the table but to spend $350 on a moving coil cartridge. I found out later that the increased load that a MC cartridge places on the barrings of the tone arm would have destroyed the cheap tone arm in a few months. As to what I bought - my price range was around $400. I would have got the Systemdek IIX (or comparable belt drive manual) turntable. However, my wife was turned off by having to remove the platter, etc. to change from 33 to 45. She also had an aversion to fully manual operation, she once owned an improperly grounded table that shocked her every time she touched the tone arm. (B.F.Skinner couldn't have done better.) Since its her table to, we chose the fully automatic B&O TX-2. It was the best sounding automatic table I found in my price range, and compromise is an essential part of life! Walt Barnes ...!ihuxn!wwb
chenr@tilt.FUN (Ray Chen) (02/22/85)
If your price range is $330-$700, I'd recommend taking a look at the Harman-Kardon T60. Price is $400-450 and it will sound better than just about any table costing under $700. Has gotten rave reviews from Absolute Sound. It's a semi-auto (full manual with automatic lift on end of record). No frills. It just sounds good. Ray Chen princeton!tilt!chenr
waag@trwrb.UUCP (Timothy M. Waag) (03/01/85)
If you're looking for a turntable in the $330-700 range, I suggest *the* AR Turntable (list $450 inc arm, $300 without). I purchased one recently (Fedco $300 with arm) and am very happy (and it has gotten some good reviews). It is a totally manual turntable (you even have to switch the belt manually from 33 to 45 rpm!). Has excellent arm and incredible isolation from vibration and feedback (I have played it while sitting on top of my Wharfdale E-90 speakers pumping heavy bass with no audible feedback at all). I am using a Shure V-15 Type V MR cartridge (no flames, please) and it seems to be a good match.