A.Wayne

The Sota with the right pump will walk and talk over a lot of tables ..... IMO!!!

cobalt

Not disputing that, it is a fine table and owned one for many years. What is the right pump I don't know but mine was a constant PITA. My Darkstar used would be a little more $$ assuming you can find one and send the sota back to school.

A.Wayne

Yeah , We had to mod the pump and it was relocated 60 ft away from the table, agree about PITA to setup .. But ! same as an LP12 when right they are fantastic tables.

cobalt

60 feet huh. I guess I should have tried that. LOL

DrJay

Stock, and modified as mine is, the table is night and day.

kinglenario

i would find a nice used Thorens on ebay and get a nice cartridge like a Denon 103 and call it a day. a used techniques SP10 is a great option that pops up on ebay all the time as well. it's a transcription table so usually you have to get a 12" tone arm. the combination of the table and the cartridge you are talking about $400 or so. make sure you calibrate the weight properly with a digital scale. direct drive is cool for DJ's because they're reliable but they can be a bit noisy compared to a nice gentle decoupled belt.

when and if you want to take it to the next level get a schick tonearm and you can still use the Denon 103. here's a link. the neumann lathe pictures 3/4 of the way down the page is our setup at work.


http://www.thomas-schick.com/arm06.htm

cobalt

I would argue that Thorens is not necessarily the best approach. Some of their tables were exceptional but they made a lot of duds too. My first table was a new TD145 it was noisy and the arm was nothing special. Tracking was far from accurate, eventually changed out the arm to a grace CF and a sorbothane (sp) mat which helped a lot but for what is on the used market and the cost of some of these arms I would look into a jelco 250 arm to start for a few hundred. Not a bad arm that can handle just about any cartridge out there. Jelco also manufactures SME arms so their reputation is good. Simple but accurate.

The TD 125 and 126 where much better tables and seem to sell for only a few hundred more.

A.Wayne

The best sounding vintage table for the money are the AR's ...

LT Texan

Jeez, slap a new cartridge on it. Align the cartridge and arm, get the tracking force right and have at it.

I'd consider getting a decent phonostage now and plugging that into the AUX input of your receiver (receiver's phonostages are crap).

If you like it, have fun.

Then upgrade later.

bigmac

Eric, of you have a bad case of Tinnitus, Check out the "arches brand" meds, they will help,also Zinc and Vit B. Cheers, Mac

mcholdfast

+1 to the previous Well Tempered recommendation. I have a Well Tempered Classic that I bought used on Audiogon. I've had many different turntables over the years, always upgrading to the next best thing I could afford. Once I got the Well Tempered table about 5 years ago, I stopped looking for anything else. I'm sure there's better but I'm happy.

I've also been impressed by a few vintage Luxman tables that I've had over the years. I preferred them to the Denons I've owned including the DP 60L although none of them had the stunning looks of the Denon. Luxman tables are easy to find on Agon and eBay nowadays but the prices on the better ones have gone up quite a bit since I was buying them. I always thought they were a bargain and I guess I'm not the only one.

speedfreek155

I would "tune up" the current table , stylus or complete cartridge if needed , set up tracking force and start to listen . I would then decide if I wanted to step up , I would not get the SL1200 as it is a DJ table , would definitely go belt drive , the belt absorbs vibrations from motor to the tone arm , some high end models have detached motors to even remove vibrations from the platter . Sorry but I digressed a bit . I personally have a VPI running through a McIntosh amp and Legacy speakers . I also have a Harman Kardon T60 belt drive with an ITO tonearm . The VPI has a Grado and the H/K has a Ortofon , both have very good sound . I strongly agree the deals are on AUDIOGON , you may also invest in a good vinyl cleaning system . FYI ... I have been in the A/V business for more than 20yrs , and an enthusiast for more than 30yrs .

phil0618

Another great recommendation is a Rega table and arm. There were a lot of them made and they are a very good value. Pro-ject is another popular low end table provider.

Most serious listeners prefer belt drive to direct drive.

Try www.audiogon.com for the used market and of course Ebay and Craigslist

I'm guessing you need a good moving magnet cartridge or a high output moving coil. Grado is a good choice, Clearaudio and others

DrJay

I would challenge anyone to come by and listen to my SL1200, with the modifications I have done, it is a tremendous table. I directly compared it to a VPI Classic, and found my SL1200 a better sounding table.

speedfreek155

I can honestly say all the mods I ever did to a 1200 were for my Pro Sound customers , I always gave them modular interconnects and of course they all wanted Stanton 680EL cartridges . The table is built like a tank , so with the right arm , cartridge and tweaks I could see it becoming a formidable piece of gear .