Turntables

[SimonH]

Back in the 80's when the Linn Sondek was out it was £69.95 plus arm and arm board. Fitted a lot of SME3009 arms with a Shure V15 cartridge to them.
It was known in the trade as the 'Grim Condek'

I'm pretty sure a LP12 in the 80's was way more than £69.95! My Rega Planar 3 from 1985 (which I still own ) was £250!

I owned a late 70's LP12 with a SME3009 for a bit, but concluded my Thorens TD125 with TP16 tonearm sounded better, but some people say that the TP16 was actually a nicer sounding arm than the SME . The SME was of course heavily promoted by the UK press and a thing of great beauty in my opinion.

Still have the Thorens and the Rega but need to sell one, the Rega was bought for me by father so will probably keep that even though the Thorens sounds much better.

[Grandiloquence]

Been looking for a reasonably priced deck myself recently. Somehow I have ended up with about 60 records and nothing to play them on! Popped in to Richer Sounds earlier today but the ones they had in stock were a bit underwhelming. I don't want Bluetooth or USB, I just want to plug it into my old Marantz amp and listen to some records!

[Kingstepper]

I'm pretty sure a LP12 in the 80's was way more than £69.95! My Rega Planar 3 from 1985 (which I still own ) was £250!

I owned a late 70's LP12 with a SME3009 for a bit, but concluded my Thorens TD125 with TP16 tonearm sounded better, but some people say that the TP16 was actually a nicer sounding arm than the SME . The SME was of course heavily promoted by the UK press and a thing of great beauty in my opinion.

Still have the Thorens and the Rega but need to sell one, the Rega was bought for me by father so will probably keep that even though the Thorens sounds much better.

Original price £59 in 1973, https://www.psaudio.com/blogs/copper...table-part-one.

[SimonH]

Original price £59 in 1973, https://www.psaudio.com/blogs/copper...table-part-one.

Yes no doubt but I'm fairly sure 1973 isn't in the '80s!

[RossC]

I have a Fluance RT85, and can be had for £4XX from Amazon, usually.

As standard it has an acrylic platter, Ortofon 2M Blue and it reviews very well. Outstanding value IMO.

[blackal]

Yes no doubt but I'm fairly sure 1973 isn't in the '80s!

Trying to remember what year I bought the LP12 - probably around 1982 and if memory serves it was £386 bare, and £426 with the Basik arm and cartridge.

I auditioned it against the Dunlop Systemdek, and while I admit - the dealer may have skewed the test towards Linn - it was and is, a fine turntable.

Bought Meridian 101/103/psu amplification at the time too. Still got it all. Tempted to use the Meridian amps with the TV.

[xxnick1975]

Trying to remember what year I bought the LP12 - probably around 1982 and if memory serves it was £386 bare, and £426 with the Basik arm and cartridge.

I auditioned it against the Dunlop Systemdek, and while I admit - the dealer may have skewed the test towards Linn - it was and is, a fine turntable.

Bought Meridian 101/103/psu amplification at the time too. Still got it all. Tempted to use the Meridian amps with the TV.

Bit of bargain really considering the time it's lasted and that they are about £20k now!

Sent from my M2101K6G using Tapatalk

[in_denial]

That price sounds about right; I bought my Pink Triangle PT1 in 1985 for £450 (£50 extra for rosewood) so the Sondek must have been £400 or so armless. Big pluses for me were that the it sounded better (to me) than the Sondek, and you could adjust the suspension yourself; no taking it back to the dealer for tuning. If you can find a PT1 now they are very reliable; mine is still going strong, and simple to service if you are happy to do it yourself.

Outside of that, for your price range I would suggest a new or used Rega; there is a thriving ecosystem around them, so it is easy to find new belts, people to repair them, and plenty of upgrades if they take your fancy.

-- Tim

[mondie]

What is your budget for a replacement? Here's a couple at different price levels:

A classic but lacks an arm. You may be over old decks after your Axis.

https://www.hifiwigwam.com/threads/n...ntable.119638/

A modern Kuzma at a great price, and for less than a Seamaster.

https://www.hifiwigwam.com/threads/k...al-psu.121300/

There are loads on eBay at all levels, I can't claim direct experience with most of them but am happy to help where I can.

[ktmog6uk]

Anyone got a Systemdek? Someone local to
Me has one for sale and also buys old Linns, I’m tempted to px but not familiar with the brand…
I’m
Looking at a Systemdek IIX 900 turntable New Rega 220 tonearm, Audio Technica VM95E cart