Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

AnthonyI said:
I hate sounding like a broken record, but at that price point I can't talk up the PLX enough, AND, if your wanting to experiment with carts, it's a much easier task to carry out.
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Hi @AnthonyI and every regular in this equipment thread,

I have been looking over TT upgrades and the PLX-1000 is what I'm honing in on. I'm at work right now, but I'll have a detailed post of questions + current rig description within 24h. I am ready to splurge on upgrades soon. Hope that I can get some pointers. Thank you!
 
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The Denmarkian Wonder said:
If i have read correctly, it looks like the M3si has DAC and phono stage built in as well as different speaker terminals. Say i were to get the M3si, would i still be able to use the MoFo StudioPhono? And it still be best for me to get the Opus3 high output cart, right?
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You can use the studiophono with either. As you already have the phono stage I’d get the 2 because of what @VMPKJ said and the fact you won’t be using the phono stage (which along with the DAC appears to be the reason for the price diff). If you still want the 3 make sure to plug the studio phono into any input other than the phono one. And yeah I think we all agree that the High Output is the best bet with that phono stage.
 
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duke86fan said:
so buy a fluance, project, or pioneer for the 500-800 range
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Given you have the u-turn it’s pioneer or bust for me. There is a jump between them and the top fluance/debut but it’s one that only makes sense for someone with a higher initial budget, it’s not worth it having already sunk $300ish into the uturn. Of course we’ve already had this conversation and I’ve already told you that’s my opinion but that’s a whole other thing.
 
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Joe Mac said:
The p3 is only marginally above the likes of the fluance rt85 or the project debut carbon esprit. And even against them it lacks speed change and lacks flexibility on cartridge choice because of the rega tonearm design. At our prices it’s a decent option at its range at your prices it’s a joke, you can buy their p6 here for minimally above that!
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If you think our prices are a joke on the P3, sit down for the P6:

$1595 without cartridge
$1995 with Exact 2

The Exact sells separately for $595. Smart shoppers buy from the UK or Asia. Or buy something else entirely. Of course, then you are into shims, and a 4 mm rise in arm height makes the arm come in contact with the dust cover.

I understand the same happens to you in regards to MoFi- where the MoFi costs roughly the same as a P8.
 
HiFi Guy said:
If you think our prices are a joke on the P3, sit down for the P6:

$1595 without cartridge
$1995 with Exact 2

The Exact sells separately for $595. Smart shoppers buy from the UK or Asia. Or buy something else entirely. Of course, the you are into shims, and a 4 mm rise in arm height makes the arm come in contact with the dust cover.

I understand the same happens to you in regards to MoFi- where the MoFi costs roughly the same as a P8.
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The studiodeck is around £1150 without a cart. With sl1200gr being roughly £1300 it’s hard not to say that’s a better bet. The ultradeck without a cart is £2k and £2,300 and £2,500 with the two carts respectively and that does put it above the p8 which can be got for £1,700 bare or £2,200 Aina, £2,350 Aina Pro and £2,600 with the Alpheta 3. With a few exceptions there definitely is better bang for buck buying euro manufacturers over here and US ones over there.
 
Joe Mac said:
The studiodeck is around £1150 without a cart. With sl1200gr being roughly £1300 it’s hard not to say that’s a better bet. The ultradeck without a cart is £2k and £2,300 and £2,500 with the two carts respectively and that does put it above the p8 which can be got for £1,700 bare or £2,200 Aina, £2,350 Aina Pro and £2,600 with the Alpheta 3. With a few exceptions there definitely is better bang for buck buying euro manufacturers over here and US ones over there.
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I definitely agree that I’d buy the Technics GR over the Studiodeck there.

I’d still likely buy the Ultradeck over the P8. The difference in pricing does change the comparisons though- here the Ultradeck competes with the P6, while there it’s the P8.
 
HiFi Guy said:
I definitely agree that I’d buy the Technics GR over the Studiodeck there.

I’d still likely buy the Ultradeck over the P8. The difference in pricing does change the comparisons though- here the Ultradeck competes with the P6, while there it’s the P8.
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Totally agree. Here I compared the UD, 1200GR, and P6. I got the UD.
But if I was working with UK pricing, I think I would have ended up with the GR.
 
@duke86fan, I did a ton of research recently and the PLX 1000 is everything you are looking for in that price range. There is nothing competitive as far as I could tell. For me a hinged dust cover was mandatory, though. I spent twice as much to get a hinged cover (although the table is better, too, no doubt). The way I see it I expect to use this near daily for decades so it had better not have any qualms for me to agonize over near daily for decades.
 
Just throwing an idea out there regarding “DJ tables”:

There is no such thing.

The Technics SL-1200 was (and is) an audiophile turntable. Club DJs adopted it because it was built like a tank- it could withstand abuse and was resistant to acoustic feedback (howling) at high volumes.

Before that (1972) DJs used top of the line Thorens (TD-124) and Garrard (301 and 401) models which are coveted by audiophiles and sell for many multiples of what they did new.

Saying a Technics or Pioneer is a “DJ table” because they are popular in that segment is like saying a race car driver going to the grocery store in a Toyota Corolla is driving a race car.
 
HiFi Guy said:
Just throwing an idea out there regarding “DJ tables”:

There is no such thing.

The Technics SL-1200 was (and is) an audiophile turntable. Club DJs adopted it because it was built like a tank- it could withstand abuse and was resistant to acoustic feedback (howling) at high volumes.

Before that (1972) DJs used top of the line Thorens (TD-124) and Garrard (301 and 401) models which are coveted by audiophiles and sell for many multiples of what they did new.

Saying a Technics or Pioneer is a “DJ table” because they are popular in that segment is like saying a race car driver going to the grocery store in a Toyota Corolla is driving a race car.
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This is quite correct. There are DJ tables, though, or there used to be, I haven’t really shopped them since the early aughts. Numark, Vestax, and Stanton come to mind. Even then the Technics towered over all because of overall build quality, reliability, familiarity, and parts availability. Technics today does actually offer a DJ tier 1200 in the MK7 which is still a pretty great table and still runs around $1K. At this price point the PLX 1000 makes a lot of sense considering the feature compromises the MK7 makes to get to $999.
 
debianlinux said:
This is quite correct. There are DJ tables, though, or there used to be, I haven’t really shopped them since the early aughts. Numark, Vestax, and Stanton come to mind. Even then the Technics towered over all because of overall build quality, reliability, familiarity, and parts availability. Technics today does actually offer a DJ tier 1200 in the MK7 which is still a pretty great table and still runs around $1K. At this price point the PLX 1000 makes a lot of sense considering the feature compromises the MK7 makes to get to $999.
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Numark, Vestax and Stanton were all cheap Technics knock offs. An exercise in styling, without the performance or build quality.

And I agree with you regarding the Mk7. I’d certainly skip that in favor of the Pioneer.
 
debianlinux said:
@duke86fan, I did a ton of research recently and the PLX 1000 is everything you are looking for in that price range. There is nothing competitive as far as I could tell. For me a hinged dust cover was mandatory, though. I spent twice as much to get a hinged cover (although the table is better, too, no doubt). The way I see it I expect to use this near daily for decades so it had better not have any qualms for me to agonize over near daily for decades.
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I guess I just am unsure because it's not praised by all the fremers and stereophiles and whathifi audiophile sites so I get nervous. Again I'm keeping my U-turn rn and upgrading to a nagaoka mp110. But my brain is always curious and it wants to conform since I like the feeling of fitting in (it might be in an emotion/dysphoria thing)
 
duke86fan said:
I guess I just am unsure because it's not praised by all the fremers and stereophiles and whathifi audiophile sites so I get nervous. Again I'm keeping my U-turn rn and upgrading to a nagaoka mp110. But my brain is always curious and it wants to conform since I like the feeling of fitting in (it might be in an emotion/dysphoria thing)
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Setting aside all the experienced audiophiles providing their opinions here, Steve Guttenberg and Herb Reichert don’t count, then?

Reichert in Stereophile:
“That's me you see, standing on my Bed-Stuy stoop, waving my hands and entreating you: "Give up your prejudices! You have nothing to lose but your dried-out ol' rubber bands!" Pioneer's new PLX-1000 is not only a worthy successor to the legendary Technics SL-1200MK2, it is a serious contender for the best audiophile-grade turntable for less than $2000. Unabashedly recommended.”
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I looked more for casual end users like myself. I know AK had several threads of people either reporting on usage or trying to decide for against the PLX and the only knocks on the PLX are the Chinese factory, the dust cover, and the as yet unproven lifespan by virtue of not having existed long enough to check that box (Oh, and the early loose arm screws which are now QC corrected and otherwise easily fixed with a screwdriver). Even people reaching to detract admit it’s unbeatable at the price point.
 
kvetcha said:
You mentioned Stereophile. Herb is one of their primary (and most colorful) reviewers.
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I mostly know stereophiles as just a list of recommended components, the only member I really know it's fremer, I don't have much turntable people besides him and the occasional attend Gutenberg YouTube video, other than that it's mostly watching zeos for digital and audiophile websites like what hifi for the rest (specifically DACs)
 
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Thanks for the article @kvetcha.. I don't read Gutenberg's CNET articles just his YouTube videos so I didn't know he gave it a recommendation. Knowing he even put a moving coil cartridge on it gives me some trust that it sounds good
 
Also, Stereophile “recommends” every component they review- it just comes down to the level of recommendation it gets.

I currently own 2 Stereophile Class A recommended components and 1 Class B. I like them. I’ve previously owned a Class C recommended component- that I hated. It wasn’t the lower level recommendation that mattered. It just didn’t sound that good.

Just because it’s Stereophile recommended doesn’t mean one will like it. On the other hand, just because a product isn’t on the list doesn’t mean it’s not worthy of consideration.
 
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