Turntable good enough?

[Harry.]

I think my Roksan Radius  and Corus Silver cost around £1250 about 5 years ago. I got it to replace an AR turntable which failed and was irreparable (unfortunately). I have approx 600 vinyl lp's which were mainly purchased in the 70's and 80's. When I play these records now through the D200 I think they sound better than through my previous amp (the MM card of which cost £1200!!) but the sound is still very disappointing - thin, lacking in bass even compared to Quobuz through Sonos. I would be interested to hear what may be considered a minimum spend for a TT to partner a D200. I really do not think the Radius is good enough. Any suggestions for alternatives would be appreciated.

[Finn]

It is not only the turntable altso the caridge WHO Will be interessant . I have Audio note turntable but With Mm pu. IQ 3. Play Wery Well. Take long time to perform. But Wien it work Wery Well. I have gone and Think about Audio note MC IOI but it Will be a little time becorse it is expensiv. And Hello from Denmark

[Harry.]

I would love to hear an Audio Note turntable but I think the nearest dealer is a long way away from where I live! I have spent half my life listening to vinyl and would really like to add this back into my listening experience. Unfortunately the Roksan has problems with speed fluctuation as well as sounding bass light. I cannot listen to it for long. Project seem to be very well thought of and have some decent looking decks which would be easier to audition. Comments from owners would be welcome.

Alternatively I still have the Garrard 301 which was part of my Dad's system, purchased in 1961 along with Leak Stereo 20 + Varislope pre and Wharfdale W3 speakers. I have thought about restoring this vintage deck for a long time and have read that they can still sound superb! How would it sit alongside a D200 though? Actually an old B & O deck would probably be a better match visually.

[fugazi]

I would love to hear an Audio Note turntable but I think the nearest dealer is a long way away from where I live! I have spent half my life listening to vinyl and would really like to add this back into my listening experience. Unfortunately the Roksan has problems with speed fluctuation as well as sounding bass light. I cannot listen to it for long. Project seem to be very well thought of and have some decent looking decks which would be easier to audition. Comments from owners would be welcome.

Alternatively I still have the Garrard 301 which was part of my Dad's system, purchased in 1961 along with Leak Stereo 20 + Varislope pre and Wharfdale W3 speakers. I have thought about restoring this vintage deck for a long time and have read that they can still sound superb! How would it sit alongside a D200 though? Actually an old B & O deck would probably be a better match visually.

I had the same with my VPI traveler turntable with a GRADO MM pu. It sounded thin and lack of bass compared to cd and streaming TIDAL Hifi. I replaced the PU to
Dynavector DV20X2 High output MC. Now the sound is even better than the digital inputs. Very happy with it.
So as the other comment i suggest you to think about replacing the PU before byuing new turnable.

[Harry.]

Thank you both for your comments. I will see what improvement a decent MC cartridge brings!

[Harry.]

I have kept an old Audio Technica AT-32 cartridge from I guess the 80's. I thought I would give this a try before I start looking at new MC models. My initial impressions are very good. A much fuller and better balanced sound to my ears than the Corus Silver. However, I have noticed a "pulsing" sound in the background which comes and goes but rules out serious listening. This was not present with the Corus. I think I remember reading about some issues with MC cartridges and 8:1 (and subsequent) firmware. Or it could be just a wrecked old cartridge!

[Confused]

I don't believe there are any issues with 8.x firmware and MC cartridges. Mine works fine! There have been some reports of the phono stage being a touch noisy with MC's, but this aspect has been the same with all firmware versions.

[Confused]

Back to your TT question, the least "thin" turntable I heard with a Devialet when I was auditioning a few alternatives last year, was the Pro-Ject Signature. Not exactly minimum spend territory though. I ended up buying the Signature 12, but the 10 ran it very close indeed.

[Harry.]

I don't believe there are any issues with 8.x firmware and MC cartridges.  Mine works fine!  There have been some reports of the phono stage being a touch noisy with MC's, but this aspect has been the same with all firmware versions.

It's good to hear that you feel there are no issues with moving coil cartridges since I think I have a distinct preference for the sound they are capable of. It is so long since I used the MC 32 regularly I have forgotten why I stopped using it! Perhaps there was a previous fault.

Thanks for your reassuring comments. I am definitely going to change to am MC cartridge with or without a new deck.

The Project decks look very well made and the Signature is in my price range so I must get an audition. Did you go for a pre fitted cartridge? This would be an attractive proposition for me having been reminded last night when fitting the AT-32 how cack handed I am with such intricate operations!

[Confused]

I actually too delivery of the deck in its crate because I wanted to assemble it myself.  This was my choice, I thought that if I carefully assembled it myself, I would then be familiar with the various adjustments that are available.  I did get it with an Ortofon Cadenza Black, simply because there was a £750 discount for getting the deck and cartridge together.  The Devialet / Pro-ject / Cadenza combination work well together, so the £750 discount was difficult to ignore.  It is more normal for it to be assembled for you with cartridge fitted and set up though.