R.I.P. Yamaha P220 1987 - 2007

[royphil345]

Welcome to Audio Review!!!

Rega P1 with some cash left over for a cartridge upgrade...

Pro-Ject Xpression Mk II...

I went with a Technics SL-1200 MKII. I like the speed stability and the reasonably detailed, yet "unfussy" sound. The easily adjustable tonearm with height adjustment. The arm is more suited to the Denon DL-103 low output MC carts I fell in love with. I really do feel the performance is comparable to belt-drives in the same price-range. There are pros and cons... You can usually find a deal on a new one for $400.00 online. No cart is included though...

Something like the Pro-Ject would come out on top as far as detail retrieval I'm sure... The arm would be better suited to most high-compliance MM carts. Although, I feel there is something to be said for reliability, ease of use, non-fatiguing, "unfussy" sound, rock-solid sounding pianos, nice leveling feet...

No matter what you decide... There are some nice tables out there in that price-range from several manufacturers now. You probably couldn't go too wrong. The only tables I'm not thrilled with these days are the lowest entry-level models. Seems like a little too much competition and compromise going on in that price-range. For $500.00, I'd probably tend to stay away from tables with auto functions or belt-drives with DC servo motors (usually undersized in this price-range). Concentrate on sound quality...

You could look for a good deal on a slightly used Music Hall MMF-5, Pro-Ject RM-5, etc...

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....2702&demo&3&4&

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....abl&1182898169