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Decent Turntable for £100? Is this possible?

Thanks guys, seem to be getting off the beaten track a bit? Is it possible to get a decent all-in turntable for around my budget? I've looked at the Project elemental for around £160, are they a good used buy?
 
Thanks avole, sorry I missed your first post. Any models in particular? I've watched a couple, but again unsure as to what makes a 'good' model.
 
Pro-ject used to make some pretty decent decks for budget money such as the debut 1/2, they weren't as good as a Rega but only cost about £120 with a cartridge, ready to go. Pro-ject sadly have pushed the price right up on the newer debut decks, they are improved but not such good value at £300-350!

The current budget models such as the elemental and essential look very cheap and nasty to me.

The best bang for buck new deck for me is the Rega RP1, not much more than an elemental and about the same price as the essential and better than both in just about every respect, in fact I'd argue that it's better than the debut carbon.

If £160 is the absolute maximum you can spend I'd be patient and wait for a good used deck, a Rega P2 is always a safe bet and should be achievable for less than £160 if you're patient.

Another budget-ish favourite of mine is the systemdek iix, they are lovely decks that sell for bargain prices considering what they are but you might struggle to find one within budget. It's still worth keeping your eyes open as I have seen them go with a Rega RB250 or linn basik arm for below £150, the arms alone sell for that but sometimes when fitted to the deck are not mentioned in the listing title and don't attract attention, so you get the whole shebang cheap.

The same goes for the manticore mantra as the systemdek.

I'm not so familiar with the technics linear trackers mentioned by Avole but did notice some at beer money prices when browsing for ideas earlier, they look interesting considering the prices.
 
Thanks for that in depth reply Linnfo, I've added a few 'watch' alerts with a few names. Systemdek's look very nice, I have a feeling that all those on the auction site will rocket in price though.

I'm not so keen on the linear trackers, but have spotted a few Technics branded players that I like the look of.

Thanks again everyone, great help here; sorry for being such a newbie!
 
The SL1x00 models are all good and mostly equal to the SL1200 in quality. The Mk2 ones tend to have quartz locking and sell for slightly more, whereas the mk1s are servo. I have an SL1300 mk 1 myself which still manages to play despite years of harsh winters stored in the shed. Basically, if you see one, and there are loads of different models, that has the classic S arm it means it isn't a budget model. A B in the name stands for belt drive, while D means direct drive and Q means quartz locked.

This site http://www.vintagetechnics.co.uk/turntables.htm gives you an idea of the specifications and original selling price, so is a good guide.

The linear trackers are good value at he moment, but note they take only T4P cartridges, which are far less common than standard ones. The pick of the LTs are the SL-7 and SL-10 models, but those lower down the range such as the SL-5 are also good. The cartridge you want is the EPC 310mc which came with the SL-10, but the lower Technics and AT cartridges are not bad.
 
Thanks again both, watch list is longer now! Just to bide my time until I've found something suitable. If anyone could PM me a link or two if they think they've spotted decent ones I'd appreciate it.

-Joe
 
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Excellent linn, having a look now. I'm in Shropshire, near Telford.

Cheers.

edit: I don't mind waiting until stupid hours (am) to bid on something if it's an auction. Are those revolver ones decent? they look very swish!
 
They are yes, they come with either a jelco or a linn basik arm, either are decent assuming the bearings are good, but then on a deck described as in working order, they should be.

It was on a similar level to a Rega planar 3 in terms of price and performance when new. There is little to go wrong on one and it's as simple they get to setup.
 
Now sorted thanks guys, managed to snag a revolver on ebay (not entirely on purpose...). Hopefully it'll serve me well :)
 
peter bj said:
Cannot really go wrong with a revolver often slips under the radar and hence a good value buy
Click to expand...

Indeed, I had almost forgotten them until they popped into my head last night whilst thinking about this thread. I used to have one, excellent decks that will hammer a budget pro-ject.

They ceased production in the early 90's whereas Rega carried on strong and pro-ject emerged, thus pushing them out of the limelight. Shame really but at least they are bargains now for those in the know.
 
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