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Thinking of buying a Project x1 turntable

O

ossy

pfm Member
Am thinking of the above to replace a project essential 2. I’ve been down the vinyl route before but am being sensible this time.

Any others worth considering (other than a rega planar 3)? Am up for bargains and would be very happy to spend less but want a meaningful upgrade.

It’ll be plugged into a Quad vena 2 which has a decent phone stage and a pair of ruark sabre 3’s.

cheers.
 
I had a Pro-Ject X1 and was very pleased with it. The walnut one looks very nice. I’d recommend it.
 
I’m guessing lots will say the Rega.
I’ve heard the X1 a fair bit & it’s very strong at its price.
There will also be lots of suggestions for 2nd hand alternatives, which if you’re happy to look at will be a fairly long list.
But if you’re only wanting to buy new, the X1 is a good shout.
 
manicatel said:
I’m guessing lots will say the Rega.
I’ve heard the X1 a fair bit & it’s very strong at its price.
There will also be lots of suggestions for 2nd hand alternatives, which if you’re happy to look at will be a fairly long list.
But if you’re only wanting to buy new, the X1 is a good shout.
Click to expand...

Am happy to buy 2nd hand and very much up for trawling through a list of alternatives!
 
ossy said:
Am happy to buy 2nd hand and very much up for trawling through a list of alternatives!
Click to expand...

Now there's someone looking for 185 answers to his OP, offering at least 50 alternatives with endless debate over at least 10 of them :)
 
s/h Technics SL1200/1210GR is a great deck and pretty much unbeatable for the money @£8-900. Modern, easy setup and very reliable. Sounds great too.
 
Over the past few years I've fixed quite a few ProJect turntables. Totally stripped them, arm rewires etc. After that I would never buy a ProJect turntable.

The build quality is terrible. Yes, the more expensive ones are better built but still terrible. Everything is done as cheaply as it can be done. Once above the P1, Rega decks are much better built.

For that money I'd be looking at a Rega or a used LP12. Other cheaper options as well like a Systemdek or AR turntable. New, I'd buy a Rega.
 
Prices asked for used analogue kit seem to be on a seemingly never-ending upward trend at the moment but having just looked at the price of a new X1, used has got to be the way to go - for the 765th of my saying it here - buy carefully used, and sell on at no loss if it does not float your boat.

I have owned/heard far too few TTs to be commenting much, but at that sort of price, a PT1 and something like a Nima should be doable and sound absolutely amazing.
 
ossy said:
Am thinking of the above to replace a project essential 2. I’ve been down the vinyl route before but am being sensible this time.

Any others worth considering (other than a rega planar 3)? Am up for bargains and would be very happy to spend less but want a meaningful upgrade.

It’ll be plugged into a Quad vena 2 which has a decent phone stage and a pair of ruark sabre 3’s.

cheers.
Click to expand...

What’s wrong with the Planar 3? I’m intrigued as I’m looking for a cheap TT for bedroom system and Rega is top of my list
 
I started off with an old planar 3 years ago. I guess the new planar 3’s are in a different league (the speed wobbles on the old one used to drive me up the wall).

How much of an upgrade would the new planar 3 be over the project essential?
 
A Planar3 has probably been one of the most frequently recommended sub-£1k tt’s for the last 30 years or so. That’s got to count for something. There have been several improvements put in over the years, so hopefully you would no longer have the speed wobble you mentioned.
It would surely be a substantial upgrade over an Essential.
Planar3 Compared to an X1, the difference would be less, as the X1 is also way better than the Essential. The Planar3 still has a manual 33-45 speed change system, the X1 has a push button speed selector ( if that’s important to you).
Listening to the two side by side may prove tricky especially for the next month or so. Plus they both come with different carts, so their sonic characteristic will always be different to each other.
Both the X1 & the RP3 are very decent options. Either will be enough to get back into vinyl, & easily outperform an Essential.
There are loads & loads of options if you look 2nd hand, probably too many & you could end up going round in circles.
 
ossy said:
I started off with an old planar 3 years ago. I guess the new planar 3’s are in a different league (the speed wobbles on the old one used to drive me up the wall).

How much of an upgrade would the new planar 3 be over the project essential?
Click to expand...

I too had the original Planar 3, and some time back I spent quite a bit of money changing motor; subplatter; platter; belt; arm etc etc. Mostly, as a learning exercise.

From your above description, I think you would want the external power supply which also provides speed control. You can hear the difference.
This would be either an upgrade on the P3, or the P6 (if new).
 
ossy said:
How much of an upgrade would the new planar 3 be over the project essential?
Click to expand...

An old Planar3 buries a ProJect Essential! The Rega is a much higher quality product. The new deck is developed in every area but it should be better, it cost more.

ProJect decks don't sound bad. I'd take a Rega over them every time, much more dynamic and quick footed, but ProJects don't sound bad. My main grip with the sound is that they all come with Ortofon carts and they don't suit the already a bit soft and dead sound of the decks. They sound a lot better if you put an Audio Technica on them.

Talking of speed stability, I never thought the old Planar3 was that bad but I fitted a 24v motor kit to a friend's vintage Planar3 a month or so ago. It's a really big upgrade, I was surprised. The current deck comes with that motor and you can buy a Neo PSU for it later. I would expect the speed stability to be pretty darn good after that.
 
OK, am leaning now towards a planar 3! In the meantime can anybody suggest a second hand option in the below £500 category as an alternative?
 
ossy said:
OK, am leaning now towards a planar 3! In the meantime can anybody suggest a second hand option in the below £500 category as an alternative?
Click to expand...
I should imagine that the RP6 (predecessor to the new Planar 6) falls into that budget, and it has the external PSU as standard.

I have the RP6 with an Apheta cart. I've considered trading up to the P6 or P8, but it's quite a big jump in outlay.

Did you like your old Planar 3? If you didn't I'm not sure the new one will satisfy.
 
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