new intro turntable

http://www.cnet.com/news/a-brilliant-new-turntable-from-a-100-plus-year-old-company/

what you guys think?

I'm not sure if they are making this in house, but the cheaper Thorens tables AFAIK are old Dual models that they are sticking a Thorens badge on, and aren't very good. The $1K mark is a bit of a no-mans land between the mediocre entry level belt drive tables, and the more serious stuff. Rega, Pro-Ject, and Musical Fidelity all have tables for $1K, but if you can spend just a few hundred more, you generally get A LOT more for your money. The $1K MF Roundtable for example comes with a $40 AT95E, a cart you can get on a U-turn Orbit.

The $1300 Pro-Ject 2Xperience Classic on the other hand comes with a $450 Sumiko Blue Point MC cart.

I think I asked this before in the IRC, but is anyone making a good direct drive turntable these days? I'm only seeing belts.

Other than the $30K VPI, the short answer is no. The best rationally priced tables (M-W REAL, Feickert Woodpecker, Nottingham Dias) are all belt drives. It just doesn't seem like there's much interest in direct drives these days, and you could argue that outside of Japan, there never really was, even during the heyday of high-end DD tables in the '70s and early '80s. Plus the big firms that were making them are either gone, or their tables today are basically a joke.

You'll likely never see anything like this from Pioneer ever again, for example. Yamaha, Denon, Sony, Technics, and Kenwood also all made spectacular direct drives in the '70s, and those are never coming back either.

You want something like the above.


It's a smaller version of this...

Can anyone offer suggestions for a good rack/stand with vibration isolation/dampening and high load capacity?   Bonus points if it's from a Canadian company which will make logistics easier for me.

I would like to have the TT (VPI Classic) on top with space for a phono stage, ADC and something else (pre-amp?) below it.

You're looking for a full rack right, not individual shelves or isolators? Off the bat, first thing I would do is get in touch with EdenSound, let them know what you're looking for, and see what they can do for you. Their stuff is pretty amazing, and compared to what you'll pay for something like an HRS or Grand Prix rack, their prices are incredibly low.

Just a heads up for the vinyl junkies around here. There's a roughly 50% off deal on Agon right now on a Nottingham Ace Space 294 with all the goodies: Ace arm, heavy kit, wave mechanic. Absolutely killer table, and for that price, probably unbeatable.

http://app.audiogon.com/listings/turntables-nottingham-analogue-spacedeck-294-ace-space-arm-12-inch-heavy-kit-wavemechanic-power-2015-05-17-analog-46324-hammond-in