Rusty Messages: 1192 Registered: May 2018 Location: Kansas City Missouri
Illuminati (3rd Degree)
I prefer direct drive tables. But not the knock off's to the Technics 1200. I used a Rega prior and it was prone to feedback and speed variation that made piano's seem to go out of tune and vocal fluctuation's. Quartz controlled direct drive has rock steady speed and in the 1200 case, heavily damped in the plinth to help prevent feedback getting fed back into the tonearm. The market for used or vintage tables is hot these days. But, good deals can still be had. For the novice, I think the Technics SL-Q line of table's offer quartz drive and idiot proof means of cartridge alignment called p-mount. Simply, the cartridge plugs into the tonearm and secured by a mounting screw. No other alignment required other than adjustment of the VTF, (vertical tracking force) and anti skating adjustment, (force exerted on the stylus as it travels across the record). These table's can usually be bought for a relatively reasonable price. It's true that buying used can be a crap shoot. I still think you've got dealer odd's going for you.