If your system will be primarily vinyl the turntable choice should reflect that. You should spend as much as you can on a good table. However, if you spin vinyl occasionally, then you should not invest so much money in a table.  

I have never heard of this no-name table you posted. Who makes it? The arm looks cheap. You have to wonder what the resale value would be if you did not like it. If you got a REGA, Pro-Ject, Thorens or a similar make your money would be safe in the resale market.

I personally have gone over to direct drive. Vinyl is not the mainstay of my system but I wanted a good player to spin the vinyl that I have. I have a KAB modified Technics SL-1200. It has an outboard power supply and some other upgrades. It is easy to change cartridges and you can adjust the tonearm height.  The REGA is too finicky. I have had them in the past and they proved to be a pain in the a**.

You may wish to look over on the Vinyl Engine forums; they have guys there that know a lot more than I do.

I have a Rega RP3 and ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!

Looks like a typical 'Le Turntable'... Simple, but I would opt for getting a good pre-owned TT on eBay before I'd buy a new one... Great deals, and lots to choose from...

Always try and get better than you need now... My rule-of-thumb... (m.)

Good Point

I`ve still got my 30yr old Rega, and rewired the arm with silver litz a couple of months back. I wont be trying it out until I get a new cart for
my Roksan radius which could be months away or longer.
They hit a purple patch with the Rega in terms of price/performance. They just worked great. I dont know how I got on with the vertical tracking, those days you just made sure the cart was straight and balanced before dialing in the weight, adjusting drag/ a/skating, which is easy, through a numbered dial and sliding scale. There must have been a template to place the needle tip into.
It`s when you come to buy a second TT that you naturally want a change of manufacturer.
Regas can come not cheap now.
I cant knock them, no way. They would be a good choice.
I bought my second deck new, and for the money could have got
something well out of my price range if new, on e-bay or even a dealer.
Something else to consider is visuals. You could be living with it for long time.

Rega has authorized dealers all over. You should look on the Vinyl Engine website for information and perhaps further guidance.

You listen to Lord South, boy. I have a KAB modified Technic. It is great sounding and easy to use.

Lots of good advice here...just thought I would throw in my two cents...  I have found that with vinyl the synergy between table, cartridge, and phono preamp as well as proper set-up is critical.  If you are new to it, it may be helpful to seek out a good local dealer that can help you with this.  I have found that the basic, more affordable offerings by the likes of Rega, Pro-Ject, Music Hall, etc.... are quite good these days when paired with a good phono preamp and cart...  I am in the process of upgrading my vinyl kit and have found that a good phono preamp can make a large difference... so good, basic table + good phono preamp can sound as good or better than much more expensive table with lower grade/budget phono preamp

I have some like new mint records from my parents, also will be buying some new records from Amazon. Does anyone have experience purchasing new vinyl from Amazon? Shipping Damage Issues?

Thanks again for all the amazing input, can't wait to get this going!

-R

Rivieraranch,

Thanks for the heads up!

-R

Amazon LP packaging used to be very flimsy, and in 2011
I received a double LP through USPS on the hottest July day. The postman wrapped it around the mailbox post with rubber bands... think world-class warpage! My postman agreed that everytime I got a package that shape it needed to be put on the porch in the shade. The last one I got from Amazon also had much sturdier packaging.

I`ll add Dusty Groove to desktop.
I use Discogs which is a market place
for hundreds of sellers. I`ve allways
found the grading accurate so far, and
albums allways arrive well packed in
made for purpose cardboard boxes.

Carefull when opening. Some sellers
place the records & inner sleeves outside
of the record cover.

I dont usually plug but I wasn`t a fan of
Regas platter mat. On glass I couldn`t help
wondering if the felt was slipping just a tiny
bit. After a few buys I came across the `Dead Steel`
platter mat.http://www.sounddeadsteel.com/hifi.html Dirt cheap and very neutral. They do
a more expensive `full set up` but you can get
the two components seperately.

Good option Ron! My first deck was the Pioneer PL 12D, also a pre-owned model. Not as good in the figures dept as yours, but it got me started. I used one of the many Ortofons.
I remember hunting down a Cambridge P50.integrated. (before i/net)
.......

That was my old phono. The 2 valve box. It`s waiting for my e-bay clearout. I changed the valves for cryo`d ones from Watford valves after the originals died way to soon.
I took it back before, complaining the valves hardly lit up.

Cambridge, designed UK, manufactured...China.
The only thing I have to go on if making the choice
is a bit contrived, but I also owned a M.Fidelity A1
integrated and it was better than the Cambridge P50.