This has probably been asked before but I thought I'd ask again.

I have a Pro-ject turntable that is about 20+ years old.  I believe I bought it used from a Decware forum member years ago.  This turntable is attached to a Decware ZP3.

I'd like to upgrade the turntable but I want to keep the budget low.  I have about 400 albums and I listen to vinyl about once or twice a month.  Mostly I listen when friends drop over because everyone is so fascinating with vinyl these days.  Listening to vinyl with a group is fun and very nostalgic.

I need something that will sound nice with a ZP3 but also doesn't require an extensive amount of tweaking.  I'd like to get it, connect it, and go.  I spent enough time tweaking the Pro-ject I currently have and I do not want to go down that path again.  It would be nice if this turntable would work with Ortofon cartridges because I have a couple of them that I might use.  I don't know if changing cartridges counts as tweaking but if it does that is about as far as I want to go with that.

Currently, I lean towards getting another Pro-ject; a Pro-ject Debut Carbon EVO.  The price is right with that.  I momentarily thought about a Thoren but the entry level on that is about $1500 and more than I want to spend considering how much use the turntable will get.  I have heard from a few people that Rega will do the job, too.  If so, which model.

Suggestions?

Is that the Rega P3?

If so, that may be more than I want to spend but I'll check out the specs.  The specs do look favorable.

Matchstikman wrote on 06/11/23 at 20:23:57:


I think my model is the RP3, about a grand.

What features are important to me?  Simplicity.  I want to turn it on, put vinyl on it, put the needle on the record and listen.  That's it.  I am not heavy into vinyl.  I want the least amount of setup as possible.  As I stated above, I listen to vinyl once or twice a month.  And, when I listen it is for maybe a few hours.  That's it.  The turntable has to be durable, reliable, and do a basic job.  I believe the only upgrade I made to my current turntable was to replace the cartridge some years ago and that was a pain in the rear.

As I stated above, the turntable I have I bought used more than 20 years ago.  I think I could do better than what I have now but I want it to be like that turntable which required very little maintenance.

To be truthful, I'm on the edge of getting rid of the entire vinyl rig from top to bottom, but maybe not yet if I can find a decently price replacement.  Vinyl is fun.

Lon, I think you are right on this.

I spent the afternoon looking around and the Rega P3 looks like it is the way to go.

I have the Rega P2 and really do enjoy it.  Personally if you can afford to, I would go with the P3.  I believe The big difference between the two, besides the tonearm is the bias adjustment upgrade with the P3.  It gives you greater flexibility with different cartridges.   Which Ortofon cartridge do you plan to use?   I dug deep onto forums and the one that was consistently a top pick was the Ortofon Bronze that matched well with the Regas.  

I upgraded my P2 with the Groovetracer sub platter and it was a worthy upgrade.  It lowered the noise floor and allowed more detail from the album to get extracted.  I plan to upgrade to the P6 somewhere down the road, so needless to say I love the Rega line.

Dom

Yes, with both--but not to the extent of the Reference sub-platter--that was the biggest bang.

Isolation also makes a big difference, sub-platter like difference. I have mine on VooDoo Cable IsoPods that sit on a PS Audio PowerBase.

The more I review and study the Rega P3, the more I think that this the one for me.

Question: where do I buy the Groovertracer mods?  I went to the website and it wasn't very user friendly.  Do I need to call them?

Yeah, my subplatter purchase through Groovetracer was very easy. Fast shipping too.

I'm not sure why so many people say the Ortofon Red is a good cartridge. I had one briefly. Did not like it one bit. The Bronze is so much better, but a good deal pricier. Never tried a Blue. If I was listening to a Technics table with the Red, I wouldn't have been impressed. With the Bronze or Black, it is quite lovely - very musical, full sounding and lots of detail. The Bronze is the king of a subtle, lovely sound. The Black takes the subtlety of the Bronze and says - well, you should have some extra dynamics too. I could live with either, but enjoy the extra intensity of the Black. Cheers - Scott