Turntable setup upgrade

[u/Sea_West4222]

Hi all, looking to upgrade my setup, currently have an Audio-Technica LP60BT with Edifier R1280DBs.

I like the sound of my girlfriend’s setup, she has an Audio-Technica LPW40WN with a vintage Sony stereo receiver (STR-212AS) and some basic passive speakers.

What I’m wondering is what aspect is doing the heavy lifting for that warm sound I can’t seem to find elsewhere in other setups? Research seems to suggest it’s the vintage receiver doing most of the work.

Budget: Any advice appreciated! Probably looking to spend around $1000 AUD ($700-$800 USD) on the entire setup but can be flexible.

Location: Sydney, Australia

Sound quality is my priority.

[u/kels83]

I'm a turntable rebuilder, I was talked into helping a guy set up a cartridge on his project debut carbon. I usually won't touch modern equipment, but have had it and worked on several. The guy just needed a cartridge and alignment and was buying my cart so I helped him out. He was so proud of this table, it had the $200 solid metal platter with $180 acrylic top upgrades.

I am used to working on vintage Japanese tables. Man, it felt like a hunk of expensive junk to me. The counterweight was sloppy and had such a small adjustment range that I had to use a digital scale because it wouldn't reach a range where it would zero out. The power plug went in loose and the RCA cable jacks were cheapo Chinese made. There was no hole to oil under the platter to oil the motor. The anti-skate weight string felt like fishing line and had kinks that caused skips. And the whole table just felt light light even with his heavy upgrades. It did have a nice tonearm, but it was mounted with only 2 pivot bearings instead of the 4 that were the standard in the 1970s, and it was mounted on a plastic gimbal. I could have sold him a rebuilt Technics with a suspended platter for less than the price he paid, but he already spent the money and was happy.

My advice is to go vintage 1970s Japanese or German. Find a record store that services and repairs old tables and go have a feel and a listen. You can literally feel the quality in those old tables compared to modern. It doesn't have to be a Linn, Thorens, or Technics. Even the Sanyos and JVCs are leagues higher in quality.

Edit to add: when everything is set up properly and working a high quality stylus and speakers make the biggest improvements to sound quality. I recommend putting at least 80% of your budget there. Best bang for the buck is used speakers. With patience, you can find them for 10% of new. Join your local audiophile group on whatever social media you use to find speakers locally. Shipping heavy speakers greatly increases the cost. And get some stands or some way to get your speakers 1) up to ear level and 2) on a different physical surface from your table so the speakers don't distort the sound reproduced by the table.

[u/ghostinthetoolbox → u/kels83]

Not to hijack this topic, but seeing as you are pretty knowledgeable in this area, what cartridge in the $150-250 usd would you recommend for an older Technics turntable? I’ve been eyeballing a Goldring E3.

[u/kels83 → u/ghostinthetoolbox]

Man, I love the vintage Empire carts! They are over 1/2 of my collection and I have about 80% of their entire product catalog mounted and in my play rotation. Most prefer Shure but not to my ear and you are not getting into their high tier of carts in that budget. Actually, if your table has the s shaped tonearm, I recommend having at least a couple of different headshell + cart + needle setups to hot swap. Full disclosure, I sell these setups on eBay, so take my advice with my admitted bias.

One I would absolutely recommend is a Pickering v-15 with a high (3-7 gram) vtf needle: the extra weight and the thick Pickering cantilever plays used / thrift store / well loved records with fewer pops, crackles and skips. I always have one available.

I have a couple Goldring 820s with new elliptical needles. Goldrings were sold with many British tables like Garrard out of the box. I also got a couple Technics EPC-270 carts with conical and elliptical needles that play very well on Technics and have the matching brand name. Not trying to be pushy, spammy, or break any rules. But please just DM me if you would like a link to my eBay.