Needles & Grooves

I loved my Audio Technica LP120 until I upgraded to the PLX 1000. I also love direct drive stuff though because I don't like messing with the belts.

Oh no, what issues did you have?

my buddy has a Denon DP-300F and he loves it.

It's not in stock right now but some fine individuals here recommended the Fluance-82RT which comes in right at 300 and I've been quite happy with it.

Pro-Ject makes great products, but I feel like the Elemental is not one of them. It's very entry level and makes too man sacrifices to keep costs down. Check out their Debut line. The Debut Carbon is an incredible unit with a strong optional upgrade path. Debut Carbon typically comes in at $350-$380

A used Technics.

@Memo the belt thing I mentioned when I got it, where it would constantly fall off the platter. the cue lever mechanism would get stuck pretty frequently when trying to drop the needle on the record. playing anything at 45RPM would cause very loud distortion. I even took it in for TWO ADJUSTMENTS at my local and it still wasn’t fixed. I’ve had it already and it hasn’t even been a month

I love my U-Turn Orbit. An Orbit plus is right under $300 and the nice thing is you can upgrade and add on some of the extras (like cue lever) later if you decide. And located in Boston so they're CS is top notch.

Would it be an option to get the fluance RT85 and sell the ortofon blue it comes with to get you down to your price range?

I would start with the Fluance RT82, nice easy upgrade path up to the 85 (what I have and absolutely love). Looks good and has good reviews!

@Ghost research is leading me towards it yeah. Only problem is the one color I like the most isn’t going to be in stock for a while

so the 85 is $200 more expensive than the 82

the 82 comes with a $60 cart and the 85 comes with a $200 cart.
That’s a difference of $140.
This means the 85 is essentially $60 more expensive.

@Ghost do you think $60 is an acceptable price to pay for an upgrade from the 82 to 85? I’ve never had the 82. But $60 seems nominal when it’s basically 2 albums.

@Tys1 I went with the 85 for the exact reason you point out. I was getting a better cart and an acrylic platter for a nominal up-charge IMHO.

@Memo i have that exact one and it’s great! I love an automatic TT can’t be bothered to get up all the time to lift off the needle.