Turntable as a musical instrument

[WillydeWoofer]

I choose my speakers all by myself.
I had a little help choosing the dac.
I had great help by choosing the amps.
I need a lot of help with the turntable.

What I think I know until now;
Every part, drive mechanism, platter, plinth, arm, cartridge, cable, does something in relation to the final sound. That makes it very complex for me.
At the moment the sound is rather good but not spectacular. I have heard a few times that a good turntable easily outperforms a good cd-player. However these tables costed about 20.000 euro and I cannot afford that.
So i am looking for the high-end-on-a-budget way. At this moment I have a Thorens TD124 MKII (rumble can't be heard), SME 3009 II improved with detachable headshell, a new Goldring Legacy MC cartridge, a Dutch Sphinx phono amp.
Why the TD124? A friend is a pro reviewer and has had hundreds of tables, arms, cartridges and phono amps in house for test. Every time I visit him there stands wether a TD124 or a Garrard in his own living room. That's not by coincidence! According to him my (old) arm is already so good!
But on the internet I read as much positive as negative things about my player. I also noticed that very few people in the Netherlands know really how it works. One of them put the Goldring Legacy in the arm and bettered the settings of the player. The result was a big improvement. Other people are mad, because I am rather happy now! It's a strange world.
I also noticed that everybody thinks he is a specialist and far more than any other. (every man is the best driver :D)

I hope any of you can really help me reaching a breath taking vinyl sound.

(sorry for the poor english)

[chessman]

Wil, your English is fine. But music is so subjective it will be next to impossible to just advise you what to buy for breath-taking vinyl sound. If you are "rather happy now," does any thing really need fixed?

[Garth]

I thought the Bergmann air bearing table had a lot of great sound for the price and good design. IMO

[WillydeWoofer]

Wil..If you are "rather happy now," does any thing really need fixed?

My wife could have said that :D

I am rather happy with my equipment now. The problem is, if I have ever heard something better I can't forget that. I know how TAD, Wilson Audio, Avalon can sound: like you can give the musicians a hand. But I must be realistic because I have not 150.000 euro for an equipment.

So I'm at the moment having a good conversation with myself:D ;
"Be happy man, with what you have now" :thumbsup:

Have a nice weekend everybody.

Wil

[WillydeWoofer]

I thought the Bergmann air bearing table had a lot of great sound for the price and good design. IMO

Thanks Garth. I don't know the brand but I'll visit the internet.

Wil

[Garth]

I heard it at RMAF a few years back simple well built design I thought it had a great effortless sound a danish built table so it may be a better price for you. It was on my short list. Kronos a Canadian table not simple but a nice sounding table I did not know about it till after i was done shopping. I also thought Brinkman was nice but I picked a Clearaudio never a regret for buying it.
I heard the sme 20 and 30 a few times not for me. Too bad i liked the build . Their are more tables today brand wise than any time I can remember. A lot of really nice nice stuff much of it is pricey some can be bought as showroom demo prices helps a lot some are old stock. Have some fun looking close your eyes the real beauty may not look like you think it does.

[o0OBillO0o]

Ask yourself some of these questions:

What are my requirements?

What can I buy?

Where is it located?

Can I listen to it before I buy?

Can I return it?

side note- Turntables as a musical instrument to me is call Turntablism https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC14tUhwh6zW91qT0rbRP2sA