I don't know how experienced you are with vinyl, but I am not experienced at all and bought a Rega RP-1 on someone else's recommendation for an "entry level" TT. I probably would not buy one again if given the choice and instead would go for a cheaper Technics or get a used TT and pay someone to put a new cartridge in it. The Rega is marketed as "idiot proof" but still required me to spend yet more money on crap to set it up with, because the "idiot proof" settings it came with were totally wrong and it came with virtually no instructions (the last TT I owned was a totally automatic thing that was pretty much a piece of junk that I had in the mid-90s). With the Rega, you also have to remove the platter and manually change over the belt to play 45s, which I find to be a huge PITA. Also, it is made in the UK and the service is pretty much non-existent (keep in mind, I am in NYC, and the person they told me to call in NYC refused to service it). While it sounds good, as someone who wanted something "entry level" I'd have been happy with something slightly lower in pure quality that could easily play 45s and had an actual service network.
Obviously a used TT is less expensive, but you'd probably want to replace the cartridge unless you trusted the history you were given. If you're good at replacing cartridges I'd almost definitely say to get a used TT and new cartridge before I'd drop $450 on the Rega.
Topic: Record player/ Turntable recommendations? (Read 20852 times)