I’ve recently swapped my Uniti Nova for 222/300PX/250 (with existing SBLs) & took the opportunity to get back into vinyl with a Rega P3 RS.
I’m very pleased with the results.
The Abbey Road Half Speed Masters sound very nice.
Hope that helps.
3 Likes
Okay folks, let’s get some context here first. How many LPs do you have and what condition are they in?
3 Likes
And what’s your budget for this turntable ??
Your TEAC was / is a lovely bit of kit
I toyed with the idea of replacing it a few months back with something like another Technics or perhaps the top end Denon.
But I like the simple presentation of the TEAC too much. It’s just fundamentally a nice deck to look at and use. Those thoughts have been permanently cast aside.
1 Like
Its down to personal preference but at the low cost end I’d choose a Denon deck. I do hold a belief though that any Naim amplification deserves a Rega P3 with a good mm cart. Plenty available pre owned.
2 Likes
How do you like the P3 RS?
It’s very good. For the money I can’t complain - better than I expected, especially with the Abbey Road Masters
Congratulations on retrieving that old vinyl!
You have a very capable system there so bear in mind that you really need to be into the realms of a £2-3000+ vinyl front end with MC coil cartridge before you start to approach the fidelity of a good digital source. My thoughts are it depends how much you want to spend but the following jump out at me depending on available budget:
For around £300 the only turntable I would consider buying new is the Audio Technica AT-LP120XUSB. This is actually a pretty incredible little turntable for the money and it looks cool as hell to boot. Your only other options around this price are secondhand and for that money you should be able to find a secondhand Rega, Systemdek, Thorens or Ariston deck and they can be great.
£700 ish - Rega Planar 3 - a turntable good enough to take a moving coil too thanks to its excellent arm
£1000 ish - Technics SL1500C - direct drive, audiophile credentials and superb build and finish.
£1500 ish - Avid Ingenium - This really is an exceptional turntable for the price and you’re starting to really hear what’s on the records at this level with a decent moving coil (something like an AT-OC9)
£3000+ Too many to name, but you’re starting to get to turntables like the Michell GyroDec, Linn LP12, Thorens TD1600 - extremely capable decks capable of supporting serious moving coil cartridges and arms and with some upgrades making you question why anybody ever bothered to invent digital!
Don’t forget once you get above the AVID Ingenium level you really should start to think about a dedicated phono stage. The cards in a Naim pre-amp are great to get you started, but a good phono stage will make a big difference.
Hope that helps,
JonathanG
4 Likes
Makes you wonder what magic is in the box when you buy a rega system one for £999. That gets you a turntable (p1), amp (io), speakers (kytes) and cables, and I could listen to that all day long.
2 Likes
To be honest that is a cracking starter system.
1 Like
I was in the same boat as I did not want to spend a fortune but wanted a decent sound, I opted for the Techniks SL1500c, everything built in and upgradable later even to the point of a Phono Amp, just turn the inbuilt one off and use external. It sounds fantastic.
3 Likes
Very useful thread! I’ve been considering a TT for quite a spell. I want to max my digital first but a nice suitable TT is so compelling.
1 Like
I have a Project Debut Carbon, Ortofon 2m Blue cartridge and a Musical Fidelity phono stage connected to a first gen Uniti, works well for me.
3 Likes
A couple of things to note.
As a former owner of an NAC 72 I can tell you that there are several options for internal phono boards. Moving coil boards come in three versions, NA323/5S (Standard, 100uV, 470 ohm input impedance) and NA323/5K (Linn Karma, 100uV, 560 ohm input impedance) and NA323/5E (400uV, 400ohms for medium output moving coil cartridges). The 5 in the number refers to the series. You can get boards from Series 3 to Series 5. The board number will tell you which series it is. Newer series boards sound better than older ones, with Series 5 being the best. Whether you need an S, K or E will depend on your cartridge as they affect the frequency balance. There are also boards for Moving Magnet cartridges (NA322).
Sometimes the phono boards are missing, having been either removed or never fitted. Try e-Bay for second-hand boards if you need them.
The description of the Rega P1 says it has a built in phono stage, which complicates matters. You can’t put the output from this turntable into a phono input for several reasons, the main one being that you will overload the preamp and your volume control will go from nil to speaker-kill in a fraction of a turn.
My opinion regarding choice of turntable is to avoid Linn as the suspension is a nightmare. I changed from a Garrard 401 to a Linn Sondek because the 401 rumbled. The Linn didn’t but that was its only good point.
As to connecting RCA phono plugs into a 5-pin DIN socket, there are specialist adaptors available that involve no extra wires (that way you don’t have to worry about wire quality). I got mine from Russ Andrews but you can get them on the internet. Look for Kontak Audio 5 pin DIN to 2 RCA phono adaptor.
Earthing the turntable to the preamp may sometimes cause hum. If so, experiment with disconnecting the separate earth wire to see if it improves things. If no difference is observed, keep the earth wire connected.
As the NAC is quite old, it would probably benefit from an overhaul. I am thinking of capacitors which deteriorate with age.
Hope this is of help.
3 Likes
From what I’ve read, this will be a very nice front end, for the “occasional user”.
Of course if you then get caught by the “vinyl bug” then you will be (a) doomed, and (b) bankrupt.
OTOH, the music will be bl00dy good! 
4 Likes
That would probably be my first choice but that’s certainly another price bracket. More in a P6+ area rather than a “dip my toe in vinyl” deck.
I very much appreciate all the replies; certainly food for thought!
I’d thought I would opt for the P1+ but frankly do not have the patience to ‘dismantle the platter’ every time I wish to switch between record speeds.
The Technics sounded good but a bit of a leap for my first serious go at playing some of my >50 year old vinyl (and >70 or so for some inherited from my parents!).
Thus… Denon, as a starting point to see how I get on. Several of my Naim boxes I traded up the ranks on them as I realised it added value to the overall experience. I’m thinking, since I’d prefer black, built in phono-stage and a player that can drop/lift it’s own tone-arm the DP-300F. RRP £349, though looks like I might be able to get that from a hi-fi discounter (via Google) for £200
1 Like
You might be able to get a second hand TN-4D for the same money. The arm is crazy good and it can be easily upgraded with after market power supplies, headshell and cart. While Iove my Technics SL1200, the TEAC is perhaps the nicest deck I’ve ever had the pleasure to use. It does need a more aggressive cart than the Oyster it comes fitted with though. The denons have the better chassis. The TEAC the better direct drive motor and arm.
1 Like
I also will power down and check the 72 to see if it has a phono card in place. Thanks for that tip!