turntable

Garrard 401 or 301
Thorens TD124
Lenco various models
Commonwealth Electronics
EMT 930 or 948 or 950
AEG TRS9000
Revox B790 or B795
Pioneer Exclusive P3 or P3a or various PL models
Technics SP10 or 1210
Trio L07D
Kenwood KD 990
JVC QLY7 or QL-10 plus other models
Yamaha GT2000
Denon DP100 plus other models
Sony PSX9 or TTs-6000 or 8000 or various other models
Marantz TT1000
Micro Seiki DDX-1000
Aiwa LP3000
Sanyo TP1000
Hitachi HT860
Luxman PD444
Onkyo PX100M
Sansui SR929
Nakamichi TX1000 or Dragon CT

If you want new I'd go Rega. Secondhand I'd say look at Thorens TD145, TD150 or TD160.

Edit: Linsayt, mate most of the decks you mention are fetching premium dollar these days, and are way over the top for a budget system. Many also extremely hard to find. Oh, and you forgot the Linn LP12 and Goldmund.

Agree completely with altruistic.lemon.  Rega new, or Thorens second hand.

Ditto that and likewise AL's comment around that list of lindsayt's - EMT?  Please.  Former broadcast decks that go for hundreds if not a few grand. The Garrard 401 fetches the same sum for the stock deck, never mind with the arm or a plinth.  Why on earth is it so difficult to look at the OP's list of gear and make a reasonable stab at the kind of deck that may be more appropriate for that setup? I'm not saying just decks under £200, but surely something that ticks over at £800 secondhand and you still need to buy an arm, cartridge, a plinth and a service is missing the point, or just demonstrating that we know our decks?  Likewise the Mission TT1000?  I would suggest hens teeth are more frequent...

http://www.whathifi.com/review/pro-ject-genie-3 Otherwise, Regas as suggested.

12 of the turntables in my list can be bought with arms and cartridges for less than the price of the OP's Focal Labs 806v speakers. Also, with analogue sources there's a lot to be said for the source first system building approach, and we don't know the OP's budget on this. As well as the fact that the 2nd hand market is highly imperfect and you never know what you can get for what price at a BBC auction, or find in your local pawn shop or car boot sale or house clearance auction. That's why I listed a variety of turntables.

I'm sure there's many more worthy TT's I've not mentioned.

I didn't forget the LP12. It's not good enough to make it onto my list. Which particular Goldmund model are you refering to? If you're referring to the Reference II, that wouldn't make it onto my list as they're too expensive and no better than some of the TT's on my list. The Regas aren't good enough to make it onto my list either unless you can find a P9 for £300. The belt drive Thorens are worth considering if you can find one for £100 or less.

Mmm, yes and if bought off Ebay or Gumtree, then chances are you need to factor in a service.  How much to service EMTs?  Allow a good £50 and then maybe a further £100.  You can typically get 401s for about £400, and that's at the cheap end of things.  You need to add more to get a quality, refurbished, serviced and well fettled version.  For all the places you've listed about "not knowing what you can get"; that's so true, in which case a service in mandatory.  The costs can soon mount up easily enough.

Hence why I like to buy TTs brand new. Cuts all the hassle out.

the guy's running Marantz budget gear... an LP12 would be a revelation in that system 

Interesting list though...

I can't see any mention of the OP's turntable budget.

I think we should know that first.

As for Lindsay's list, do you really want this in your living room...

Lindsayt, you've got to be realistic, mate. You won't get the Garrards for much below £5 - £600 without arm. The Lencos need rebuilds to be good. EMT and AEG go for big money and are as rare as hens teeth. The pioneer P3 is equally rare and hyper expensive, owing to the fact it's one of the best turntables ever made. I'd be stunned if you found a Commonwealth in this country, they're OZ broadcast decks. Micro Seiki doesn't come cheap. Neither do the Revoxes you mention, plus they are so complex any problem spells doorstop. If you think you can find an SP10 or TD 124 at reasonable money please say where, wouldn't mind them myself. As for aThorens belt drive at under £100, that was about 5 years ago. Still great turntables, mind, and my choice if I had any vinyl.

About the most sensible suggestion in that list is the Technics SL1210, and they're a difficult secondhand buy because many are DJ decks and could be stuffed. If you find a good one, though, you need to spend a lot to get better.

Out of curiosity, how many of the turntables on your list have you heard? I'm curious about the Aiwa and Kenwood one you mention.

What about the Clearaudio Concept? 

lindsayt wrote:

I'm sure there's many more worthy TT's I've not mentioned. 

 

I didn't forget the LP12. It's not good enough to make it onto my list.       

If budget allows I would go for new.

As for new: Also have a look at SRM Tech Athena and Arezzo, Origin Live Aurora Mk2 and Pro-Ject 6 Perspex.

No, not with a budget system. The most I'd spend (brand new) is probably £300-£400 tops.

I'd agree with PP, unless there are plans for big upgrades of amp and speakers in the future.  With a budget system you won't get the benefit of going too crazy with the turntable.  To be honest, I doubt I'm getting the best out of my RP3 at present.