Considering upgrading from my Pro-Ject Debut III

[Mshx]

Hello

I currently own a Pro-Ject Debut III which I bought secondhand. I've come to the point where I'm considering upgrading for something a bit more expensive.

I bought the turntable secondhand with the upgraded acrylic platter it's hooked up to a Pro-Ject Phono box and on to my amp. The pickup is the Ortofon 2M Red.

 

What I'm currently considering is upgrading for the Pro-Ject The Classic (Comes with 2M Silver) here where I live it's currently on sale for €870 and I could probably get some trade-in discount if I trade in my Debut III. I think that the Classic looks like a solid "higher-end'ish" turntable, however there are things about it where I'm reconsidering for example the anti-skate system which is the same as on the Debut III (it kind of looks cheap to me?), the fact that it's manual speed switching (I rarely play anything but 33½s but anyway)  I've also considered the Rega Planar 3 + 2M blue which would cost about the same as the Classic.. There's also Thorens who seems to be making some nice turntables in the same price range as the before mentioned..

 

A third option I could go with would be to save the money, upgrade the stylus on the Debut III to a 2M Blue and then spend the rest on records

What would you do?

[mikeburns]

I think a turntable upgrade would suit you well, though not sure the 2M silver would be much of an upgrade and I am also not sure the specs on the Classic are that much of a step up for the money you are looking at spending. I would imagine selling the Debut and looking used you may be able to step up into a whole new level of turntable quality and you may get a second hand cartridge of better quality than the silver thrown in. I would say look for a good quality japanese direct drive (Technics 1200, Denon DP, Kenwood KP families etc) or a high quality belt drive - Linn, Michell etc. These will all provide a big step up in terms of specs (wow, flutter, noise, distortion etc) over the project (although 2nd hand is always a gamble) and it will provide a noticeable difference especially if late on you upgrade your cartridge, as you will get more out of it with a great turntable.

 

You may even have some money left over to upgrade your stylus straight away, though if you want to stay with the 2M family I recommend saving for the bronze, that will be a much larger improvement.