Recommended Turntable

Better is no problem as long as price  is not an issue, what is your limit?

Looking at price/performance or value that is a decent option. If you have $20K to spend you can do a lot better.

Are you looking for "features" or raw audio performance? Are you willing to trade one for the other? A while back someone was looking for maximum performance and made a good choice based on that but was then very unhappy to discover that features that did not contribute to that were missing. Biggest surprise seemed to be auto arm lift at end of play.

I am just getting back into vinyl collecting. I recently purchased this exact table from Sonos. I found the base model of this which is the current model, the Debut Carbon EVO, was often recommended, high quality.  The Sonos offering had the best base set of features included at a reasonable price compared to the marketplace. 

Fully involved turntable people will say, and rightfully so, that you will likely want to incrementally update your table and associated components, but this gets you off the starting line with a better than base-line cartridge. It has an upgraded platter, built-in speed box, and built-in pre amp. 
Other features that caused me to select it was, hinges kept the dust cover open, (some did not,) clear dust cover rather than smoke colored, quality included cables, and the overall price all-in. 
I did also purchase an AT 6006r tone arm lifter. 

What I didnt like were admittedly things which I didnt fully research. It has four feet rather than three and they are plastic and non-adjustable, I expected something more from a table at this price. Not the fanciest, but something at least adjustable and better quality/feel to them. I bought some black Post-it notes to use as leveling shims. Also the tone arm support and associated pieces feel like they are of lower quality plastic than what I expected but don’t effect anything I can determine. Maybe they all are like this. 

Also this is a discontinued model on Pro-ject’s site called the Debut Carbon Esprit SB, and the Sonos version includes the acrylic platter upgrade, but my research found that while newer model’s incremental updates might have beneficial value, they weren’t deal breakers for me and might not be audible on a Sonos system.

I also considered the Fluance RT-85N and U-turn Orbit Special which both seemed like great options in similar price ranges and similar features. 

keep in mind, none of these connect directly to Sonos via WiFi, they require a line-in adapter to a compatible speaker or Sonos Port. 

also Sono’s is known to have substantial sales on accessories which have included their turntables so perhaps wait and see around Thanksgiving if you arent wanting one today. 

Your requirement that there be a built-in preamp limits your options.  I went through a similar shopping process, and ultimately bought a non-preamp Fluance RT85, and added an iFi Zen preamp.  The Fluance includes an Ortofon Blue cartridge and an acrylic TT, plus an auto stop feature that has turned out to be really useful.  This thing sounds fantastic through my Sonos Amp. and I am totally satisfied.  Total cost was $699 for TT and PreAmp and well worth it.   

What turntables have you owned in the past? The Pro-Ject debut carbon (Sonos edition) is a manual operation turntable, are you okay with that or do you want semi or fully automatic operation? 

Hi,

This will be my first turntable. I suppose I would prefer a semi/fully automatic table if there is one you could recommend.

Thanks

Hi,

I wish i had 20k to spend. lol

No, I haven’t had a turntable for 30+ years and thought it would be nice to revisit/listen to all the old vinyl i collected back in the day.

I’m looking for something that will just sound good to my ear as i’m no expert at a reasonable price. My old turntable was fully automatic which is something i would probably like although I’m unsure if one is available with a built in preamp.

Thanks

Thanks, I will have a look at that option.

Head for Crutchfield.com, they have a good selection and excellent detailed descriptions of a variety of reasonably priced units.

I'd buy through Sonos as a first choice, them second as you can't beat their support. Shop price if you want, but watch exactly what you are getting as some swap bits to get a lower price.

If you want something reasonably priced, Audio-Technica has fully automatic ones with built-in switchable phono preamp. This is just one of them:

https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/audio-technica-at-lp70x

Music Hall Classic is a very good semi-automatic. Denon DP-400 is a good choice for a little less money.