I just received a bunch of audio equipment from my dad because he has collected a lot of audio gear over the years. He constantly upgrades his audio systems so he just accumulates a lot of stuff in his basement. Anyway, I got this BeoGram 1602 and in appearance it's in mint condition. It has a MMC-20EN stylus and I plugged it in and it works fine. Now my question is, how does this turntable compare to what's out there nowadays? What price range of turntables can it compete against these days? Also is it worth buying a new stylus for $250 - $300 or just buying a newer  turntable in the $500 price range. I'm going to be using this turntable with my computer home audio recording system. The speakers are active monitors, it has a 24-bit 96Khz A/D converter so I think it shouldn't affect sound too much. I'm not sure with what preamp I'm going to go with yet, any recommendations?

 

The 1602 was a mid range deck for B&O. Compared to today, you will find the deck to be made from better materials and be considerably slimmer than what is mostly on offer.

It lacks in a couple of ways:

The bass is not as extended or controlled as better decks available and the top end is sweet but a bit less detailed. It is a very comfortable sound to actually listen to and is the B&O trademark. The 20EN is at the top end of B&O cartridges and if it has a decent stylus, I would stay with what you have. Pre-amps are obviously available and get a reasonable one without going crazy! Gram Slee make very good ones but go for the bottom of the range!

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