1200GR upgrade tonearm or table?


My vinyl rig sounds so freakin’ good it should be illegal. The last item on my list is the tonearm. I’m running a Phasemation PP-500 with their top headshell. I’ve been told it works fine with the Technics tonearms but something better and heavier will make it even better. I’m thinking Glanz or Soraine.

for $3k-ish I don’t think I can upgrade the table but the arm is doable.

Thoughts?

gochurchgo

Showing 7 responses by gochurchgo

@grk  well haha. That’s the mother of all audio questions isn’t it? Each of my upgrades has been in succession so I get to hear the progression as I continue forward. So each new addition brings continued improvements and with that, it becomes a little addictive. That said and from what I’ve read, my cartridge would benefit from a better arm, though I don’t necessarily know by how much and in what ways.

@pinwa  I’m running all Phasemation: PP-500 into a set of T-1000 SUTS then into an EA-350. All cabling for this is also Phasemation.

@lewm  agreed also. I am running rhe Phasemation headshell which is heavier for sure. I had to put the aux weight on the arm to balance it. And everything sounds fabulous. I guess more or less I want to get the most out of the cartridge.

@noromance  yes sir. I got the EA-350 a couple months before the external SUTS (the EA-350 has the T-320 SUTS built in) and the T-1000 SUTS was a giant upgrade. More open, more detail, more everything. Personally, if one is using PM Carts, the SUTS are the real upgrade. Wish I had known that haha.

@lewm  do not disagree with you. I’m foggy on the tonearm aspect of things I fully admit.

@pindac I am Not surprised. I am not one who tinkles in the tall grass with the big dogs but after a few inquiries about trade-ins and/or demos I lucked into the 350 at a massive discount. The dealer, who knew little to nothing about the brand was selling out and not carrying it anymore.
As for the T-1000 SUTs (plural as there are 2 in a dual mono configuration) it was suggested to me that the EA-350 + T-550 combination was magic. As the T-1000 is now discontinued I was able to get a very lightly used set for 2/3 off US retail price and so I jumped on it. I’m smitten with my current system and though I had never actually heard PM gear, I researched it to the point of madness. I can say it paid off big time as I do not think k about them anymore. They are the system.