Advice for a new analog system

@pindac

Juan of @blisshifi put together my analog after I made some false starts. He even made suggestions regarding gear that he didn’t sell. Anyway the MSL Signature Platinum and Audionet phono preamp transformed my system. It has the musicality of a tube preamp, but the detail and speed of solid state.  He had suggested the Triplanar and if I had deeper pockets I would have done the upgrade. The MSL cartridge is highly resolving and I believe that the arm reinforced this characteristic…I’m hoping that Juan can reply. Currently, I’m quite happy with my system.

@grislybutter I am on board with your observation, hence I have attempted to reinforce the OP's inquisitiveness about the broader range of options available to them.

Learning where the Presentation from a Vinyl Source and Supporting Ancillaries is in relation to producing a Sound is off great importance. The uphill trudge is the discovering the Sound that is extremely satisfying to ones unique preference.         For an inexperienced user of a Vinyl Source, and having the Budget available as discussed, a decent amount of footwork and gathering experiences with assist with homing on a Goal.

I do not see it being achieved through descriptions offered on a Forum, but a description will arm an individual with a info' that might become identifiable when having a first hand of experiencing the device being described.   

@vonhelmholtz Would it be possible to supply to the OP/ Thread a description of how the  Fatboy Tonearm performs and what is the stimulus to feel an exchange arm would be a better device for your purposes.

I’m happy with my lesser VPI turntable and cartridge, but if I were to upgrade a component it would be the Fatboy arm.  I would probably go with a Triplanar arm.

there is no way (OK, 1 in a 10,000) you will buy your first turntable for 30+K and get the best value. You need to train your ear, learn what you like, experiment with different types and approaches. 

I would start with a used Pro-Ject or Rega, different carts and figure out what you are missing, where improvements could take you

@ftrot There is a minefield to get through, you are willing to part with serious funds.

Helping you to consider some of the things worth thinking about is the intention. You are a prime candidate to be coerced into a particular way of thinking as the retail side of this business can do that really well.

A 'mark' like yourself, with a need for knowledge with such a Budget, is in a precarious place.

This years Holiday has to be paid for, an individual like yourself, could supply the readies to charted a Superyacht.

My descriptions given are to help you get on route to the Short Cut of Single Investment for life. 

At present I will not recommend to you products, I will comment on products I have had direct experience with, or products I know where there is a potential to recieve a Trusted assessment as report from a user experience.

I am quite familiar with a Glanz MH 1200s used on a Direct Drive TT with a Miyajima Cart. The Arm certainly is not a device that creates a perception of being constrained in any way, it has a notable freedom and breathes life into the replays, it is in keeping with the Arm presentation I am interested in and is quite seaprated in it performance to arms I choose not to use any longer.

As an Ortofon Cart user on DD TT's, this Set Up wiith a Miyajima Cart' has a noticeable Body and a Strong Hint of Richness to my sensitivities, certainly not overbearing to my taste and certainly one that is an extremely attractive encounter.

Another with a want for a Richness in a presentation, might see this Cart' with having a leaner presentation. 'Richness is in the ear of the Beholder' each has their own threshold for what is bearable before it becomes unattractive.

@mulveling has proved to be good source to learn about how a Cart' . Their Broad Experience of Cart's in use, has enabled the sharing of Cart' models that can be identified with for the levels of Richness that can be detected.  

Additionally VAS NY Inc has a Facebook Page where there are Needle Drops presented in a video of the completed work they have done to Cartridges. Even though not ideal as a Audiophile Listen, there is enough on offer to determine where Richness is present or not as a result of a design for a Cart'.       

The STST Motus IIDQ has been referred to on another Thread and I have recently learned an individual based in Mainland Europe, who has possibly the most experience with Vinyl Replay Devices that I know off . This individual has been using a IIDQ since November 2022.

I am watching out for their updated reports on this TT's usage. Usually there is a period of use where a range of Arms and Cart's will be used along with the TT, it is then when there is great value to the assessments being made known. 

Whilst accumulating LP's if some are being sourced as used items, there are services supplying Used Vinyl that has been cleaned ultrasonically, in some cases in a Cleaning Machine that has a Multi $0000's purchase price. Having the best purified vinyl from the off set will bring a further satisfaction to a very good recorded used Album. 

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I thank you all for your comments and suggestions, different points of view, all valid and very useful. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences and advice, this allows me to investigate and discern, which makes this experience fabulous. I will continue to pay attention to the following comments. @solypsa I've actually started collecting the records and it feels good! thanks for your suggestions! @pindac Thanks!

@chayro great suggestion

One point everyone seems to forget-  do you have a stable place to put it?  It’s very annoying to have a Tt that flies off the rails if you look at it the wrong way. I suggest placing half a glass of water in the place(s) you’re thinking of putting it and walk around the room normally. If the water shakes a lot, find another place. 

To consider:

1) Primary Control Kinea DD turnable and Gravity tonearm. All handmade in NL. Similar money

2) STST Motus IIDQ with Vertex or maybe Glanz tonearm. About half cost.

These both I work with, and love. Not on magazine covers but very good

Phono can depend on cart and system gain requirements. If low impedance cart ( under 5R ) than perfect for either current input phono  OR SUT plus tube phono. 

Most importantly have fun collecting records :)

@jasonbourne52 - I don’t think it’s a waste of money if you’re an experienced analog person. But I recommend a newbie start simpler. 
 

@chayro +1! That's what I would recommend! Spending $34K on a TT and more on a cartridge is a waste of money! This is where diminishing returns sets in!

Kuzma Stabi S. This is great value for money.

A single investment for life. Nice thought and I do agree that the cheapest way is to buy once. That said, if you’ve never spun vinyl before, I would go a simpler route, just to see if you really wanted to stay with it. Say, a $4k Technics direct drive with some decent cart for about $1k and maybe a nice Parasound preamp for $2k I think. Add a decent pair of cables for $500 and you’ll have a very nice rig you can play with for a year or 2 or more and probably sell quite easily if you get tired of it or want to upgrade later. That’s what I would suggest anyway. You can even go a little cheaper, but you seem to be more interested in the higher-priced range. Good luck. Just a final point, whatever you decide, I would seriously recommend buying from a local dealer who can set everything up for you and assist you with any issues that will absolutely arise along the way. 

Making a inroad to having a Vinyl Source with a Budget of $60Kish, this is a avenue to many many options.

The Avenger Direct is a DD TT Drive Motor design, this drive is my preferred. It also as a model, has a modern aesthetic and is aligned in styling to other High Price Tag TT designs.

It will be difficult for me to suggest it is a better performing TT, than other DD TT Options I have experienced, as I am not with a experience of the Avenger Direct.  All I can observe is that some of the alternative DD options will not carry the same features for the design as the one you are suggesting as a TT.

Where I stumble with such a design is the Cantilever Arm Board, it is a design I have never settled with, when seen used on very expensive TT's.

The TT is seemingly to be supplied with the Companies Tonearm, this to me seems a restriction to attain the TT>Tonearm permutation that has the most attractive presentation to the end users unique preference. Supplied as a Naked TT, there is a lot to be learned about Arms and where there is room to improve on the in-house offering.

Arms are notorious for having a controlling influence over the perception of the sound being presented. It is a little bit like a Rich > Transparent Perception, some dislike a Rich Perception, some want it to the point of overbearingly weighty. Some like a Transparent Perception and other like the most uncoloured clinical bite as their Transparency.

With the Tonearm the controlling influence of the design is perceivable. It is for an individual who is to live with the choice made, to reveal where their attraction is to, how much the impression of being constrained and restrictive, through to how much freedom and unsubdued the presentation is being perceived as. There will be a point where the end user finds the Smile that can't be removed, and the how do I pay moment comes out from nowhere. 

Your Budget Allocation for a TT>Arm is extremely advantageous to be able to achieve this experience from the start off.

The Cart' can be contained within this Budget as well, if alternative Brands are being looked at as a TT>Tonearm .     

There is a shortlist to be produced to extend beyond the suggestions being proposed by yourself, I am sure that with a $34K +/- ? Budget, it is not going to be limited to DD only, or only one Tonearm Option.