Advice for a new analog system

@rauliruegas thanks! That's awesome. 

Sounds like for tonearm/inch, the 12" is a significantly better deal.

I will start saving for the 36" one

Dear @grislybutter  : That's the price for the 9" tonearm and for the 12" is around 70K.

 

R.

" that tonearm is around 55K"

not a typo, right?

Dear @blisshifi : Yes, the Stellar is designed inside a market price-point but performs at way higher level and no can’t outperforms the 810. My experiences is that the PS Audio unit has very low noise , maybe something around " disturb " it.

However even at ist bargain price is very good option for the OP and been so inexpensive could be a good test for him around the other units in his analog rig he choosed.

 

I think that the Stellar si so good that any audiophile must has to gives a listen when has the opportunity.

One higligth of what Fremer posted:

 

""" At home, using the Ortofon Anna Diamond cartridge on the SAT arm, the result was sensational and fully corroborated Myers’s claim that his design was "innately transparent and present(s) the music with a correct display of tonal balance." It did that and more. The brass on the Bruckner was equally glorious, sacrificing none of its "bite" in service of string tone. """

That cartridge has a price tag over 4 times the Stellar unit and that tonearm is around 55K. He tested too with His Continnum Caliburn and the Air Force with the top Graham tonearm and the whole comparisons/tests were against the Swiss CH P1/X1 phono stage ( over 2 times ther SimsAudio price tag. )

So, we are not talking here of " penauts " but very serious quality level performance of the humble Stellar.

 

R.

 

R

@kennyc right. Let's say Rega P6 and P10.

The quality difference between the sound of those must be substantial.

I also give credit for looks and reliability, ease of use, user experience  

I honestly don't understand (I don't argue it, just don't see it) the big difference between a 2K turntable and and the more (way more) expensive ones.

 

@grislybutter

it’s not a “big difference”, but there is sonic improvements.  Whether this sonic improvements is worth spending $ on is totally subjective.  

I honestly don't understand (I don't argue it, just don't see it) the big difference between a 2K turntable and and the more (way more) expensive ones. I had to replace a part the manufacturer sent me and got to find out - yes that's how little I knew - how freaking simple a turntable is. And I am aware of my ignorance, I am not an engineer, but still, how hard is it with decades of manufacturing background to spin a plate at a steady speed and make a balanced arm? The mystery to me is the cartridge, a tiny pin, picking up all that data and sending it down without any data loss to the amp. Yes, I can imagine, those are tricky, but they have been perfected too for a 100+ years now. So all in all, how much better is the sound with the super expensive ones?

You may want to check out the Luxman EQ-500 phono stage. 

@jb1 Yes I am aware of the phono preamp built into the C1100, in fact my local dealer has loaned me a VPI Prime 21 turntable plugged directly into it while I decide on the purchase. I hope to be able to listen to it early next week once the room setup is complete (I'm changing rooms), maybe I will have a chance to listen to it with the CJ phono preamp and compare. I will keep you posted, thank you very much.​​​​​​

@ftrot 

How important is having multiple arms on a turntable?  This would help narrow suggestions.

 

There is nothing wrong with VPI products - they are no worse than other turntables. I suspect Agoners who are not fond of VPI is a matter of preference for other brand/model turntable rather than something defective in the design, or they dislike the amount of the cost. 

VPI has been around for a long time and I expect will continue to be around with young Matt Weisfeld taking over the VPI business from his founding father Harry.  VPI generally are high mass simple straightforward designs.  VPI turntables, usually a recent turntable model like the HW40 or Avenger, are commonly found in audio shows systems like AXPONA.

The VPI Avenger Direct offers a top high mass platter, option for up to 3 tonearms, and one of the very best speed accuracy turntables.

I have a VPI Avenger Rim drive.  Although VPI arms are are a fair value at their price points, I opted to get a Kuzma 4point and a Schroeder CB-L.  

 

 

Maybe you don't know that the top 6 tubes on the c1000 are part of an excellent built in phono stage: With whatever TT you choose, you might want to try that 1st before sinking $ into an external phono preamp. As far as choosing TT, You have to go listen. I use a Technics SL1210G with an Ortophon 2m Black with great results and no itch to add another preamp in the mix. If you do decide on adding a preamp, I would think that would consider the 1100 matching phono preamp. It would have been designed by the same design team that worked on C1100. Thus, keeping the true McIntosh sound from source to speakers.

@blisshifi The Holy Grail is today the Home Demo' in the Room used for the Set Up.

The next best is to have the demo' in Home where the Set Up and Room are familiar, and some of the Systems devices have been used in your own system.

There is enough on offer to get an extremely good feel for the Sonic of the device under the knife. 

@pindac 100% agree. Unfortunately for us audiophiles, direct experience is unavailable for many brands and units, and most have to rely on the assessments and recommendations of others. As citizens of this community, it is in our best interest to be as helpful to each other as we can, and that is the intent of these discussions. But I agree, there is no better way to land on a decision other than hearing a component in your room and in your system.

Gold Note Mediterraneo with their phono stage and power supply.....

@blisshifi Your assessment is seemingly available as a result of your first hand experiences of the devices. Your evaluation is that there is Sound being produced that has been not so impressive and impressive, there is a better experience to be found across devices for you at a closely shared price point, and even more, if the Value of a Particular Brands Device, that already impressed, is from a Model more expensive in the range.

I have experienced this on a few occasions whilst at  Phonostage Bake Off, where similar cost items are compared, there are Models that stand out as being much more impressive than another. A phon' that has won the most favour is moved onto the next increased in Value Demonstrations, it is surprising how certain more expensive models can leave a Phon' that has impressed sound quite wanting and not so attractive. Only experiencing these types of demonstrations and making ones own assessments, will there be a better understanding produced.  

It is this type of encounter that is being encouraged to the OP, to experience and process a evaluation and assessment.

Hopefully whilst doing the footwork, a discovery of a Presentation is met, that is satisfying and one wanted to be maintained or be built on.

Recommendations are immediate, but they are not encounters in a audible sense, where the end user has their chance to experience how a device impacts on them.  

I would caution that while I would agree largely with @rauliruegas with both his recommendations on Simaudio and the PS Audio Stellar Phono, the performance is relative to their price points. The Stellar Phono is one of the best solid state phono stages at its price point, but in my experience a number of phono stages in the $3K+ range easily bested it. For a solid state phono, I found it neither to be the quietest nor the most exciting, but it was still very good. In my experience, the Simaudio 610LP or even better, the 810LP, are leagues above in performance, albeit at exponentially higher price points.  

@ftrot Please let us know how any demonstrations received from a Particular Permutation of TT>Tonearm>Cart', especially how the presentation from the Vinyl System was perceived, and whether it was a attraction or detraction to your unique preference.

A Few Demo's of the few different Set Ups may help steer you toward, the presentation you prefer. A design of a Phonostage will also be a critical factor in the experiencing of a replay that is to be assessed as extremely satisfying to yourself and wanted to be maintained to such a standard.

The Discovering the Devices that create the most attractive presentation for you, may be a little more of a future find, but will be well worth the extended period of search when the most attractive experiences for yourself are discovered.   

Again I want to thank you for all your comments, they have enriched me tremendously. I am taking my time before moving my chips, I will certainly tell you and share with you my decisions and the system acquired.

@thoft I understand and appreciate your position on buying good quality equipment the first time around. This approach will likely save you money and definitely save you time. Some people enjoy the audio journey and others just want to get to their destination system. How each one of us gets there is as unique as the system we end up with. No right or wrong way. Doing research is a smart way forward and good first step either way.

Being in the audio business for over a couple of decades, we have been fortunate to sample lots of equipment, some great and some not so much.

The VPI Avenger Direct is an excellent TT and a great choice if you decide to buy one. High quality DD turntables provide a strong stable foundation for the rest of your future analog setup. The Avenger Direct is very well made and will provide you that stable foundation for many years. I am not affiliated with VPI in any way.

I suggest looking into something a bit different for a cartridge/phono preamp combo. The DS Audio Optical cartridge system and the Sound-smith Strain Gauge system. Both are excellent and top performers. Besides their great SQ they offer another benefit that you might appreciate, they both have their own electronics with line level outputs. The electronics are designed specifically for their cartridges. No need to worry about cartridge phono-preamp compatibility. We find that it takes a considerably larger investment to equal these system in performance with cartridge/phono-preamp combos.

Mike

 

Can I just say there are some other great decks at ur price:

Dohmann Helix 2

SME model 30 and the SME Anniversary (it may come with a Nagra phono stage but don’t quote me on that)

Technics Sl1000R - direct drive - remember they were one of the first DD designers and I recall the original VPI designer Harry Weisfield saying that to reproduce such a motor with the requisite tooling would cost about $30k

That’s just 3 beauties

HI, my recent thread might be informative - even though at a total 10-12K level (table +arm+cartridge. You can pick it up from my profile.

 

 

I personally love very nicely built stable turntables without springs etc.

1. Brinkmann Audio Taurus

2. CH Precision P1 

Option for future upgrades is a X1 Power supply.

3. Lyra Etna SL or Atlas SL ( Ideal single layer design that is a match made in heaven for current loaded Phono stages like the P1 ) 

4. Very good Vinyl cleaner.

5. Demag for treating your Vinyl

6. Audioquest vinyl brush

7. Antistatic cleaners.

8. Most important a customized Harmonic Resolution Systems isolation platform that is tuned for a Brinkmann Taurus....

This is an amazing system. I show this with the bigger Brinkmann Balance in my store. 

 

I think at times @ftrot many contributors to posts are not appreciative that questions are posed by people who are high net worth individuals who do not have the time to through a lengthy process of going up through various turntables over the years to find out (fun though it is for a less flush guy like me)

I can see your heart appears set, but apply the same budget on very strict terms and see what else is available and factor in the price of a good record cleaning machine (your cartridge would thank you for it - mine do)

At your price point you are getting into some seriously juicy turntables both new and second hand (don't dismiss it because ultra expensive audio takes the biggest price drop and they are never trashed from what I have seen). 

 

@ftrot  : If you want another excellent " price no object " audio item as the RP-10 then you can look for the PS Audio Stellar phono stage that indeed is Stellar. 

Stereophile reviewed and compared against the top Swiss CH that comes with a price tag over 70+K when the Stellar is lower than 3K and yes this one is " price no object ". Read it the review and please read to the measurements that several audiophiles diminish always:

 

PS Audio Stellar Phono phono preamplifier | Stereophile.com

 

R.

@edgyhassle 

 

Thanks, man.  I've found one can put together an end-game vinyl system without spending the kind of money you would spend on an automobile.  I really like the Rega P8 and P10 -- insanely good turntables.

So many you can choose from that price range , be sure you want stay longer in that game. Go check dealer and talk to them ,sure they will want to help and make business with you even can bring to you to Audition it . VPI ,Basis ,Kuzma at my fav. 
Either DD ,belt or even idler vintage is your choice. Good luck at your journey

Dear @ftrot  : Why 34K for a TT' makes no sense to me when there are a way lower price units that could outperforms your thread choice or choices coming from other gentelmans. 

 

My take is to put money accpording what the market best offers you on each audio item.

I know that the Agoners that know me could be " tired " with my TT option that in this thread was named only one time.

M.Fremer reviewed the SAT DD XD-1 turntable with SAT tonearm where the whole package set you back almost 300K and cartridges where the Lyra Atlas Lambda SL and Ortofon Century and he posted there:

 

" The XD1 shares some sonic characteristics with Rega's revolutionary RP 10 turntable: ultrafast, clean transients throughout the audible frequency range; tight, fast bass; revealing midrange transparency; and overall sonic stability and focus. All these characteristics result, apparently, from careful attention paid to structural rigidity and the removal or prevention of unwanted vibrational energy. "

 

in other reviews the Rega had mounted that Lyra too. Well including own excellent Rega tonearm ( not 12" tonearm that's a " myth " an error to own it. ) you pay less than 6K. You have in the Rega package two excellent audio items: TT and tonearm for the same price.

 

Cj or AR phonopreamps?, please don't waist your money. Remember your thread premise:

" I prefer the short cut of a single investment for life. "

 

You can go for one of this options: SimsAudio, Channel D , DSA or the phonolinepreamp Dartzeel ( phono and line preamp in one unit for 40K ). No tube phono stage can " touch " or stays " near " of those SS units and for very good reasons.

You need invest for the best you can in the phonolinepreamp because this unit is the one that must handled the cartridge critical and sensitive recorded signal and the unit not only has to amplify that extremely low output signal but has to do it with extremely low noise and low developed distortions. Additional to that in the phono stage the cartridge signal must pass through a heavy equalization with the inverse RIAA eq.curve that " manipulates " the cartridge signal from around -20db to +20db, this is a 40db swing ! ! ! and that RIAA eq. implementation must be designed  with a frequency response deviation inside no more than 0.1db. This figure is critical.

Cartridge? I agree with @mijostyn  and My Sonic Lab , Ortofon and I could add low output Colibri by VDH ( no more than 0.35mv output level. ), yes could be other options.

 

Well , that's my tak but at the end is up to you.

 

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,

R.

 

 

@allenf1963 +1. I might add these brands as some tables you may want to also consider: the Dr. Feickert Firebird / Deluxe 12 Package with the Tri-Planar U12 Tonearm; the AMG Viella 12; the TW-Acustic Raven; and finally, the Rega P10.
I like your choices of tables 

 

 

 

Agree w above

you need to be aware of the necessary acroutements including something similar to the degritter or klaudio 

 

 

@ftrot : I haven't read through this entire thread but thought of these two cents. Firstly:  for the kind of dough you intend to spend I would strongly encourage consultation with competent, trustworthy experts regarding system synergy. Secondly:  Again, I strongly recommend that you schedule and orchestrate serious auditions of whatever components hit your radar screen. Given the budget you have in mind, I assume long distance travel would not be out of the question. Thirdly: I'm also assuming you are aware of all of the necessary accoutrements that go part & parcel with a good vinyl set-up (e.g.  stylus cleaner(s); record weights or clamps; record brushes of air puffers; anti-static poly sleeves; etc.). Lastly (and probably most importantly):  a good record cleaner or cleaning system is a must IMHO. Even new records should be cleaned. Again IMHO, an ultrasonic cleaner or cleaning system is the way to go. If you want convenience, in this regard. consider the Degritter.

A thing to keep in mind w/ turntables & most hifi equipment, there are good & not do good examples of just about every design & school of thought. Direct drive, belt drive, massive platters, suspended plinths,etc. There’s lots of opinions on all of this ad Infinitum.
 

If you want a really good turntable / arm combo that in my experience is trouble free & essentially set & forget, try a model from Basis. Handmade in NH for many years, sound excellent w/ rock solid, high precision build quality. Find a dealer, go listen hopefully w/ at least the speakers you have ( & hopefully similar amps too) & choose a cartridge that sounds good to you, no need to speed a fortune on it, maybe the Hana Umami Red or something similarly priced (around $4K) w/ a good phono amp probably about that price. Any dealer that’s sells Basis should also carry quality ancillary stuff. Have them set it up ( tricky for the inexperienced bit Basis offers very clear, step by step videos to do so). 

I’ve owned my Basis 2500 / Vector 4 arm for over 20 years w/ 0 trouble & still sounds excellent! Replaced 1 belt & 2 cartridges. Todays models seem like they’re a little better in many ways but essentially the same. I would suggest getting a dust cover ( a plexiglass box that fits over it & removed when using) to keep unwanted things from touching the unit( dust, kids, cats whatever) if that’s an issue. 
 

 

@fatdaddy2  Yes I have audiophile friends and I have certainly gone to them for advice, I have no need to impress anyone I am just looking for the best system the budget that I have determined can buy. I am convinced that fools learn from their mistakes and wise men learn from experience, (that doesn't mean I won't make mistakes, I just want to minimize the possibility) in that sense the more experience I can learn from others the better, I believe this is one of the main objectives of this forum and I appreciate the time and selflessness of the participants in contributing selflessly in my personal project. @pindac You got it right.

The OP is not a New Driver, still in their Teen Years, wanting to spend 20K+ on their first owned vehicle.

Advice will always be to get a bit of experience under the belt with a Fender Bender/ Older Vehicle.

The OP has obviously found a place where spending a substantial monies is a option, and is not wanting to have a continued experience of Building the Vinyl Source and Ancillaries, there is enough in the kitty to achieve their end game set up between $5K - $65K, where the spend starts and cuts off is the OP's choice, they are adult and know what they would like to achieve.

Gathering a Broader Knowledge before a Spend is no bad thing, and this is seemingly where the OP has placed themselves.    

Blah blah blah blah.  +1 on spending $5K, listening for a year or so (while acquiring vinyl), then see where you want to go from there.  Doesn't sound like you have any audiophile friends you want to impress, or you would've turned to them first for advice.

For that money, check out the Bergmann turntables.  Modi or Galder models.  They perform superbly.  Several options for cartridges.  Their linear tracking arms are excellent.  Make sure you get a good tube phono preamp.  The combination of a Bergmann and good phono preamp will result in a lifetime of beautiful listening.  You’ll be amazed how good new and old vinyl can sound.

+1 @jeffseight lol exactly.

The money pit of all money pits is high-end analog turntable playback, an outdated tech with zero chance of true sonic innovation versus digital sources which are only getting started on their innovation curves.

My $30K digital source chain ALREADY sounds almost as good as any of my previous analog setups - even streaming is QUICKLY gaining sonic ground on the local high rez pcm or dsd files on my NAS. 

Having a modest turntable makes sense if you have some LPs, but you should really allocate the bulk of your money for spending big on the FUTURE of hifi playback rather than its past.

Csport LFT

J Sikora Refrence

Astelllar by Acoustical Systems

 

I have a VPI prime with the 3D uni pivot arm and Hana ML cart. GREAT TT! Couldn’t be happier.

Third school of thought. 

Wake up from this crazy dream!

@ftrot 

 

You have an amazing core system right now, and I'd love to be in your position as you go on your vinyl journey.  You have gotten some great advice from Members who are much more knowledgeable than myself -- all I can add is the recommendation to soak up their words of wisdom like a sponge.  Please keep us updated, or send me a message once you have put together your vinyl system.  I'd love to see pictures of your layout once it is set up.

 

I like your "go big or go home" approach, but I do agree with @jasonbourne52 regarding spending such a large amount of money from the get-go on your first vinyl system.  There are SO many mistakes that can be made when trying to put together an "end all" high end vinyl system (synergy between components, the detail of sound, vibration or noise issues, and simply the ease of use), unless you have the ability to truly have a "no obligations" trail test period in your home with the gear you choose, you could end up taking a sizable loss when you go to replace items because the sound just isn't right.

 

I might add these brands as some tables you may want to also consider: the Dr. Feickert Firebird / Deluxe 12 Package with the Tri-Planar U12 Tonearm; the AMG Viella 12; the TW-Acustic Raven; and finally, the Rega P10.

Doesn’t sound like budget is much of a concern. 

You can have a very nice analog set up for much less than that and have plenty left over to start a massive lp collection.

I’d say get yourself an Avid ingenium, a Music Hall mmf 7.3 or 9.3, a technics gr or g, a linn lp12 Magik, a new thorens td 1601 or td 124 dd, etc....listed pretty much in order of cost....for the phono preamp get a pro ject tube box ds2, a new ifi phono3, a tavish design classic or vintage, an Ear 834p, a tavish design Adagio,...cartridges would include the shure m97xe, ortofon 2m Bronze or black, the Hana el, the ortofon quintet blue or Bronze, a shelter 501, etc...just to name a few...grab yourself some nice Atlas phono cables or maybe cardas...any combo of all the above would not even come close to 60k and yet would all sound spectacular.

I personally own the music hall mmf 7.3 with ortofon 2m Bronze, the Avid ingenium plug & play, the thorens td 240-2 fully automatic with ortofon om10, and the technics mk7 with shure m97xe....all sound great. My phono preamp are the tavish design classic with nos tubes (rca, Sylvania and GE). I also use a Graham slee Era Gold v, and a musical fidelity lx lps...all great phono stages. For SUT’s I have both the Rothwell and the Jensen for my moving coil which include both the Hana el and ortofon quintet blue. Invest in a good turntable wall shelf and record cleaning machine such as the record Dr V. Also buy a good 10x eye loupe, a stylus brush, and good anti static record sleeves from sleeve city. 

My next purchase will be the thorens td 1500, $2999, but can be had below 2k if you buy over seas...it's received great reviews all over and is the revived thorens td 150 of yesteryear. Comes with ortofon 2m bronze....it's a steal. 

I would say, there are probably two schools of thought.  Start low and move up.  Or start high and stay there.  In college I had the VPI Scoutmaster, it was a messy ordeal.  I never was able to get good sound out of it.  I sold it before I graduated and didn’t think about vinyl for years.

 

Then I thought about going back into it but I didn’t want the same experience.  So I consulted with my audiophile friends and I decided, go all in.  Bought the Avenger Ref (this was a couple years before the DD Avenger came out)… and never looked back.  Moved from Rogue Ares to Zesto Andros and now Arc Ref 10 phono.  The analog side is without lack.

 

@ftrot , several issues. The Clearaudio Davinci is a great cartridge but not a good idea for a first timer. That cantilever hanging out in the breeze is a disaster waiting to happen. There are several great cartridges that have less exposed cantilevers by Ortofon, My Sonic Lab, Air Tight, Koetsu, Soundsmith and Grado. 

If you are going to spend that kind of money on a turntable I suggest you look at Basis, SME, or Avid. The most important parts of the record playing device are the tonearm and cartridge. The most important attributes a turntable can have are an isolating suspension and vacuum clamping. The Basis meets these requirements. All top of the line turntables have decent drives and bearings now. SME and Avid use reflex clamping which is second best.

So you have some background in turntable and tonearm design watch this, The only mistake made is his opinion of anti skating

 

I have Avenger Reference with rim

i also have audio Research Reference 10 phono

 I can tell you it’s awesome

 message me if you want to talk

Thank you all again and thank you Juan for your disinterested offer, I really appreciate it, I have a lot of research to do thanks to all your contributions, which makes this trip really fascinating. @blisshifi  I accept your offer Juan as soon as I do the research homework I will be in touch for your advice. Thank you.

Thank you, @vonhelmholtz for your comments and for bringing this thread to my attention.

@ftrot, your system is made of incredible components and is worthy of the investment you are willing to make for a vinyl rig. I don't come across many who pair Mc with Dyn, and I bet that results in fantastic synergy.

There have been a lot of great contributions to this thread already. When looking at the whole package, I would definitely think about the stability and drive of the table and plinth, the performance of the tonearm, and a great cartridge to pair with it given the tonearm's effective mass. Then, based on cartridge selection and the main system preamp, I would find the best phono stage to match. In my earlier days, I would typically look into cartridges first, but the performance of the cartridge is more vastly affected by the rest of the turntable. Also as cartridges can come and go, it's important to think about the turntable and tonearm as being the foundation that is there to stay.

I personally run a Clearaudio Innovation Wood, whose motor is powered by the $3500 optional Clearaudio Smart Power 24V DC power supply, which basically makes the motor run on battery power free of ripples in current while offering a bit more confidence in a way a direct drive table might, and I use the Tri-Planar U12 tonearm, which is one of the best and most innovative tonearms made today. Cartridge is the My Sonic Lab Signature Gold (one step below @vonhelmholtz, which I'm a bit jealous about) paired with a Simaudio Moon 810LP (hoping to score the optional 820S power supply down the road).

If I had the chance to set up a second rig, or perhaps sell part of mine and work with the budget you have, I would likely want to sell off the Clearaudio Innovation Wood and try for a Technics SP-10R, which is the most recent release of theirs from their long standing SP-10 direct drive line. This has been a proven design that only has gotten better over the years, and while the previous generations are still well coveted, the SP-10R breaks new grounds with stability and performance. I would then look into pairing this unit with one of the artisan plinths available, like those from Artisan Fidelity (high qualitiy wood) or OMA (cast iron).

For the tonearm, I would recommend nothing but the Tri-Planar U12 or U2SE. Tri Mai's advancement on Herb Papier's designs are nothing short of astonishing. Upgrading my arm to that one resulted in a more significant improvement in sound over upgrading my cartridge by thousands of dollars. The performance gains due to improved resonance control and less friction resulted in clarity, dynamics and effortless I'd never prior heard in my system, and this is coming from multiple types of VPI tonearms in the past. Full disclaimer, I am now an authorized Tri-Planar dealer, mostly because I was simply floored in its performance. The one I own now was not purchased in a dealer capacity.

Once you select a tonearm and cartridge to pair, you can start thinking about phono stages. Some will be typical gain stages, or, depending on the selected cartridge, you may opt for transimpedance / current mode phono stages. A few folks in this community turned me onto them when I started the thread "Solid State Phono Stages" early last year. Of course, I wholeheartedly recommend a tonearm that can be wired in true balanced configuration into the phono stage and have a phono stage that is truly balanced in input and output to preamp. That limits some choices, but inherently may make some decisions easier on you. Going this route not only will reduce noice, but enables for longer runs one day should you decide to better isolate your vinyl rig away from the rest of your rack or room.

The phono stages you mention (CJ or ARC) are somewhat apples to oranges in tonality. Given you are running an all Mc stack, which tends to run on the warm side, the Dyns likely do a good job of delivering honesty. I would likely recommend a phono stage that is quite neutral and revealing to maintain integrity, and you can then have options in your cartridge selections on whether you want more warmth, bloom, detail, etc.

I'm always happy to chat and provide guidance along the way, no purchase necessary. Feel free to message me if you're inclined.

Juan Charvet
Bliss Hifi

@pindac 

right.... we come here for three reasons with questions:

• we are clueless, we need help
• we know what we want but we want confirmation
• we want to argue and prove our point, show off what we have or what we know

this post is not not in any of these categories. If someone told me I HAD TO spend 30K on a TT,  I would ask: can you give me 90K for the room, the rest of the gear and another 30K for the LPs and a year to put together the ones with synergy? Without these, a 30K TT will sound as good as (insert very low $ number here) turntable

 

 

@pindac 

I purchased the Audionet used, but I agree that the upgraded power supply is the way to go.

@vonhelmholtz I have my radar out to get an audition of a MSL Gold or Platinum, with design and Parts used to build the Platinum having the most appeal.

It does seem this will most likely be achieved through a HiFi show, so the Demo' environment will be carefully assessed to work out how the Sound is being effected.

Your description is food for thought for anybody expressing an interest in a acquisition with a sizeable budget, the Phon' > Cart' coming in at close $20K, with  a Phon' Upgrade Power Supply as an option as well. 

Your choices for supporting ancillaries, when combined with a Modern Alternative Model of a DD TT >Tonearm can still be achieved as a complete set up for the OP's proposed budget for the DD TT > Tonearm only.