Am I on the right analog track?


I recently rejoined the big round plastic music spinners group and I am curious if I made some good decisions. Yea, I know that �how it sounds� is how you tell but I will get to that later. I wanted a lower priced but quality turntable and I found a good price on a Project Perspective with a Blue Point Special cartridge. This combination had good reviews and a lot of happy thoughts so I took the dive. The folks at HCM Audio set it up the cartridge for me since I have never done it. I put the pieces together, set the tracking force, and spun it up. It sounds alright. A little more rich, a little more harmonious. But a heck of a lot more work. Being handicap does not help my mood as I need to keep bouncing up and down but I don�t think that I am that bitter. So, I purchased some of those 180g music frisbees and a Nitty Gritty cleaner, some last products. But I will have to tell you, I really expected a lot more. So I must be doing something wrong. I mean, it is not rocket science and I did all the voodoo dances that I know of. But maybe I am missing something. Did I just get my expectations too high? I am an analytical engineer, techie type so I would normally tend towards more detail that goldeness. I am running this table through Harmonic Tech Truth Links to a Nad Silverline preamp with the add on phono. I have the sensitivity set high on the phono preamp so I can compare it easier with the CD�s. Maybe that �beyond the reality of real music� detail of digital has tainted my taste buds so that I prefer sterility to wholesomeness. But I just expected more. And here�s the real clincher to this odd tale. How do I know if I got it all set up right anywise. Do the turntable police show up and cite me. Is there more to the meaning of music on vinyl than I can perceive. IS THERE A WAY TO TELL??? It was a snicker when I realized that the little string with the weight on it was to be over that little post on the back of the tonearm and not to just hang from the little springy goody. Silly me! Dale
mcne

Showing 1 response by plato

Well, to be fair, digital sources and analog turntable systems come at many different price and performance levels. The Project Perspective with the Blue Point Special cartridge is hardly the best analog source that can be found, and you never did say which CD player you were comparing it to. Also, there are many things (tweaks) that can be done to improve the sound of a TT system. Neglecting the nuances of proper setup, such as precise leveling, cartridge adjustment, and mounting the TT on a suitable base, can only result in mediocre performance. Maybe you didn't do the correct VooDoo dances...or maybe your digital gear is very high quality, and won't be beat at the performance level of analog rig you purchased. And as someone else opined, a better cartridge could make a very large improvement.