First you can replace that awful cartridge to something much better. Even if you will upgrade with turntable and tonearm later you will need a cartridge. Everything starts with a cartridge when you play vinyl. I have upgraded the same turntable for a friend, we just changed the cartridge and he was so happy. His new cartridge was Stanton 881s mkII with Stereohedron stylus, but it could be much better with Audio-Technica AT-ML170 from the 80s (this cartridge is one of the best MM money can buy) and works fine on many tonearms. It's a mid compliance cartridge. You can also try wonderful Grace F9 or F14 cartridges.
Brand new to vinyl: Help!
I am brand new to vinyl, but quite established in digital (CDs, lossless streaming, etc.).
I made the first foray to vinyl by purchasing an entry level turntable - Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC Esprit.
I am using an Ayre pre-amp with phono stage and also Ayre amp.
While I am happy I have it up and running, I don’t think it sounds as good as my digital setup (Directstream DAC).
So what can I do to improve, short of buying a much more expensive turntable?
Things in my mind:
1 - Since it accepts DC power, buy a linear power supply
2 - Since my Phone stage on my preamp only accepts XLR three-pin connector, I bought a male RCA to male XLR cable from Amazon, less than $20. Do I need a better interconnect?
3 - Upgrade the cartridge (it comes with Ortfofon Red something)
Thanks!
I made the first foray to vinyl by purchasing an entry level turntable - Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC Esprit.
I am using an Ayre pre-amp with phono stage and also Ayre amp.
While I am happy I have it up and running, I don’t think it sounds as good as my digital setup (Directstream DAC).
So what can I do to improve, short of buying a much more expensive turntable?
Things in my mind:
1 - Since it accepts DC power, buy a linear power supply
2 - Since my Phone stage on my preamp only accepts XLR three-pin connector, I bought a male RCA to male XLR cable from Amazon, less than $20. Do I need a better interconnect?
3 - Upgrade the cartridge (it comes with Ortfofon Red something)
Thanks!