@tablejockey you are 100% right on expectations - and I am totally aware of it. But I am not investing big dollars on a top shelf TT until I figure out vinyl is good for me.
Phono stage is top class. It is a Ayre K-1xe preamp with the optional phone stage included, which at that time costed MSRP of $1,800 additional upgrade.
I was just thinking in terms of temporary "stop gap" measure doing something with what I have.
Thanks! |
@tablejockey when you say "value cart", did you mean "cartridge"?
How do I know which cartridge is compatible with my turntable? |
Great advice everyone! Thank you.
I did have to remove the load resistor out of the phono board on Ayre K-1xe, as it was 100 ohms and muffled the sound a lot. According to Ayre, the Ortofon red cartridge was best with no loading. I had to open the Ayre up to do all this.
The gain resistor is 10 ohm, so that means loudest setting, but it's OK, I can manage.
I don't know what re-alignment means, but I will look it up.
The cable I got is RCA on one end and XLR on the other. No adapter used. That's what Ayre's manual recommended.
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What is a good recording @reubent ? A few examples? |
Thanks @gasbose @terry9 @pekri I will watch that video when I find some time. Bookmarked.
My Speakers are Revel Performa3 F208
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You are killing me guys! Especially with those analogies. I know it’s an entry level TT. Totally aware. Trying to figure out whether the inconvenience of vinyl is something I can live with, while improving the sound with what I have right now and minor tweaks.
It seems like upgrading to Blue Ortofon is probably doable.
Maybe some ~ $200 Interconnects too.
I have already ordered a cleaning kit, and a level. |
@cheeg I no longer have a CD player. All my CDs are ripped. I use my Directstream with Bridge II to stream my music via Roon, as well as Tidal Hifi
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I took note of all suggestions. Before I go any further:
Is it worth tweaking my current turntable (Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Esprit), or saving up money to buy a "good" turntable down the road?
I am thinking I should be able to save about $2,000 to $4,000 for a good turntable in about six months. |
Thanks @effischer !
I have no idea on how to align it. Are you talking about leveling it?
Agreed on a good cable / Interconnects. It is a future proof purchase since I would be using the same cable when I upgrade the entire turntable setup.
Stylus beyond Ortofon Blue maybe too soon to decide on a good one.
‘For future upgrade I am thinking Clearaudio Concept or VPI Prime Scout
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Darn @atmasphere you're an Audiogon member before I was born.
Where are you located? |
Ahhh.... @effischer much appreciate this write up, but unfortunately I am not up to this task. Maybe I can find someone locally to do this for me
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@stringreen @johnmarzy @2channel8 and @vindanpar : thank you very much.
I will get the Geodisc.
Getting a new cartridge is so difficult for people like me who are not familiar with their brands, etc. A lot of research to do.
Anyone here from DC area? |
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No. To preserve a balanced signal, you'll need separate hot and neutral for each channel, and a ground independent of those separate neutrals.
Does such thing exist? |
That’s not very encouraging @back2vinyl... |
Update from OP here:
Long story short: bought a Clearaudio Concept from my local dealer. He gave me a good deal I could not pass up. Just the standard tone arm and standard “concept” cartridge.
Just set it up with my dealer’s help, and it sounds great. No comparison with the Project Debut Carbon DC Esprit which is going back.
To complicate things, I have an Ortofon 2M Bronze coming in the mail, so question becomes: is the Ortofon Bronze better than the standard Concept cartridge, or should I just return it ?
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@effischer : much appreciate your well-thought reply to me. Thank you!
This kinda fell on my lap. A dealer I know locally, who is also a friend texted me about the unit - clearaudio concept I bought - that a customer just brought this in at the store (authorized clearaudio dealer) as a trade up.
So I went to take a look, and it was indeed in pristine condition, nothing missing, only four months used.
He also helped me with realigning the cart, and other setting I don't know yet.
Needless to say, I got a good price too.
Very interesting advice on selling the Bronze cart! It did cross my mind, but I am very curious to compare the two. I need to thing this over, and possibly take your advice and resist the temptation to try the Bronze.
BTW - I also bought a nice maple wood stand from the same dealer to put it underneath the table. It's a pity I cannot post pics here. Looks great! |
Anyone uses linear power supplies here to power their DC turntables? |
Thanks @atmasphere
Any idea where / which I can buy one in US? |
Thanks @jsm71 !
Another update: I had my dealer come over at my house and install the new cartridge - the Ortofon Bronze - yesterday. I just wanted to make sure it was done right, alignment, weight and all - he brought all tools.
While there was a noticeable improvement (better bass and midrange, and slightly less "bright") to the stock Cocept MM cart, it was not eye popping. Still, I am happy I did it, so that I don't have to upgrade anything now for a while.
In terms of the cables, the Clearaudio Concept comes with "captive" interconnects (they cannot be removed from the turntable). I did buy from Audiogon some good quality gold connector adapters (RCA to XLR) for $35 plus $6 shipping.
And yes @jsm71 my phono stage is built in my Ayre pre-amp - K-1xe. It only accepts balanced connectors on its phono stage inputs.
Truth be told, I have made so many changes with my new analog setup now in such a short period of time, that I should really sit down and simply listen to music for a few weeks without any additional tweaks. I have bought quite a few records locally and through Amazon now, so plenty of (familiar) music to listen to.
Thanks everyone for your help! |
Any recommendations for a record cleaning machine? I bought one of those brush cleaners from Amazon, but I think I need a more robust one. Thanks |
Thank you very much @lewm !
Definitely something I plan to do down the road, if I am lucky enough to find someone that understands what you wrote and knows what to do
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