Dear Toffeng, The GCPH is a bargain at its price, but IMO you should look higher up the ladder for both your phono stage and your cartridge, to do justice to your state of the art turntable and tonearm. As regards the phono stage, you need to decide whether you want to introduce a tube component into your otherwise all-transistor system. I think it would be wise to do so, because your system would seem to lean to the "lean" side in terms of sonic qualities. (You say that yourself, and I would agree.) Finally, I would also urge you to think hard about choosing a true balanced phono stage for use with what will likely be a low output moving coil cartridge. There are sound reasons for doing so, if you will pardon my pun. High quality balanced, tube phono stages include the Atma-sphere MP1, the balanced version of the Einstein, and the Aesthetix Io. You could not go wrong with any of these, based on my own experience. (I currently own an MP1.) If you want to stay all-transistor, I suggest you consider the (balanced) Ayre P5Xe, which I would place above the GCPH but which is not in the megabuck region for cost. For a cartridge, the arguments for one vs another are endless and boring. Just choose a good one based on a consensus of opinions, and start from there with the realization that you will probably want to try more than one before you reach Nirvana. For this reason, second-hand cartridges bought from reliable persons are a good way to go.
Cartridge and step up / riaa for TW Acustic Raven
Hi!
I hope you all are well :)
If everything gets together I will buy a TW Acustic Raven One with a Graham Phantom II in the new year. The next step is to buy a cartridge and phono amp.
My equipment consist of Wilson Sophias II, Burmester 032 integrated amp, Burmester 061 cd player, Nordost Tyr interconnects and speaker cables, Thor powerdistributor with Nordost Brahma powerlines. In addition to this I have a Revox B77 mk2 reel to reel player.
The Burmester sound is in many ways similar to McIntosh, but slightly more on the ying side. The sound is clear and open, with a wonderful mids. The treble is smooth and detailed. The bottom is dynamic and deep, but more running with the flow than with a slam. The bigger 911 mk3 amp is more detailed in the bottom. But the price level is different too.
So I have to combine a cartridge and phono amp to this. I play all kind of music, since I am both is a talent buyer for rock pop festivals and a consultant for the national arts council regarding music (all kinds). So I listen a lot to music through the week.
I like dynamic open detailed open sound, but I do not like it overly analytical if that means too much forward in its presentation.
I like the sound in my system at the moment. However, I have to do something with my listening room, but thats another story. Its an ongoing process as we know!
My budget at this point will be approx. USD 3,000 for the phono amp and USD 1,500 for the cartridge. Maybe step later on.
The dealer of TW Acustic has reccommended Koetsu and Air Tight.
Thanks for your help!
Cheeers, ToffenG
I hope you all are well :)
If everything gets together I will buy a TW Acustic Raven One with a Graham Phantom II in the new year. The next step is to buy a cartridge and phono amp.
My equipment consist of Wilson Sophias II, Burmester 032 integrated amp, Burmester 061 cd player, Nordost Tyr interconnects and speaker cables, Thor powerdistributor with Nordost Brahma powerlines. In addition to this I have a Revox B77 mk2 reel to reel player.
The Burmester sound is in many ways similar to McIntosh, but slightly more on the ying side. The sound is clear and open, with a wonderful mids. The treble is smooth and detailed. The bottom is dynamic and deep, but more running with the flow than with a slam. The bigger 911 mk3 amp is more detailed in the bottom. But the price level is different too.
So I have to combine a cartridge and phono amp to this. I play all kind of music, since I am both is a talent buyer for rock pop festivals and a consultant for the national arts council regarding music (all kinds). So I listen a lot to music through the week.
I like dynamic open detailed open sound, but I do not like it overly analytical if that means too much forward in its presentation.
I like the sound in my system at the moment. However, I have to do something with my listening room, but thats another story. Its an ongoing process as we know!
My budget at this point will be approx. USD 3,000 for the phono amp and USD 1,500 for the cartridge. Maybe step later on.
The dealer of TW Acustic has reccommended Koetsu and Air Tight.
Thanks for your help!
Cheeers, ToffenG