2. analog
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Develop a hierarchy for phono playback

I am hoping we can form a consensus on the relative importance of each element.  I will start by listing them in physical order starting at the record.

1. Cartridge

2.  Wires

3.  Arm

4.  Turntable

5.  Connecting cables

6.  Phono Stage

7.  Optional SUT and additional connecting cables

I thought about this two ways:  How might these elements be prioritized for someone just starting out?   Or, how might the elements be prioritized differently where cost is less important than best SQ?

billstevenson
wturkey's avatar
wturkey
853 posts
 

The top of the list may need to be the record itself. Here there are 4 turntables set up from different manufacturers. A crappy record/recording sounds crappy on all 4. 
 

All leads back to the G.I.G.O. adage. 

dayglow
2,018 posts
 

In order of importance... 4/3/6/1/5 Phono to Preamp/2 Turntable to Phono Input/7. My reasoning for placing the phono preamp ahead of the cartridge is that too many systems never attain the potential of the cartridge due to a subpar phono stage.

gano
280 posts
 

I would say the better the cartridge, the more important the phono stage. So if you have 2000 dollars don't spend half of it on the phono stage. If you have 10, yes, absolutely. @ghdprentice is up there with his system, way across the 10K per component line, and he is always very thoughtful

wolf_garcia
6,764 posts
 

The bias against "cheap" cartridges is lame. The Sumiko Pearl at 125 bucks or so was amazing...I use an Ortofon Quintet Blue MC which at 500 bucks or so isn't cheap but also sounds amazing. Don't be fooled by elitist baloney as there are tons of great sounding inexpensive options.

jperry
2,474 posts
 

Very interesting, but I think it's more about figuring out the weakest link in your system as well as system synergy, rather than a strict hierarchy.

My system consists of a significantly upgraded Garrard 301 with an Ikeda tonearm.

The tonearm cable is Nordost Odin 2, which was a significant upgrade or the Nordost V2. I didn't think it would make much difference and I was wrong.

The cartridge varies, but is usually the Ikeda 9GSS or MSL Platinum.

I just upgraded my preamp to the Luxman CL-1000, which was a significant upgrade. At one point I had a couple of expensive stand alone phono preamps, but I prefer having them integrated into the preamp to cut down the box count.

According to most formulas, I have too much tonearm cable, and maybe not enough phono preamp depending on how much of the CL-1000 is attributed to phono preamp. As for the Garrard, people love or hate it. I love it.

Overall IMO a well balanced and excellent sounding analog front end as far as I can tell

 

 

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