@ossicle2brain @joshindc Ossicle nailed it though I put phono-pre- first. The TT is the least important piece by far - it is simply a rotating platter and if it is isolated decently that is all you need. TTs with built in great isolation do tend to have all the check boxes (SME, Sota) and great arms. I always recommend to focus on the phono pre-amp first - aside from speakers. When both the phono-pre and speakers of excellent quality that match your acoustic preferences give you a foundation to build upon. System pre-amp with a great volume control system is next. On the phono pre-amp the must have feature IMO is recording industry based equalization selection (RIAA, Columbia, Decca) - otherwise the record and the analog output stage aren’t using the same expected equalization and you can’t correct for it without an equalizer.
Does a record player make that much of a difference??
Question for all you Audionerds - in your experience, how much of a difference does one record player make over the next compared with the differences that a cartridge, phone pre-amp, and separate head amp make in the signal chain?
Reason I ask: I just upgraded from a MM cart to a MC cart (Dynavector 20x2-low output). Huge difference - the Dynavector sounds much more alive and detailed compared with the MM. I find my current record player (a Marantz TT16) to be a real pain to work with - I have to manually move the belt on the motor hub to change speeds, and the arm is not very adjustable or easy to do so. But, aside from that, it's not terrible. How much of a difference can I really expect if I upgrade to a better record spinner vs the change I heard from upgrading to a better cart?
My next acquisition is a separate head amp to feed the phono stage.
Thanks for all your insights!
Josh