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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

joshindc

Showing 1 response by fsonicsmith

fsonicsmith's avatar
fsonicsmith
938 posts
 

I suggest looking at it from a slightly different perspective-which some of you are already doing; where do the diminishing returns kick in more abruptly. I also am disregarding base-level set ups intentionally (base level skews the analsis). 

So assuming a $5,000 and up budget/expenditure I believe they kick in most quickly with the phono stage, then cartridge, then turntable, and last with the tonearm. 

I know many hear will disagree. The above is based on some degree of experience.

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