Does a turntable make a DRAMATIC difference?


I purchased some analog gear in the hopes of making my analog side (a Sutherland 20 20 phono preamplifier and a Hana ML cartridge) at least the equal of my digital side. Although it has markedly improved the sound of my records it has not equaled the SQ of my digital sources. I know my turntable ( a heavily modified Rega RP3 with two power supplies and many other internal tweaks) is the weakest link. My question is, will a new improved turntable make a MAJOR difference, or just incrementally improve the sound. Or do I have to spend major bucks to achieve what I want.

128x128rvpiano

Showing 1 response by audphile1

@rvpiano

I think I can add my $0.02 here since some of the components are similar.
I’m using Hana ML with Sutherland KC Vibe Mk2. When I purchased the Hana my digital front end was Lumin U1 Mini and Benchmark DAC 3 HGC.

Turntable is MoFi UltraDeck and I used Dr. Feichert protractor to align the Hana ML cart.

Compared to Lumin/Benchmark the analog set up had sweeter sound with wider soundstage. The detail retrieval is on par with digital just different presentation.  Overall more relaxed and natural sounding but slightly trailing behind the benchmark in dynamics and bass drive and impact.
The analog combo was so good that it prompted the DAC upgrade as it had exposed some not so great traits of the benchmark DAC.

One other thing…prior to MoFi UltraDeck I owned Rega P2. The MoFi is a significant step up in build, features and sound quality. Rega’s lack of VTA adjustment alone is a deal breaker when you’re talking about going to better non-rega cartridges. Yes you can use spacers but still not comparable.