2. analog
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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 3 responses by yoyoyaya

yoyoyaya's avatar
yoyoyaya
616 posts
 

@OP. It depends on how good your digital is. Back in the 80s when CD appeared a Rega 3 would obliterate the players that are available.

That's not the case any longer. Small volume mechanical engineering costs lots of money so, arguably, its become more expensive to make system improvements in the analogue domain than in digital.

yoyoyaya's avatar
yoyoyaya
616 posts
 

@rudyb - that is a gross mis-characterisation of the function of a turntable. The best description of the function of a turntable that I have hears is Touraj Moghaddam's statement that it's function is "to measure the groove with respect to time". Anything that interferes with or corrupts that measurement will impact on the accuracy of reproduction - including resonances or sources of noise anywhere within the system or any inccuracies in the temporal component. Eliminating all of those is a non trivial engineering challenge.

yoyoyaya's avatar
yoyoyaya
616 posts
 

@slaw - thanks. +1 on Bozz Scaggs and Aimee Mann!

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