Entertaining A - B Comparison


So, I just sold what had been my first turntable - the trusty Thorens TD-160 Super with the Grace 707 arm and a Shure M97xe cartridge. Since I had to demo it for the fellow I had the opportunity to set it up next to my Sota Star which has a Audioquest PT-6 arm and an AT OC9 cartridge.

You know what? The Thorens/Shure combo did not come off as bad as one might have expected. No where near as much detail or refinement from the cartridge, or as stable an image from the table, but otherwise quite pleasant. And I know its not really all that "hi-fi" but that Shure has a very nice warm sound. Not terribly open in the highs, but warm with really natural timbres. You could do worse.

The OC9 by comparison has much better clarity, but it really is a bit dry sounding. Might be a reason to upgrade sooner or..... sooner.

At any rate, I watched my Thorens drive off in the back of this fellows hatchback. Based on what he was telling me he didn't seem cursed with the hi-fi bug. He just wanted to spin some records. I'm sure he'll enjoy it.
grimace

Showing 1 response by dcstep

Don't write off the OC-9 until you break in for a few weeks. Lots of good cartridges will sound a little bright and dry early on and warm up with time. VTA could also impact, but wait until you get it broken in before optimizing VTA. Another tenth or two of tracking force might help, until it breaks in.

Dave