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Good cartridge for the VPI Classic 1 turntable.

Hi. I am about to pull the trigger on the VPI Classic (1) turntable. Two questions -- 1) which MC cartridge works well? As for a MM I understand that the Clearaudio Maestro (wood) performs well. Your thoughts? 2) my budget for a phono preamp is about $700.00. What would be a good match. I like to listen to Steely Dan (AJA), the Beatles, Holly Cole, Louis Armstrong, etc. I'm not into classical music. I have a Primaluna Dialogue II with NOS tubes, Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor speakers with Kimber Kable Monicle X spkr wires. My other choice is to buy the Clearaudio Concept table with their Maestro (wood) MM cartridge. Is the Project Tube Box II phono preamp a good match for either of these fine tables? Thank you for your comments and insight. Cal.
dramapsycho

Showing 1 response by jmcgrogan2

jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Many VPI owners recommend Dynavectors or Lyra cartridges.

For $700 you are not going to get much of a phono stage, if you're lucky you may find an old Threshold or Forte phono preamp. Personally, I feel that if you are looking to spend less than $1K on a phono stage, you're better off looking for a full function preamp. A $500 inboard phono stage will outperform most any $1000 outboard phono stage.

I see that you can add a phono board to your Primaluna for $200. That's probably your best bet until you get setup and running. Then later on when you have more money you can upgrade your phono/preamp/amp.
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