@kro77
+1 keep at it. I’m just a bit crazy about clean albums. I wash/vacuum many of mine before they go on the table.
would love to have an ultrasonic cleaner, but just don’t have the room/space. |
And check out Discogs for good older LP’s. Or even eBay, but that can be more iffy.
I’ve gotten a lot of great LP’s on Discogs, at a fraction of what new ones cost. |
Many cartridges have a lifespan of at least 1,000 hours. That said, I know some have gone beyond 1,000 without issue. Keeping the needle clean is probably as important as overall lifespan hours. I believe Clearaudio states their lifespan to be 2,000 hours, so it may be hard to go wrong with that purchase if it is otherwise in good shape.
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Just stick with the MoFi cart to start. Get your feet wet, and when you desire to get in deeper, by then, you will have done more research to decide if another cart is desired, or not. From what I have read, their carts are very good at their price point, and really, you are getting a good deal with the table package, as purchased separately, they aren’t ‘cheap’ carts. The StudioTracker, which comes with ‘your table’, I believe, sells for $200. The UltraTracker sells for $500. |
The MoFi is a good choice in that price range. Was looking at the Ultradeck until I went absolutely crazy. In a good way of course. No regrets. |
I’m sure every album you decide to play will be a somewhat new experience.
I, also, just put together a new TT rig over the last couple weeks, and every album I play is somewhat like listening for the first time. |
@kro77 My Studio Deck arrived today so will work on figuring and setting it up. Ended up spending less than i had talked myself into at 918 bucks which seems like a really reasonable starting point. Congrats!! Enjoy. I think you made a good choice as a starting point. |
almost done now. Seems like a whole néw micro universe to obsess over. Well, of course, some of us call that ‘fun’ 😁 |
@kro77
So? How does it sound? |
Am very pleased so far.. but I dont have alot of reference points. Fantastic. Well, your first reference point is the sound vs digital formats. I put my vinyl ‘to sleep’ for over 35 years. When I dug it/them back out about a year and a half ago, I realized quickly what I was missing/had missed. Bought a good ‘re-stater table’, and started collecting a whole new batch of vinyl. Now, with my recently acquired SOTA Sapphire/Jelco 850/Soundsmith Zephyr combo, digital is having a much harder time competing with my ears. Enjoy |
You can get occasional pops from your vinyl, it is fairly normal; It isn’t a digital format. You may want to invest in a record cleaner, and also a Zerostat anti-static gun. But even then, if you have some old albums, no matter how hard you try, and how much you clean, you may always have *some* surface noise depending on how they were cared for, the stylus the previous owner used, etc. Noise can also happen with LP’s that were not pressed well, even new ones. Pops can be from specs of dust, not only static. So many factors.
Brush with a carbon fiber brush before each play. Keep your stylus clean. Clean your records. Zap with a Zerostat gun, especially when humidity become lower in the air. Those are good basic practices.
Some higher end cartridges and phono stages can also help in reducing (hiding) noise. It’s a journey, but don’t expect that part of playing vinyl to be as dead quiet as digital formats....all the time.
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It’s hard to know how much is abnormal as we cannot listen to what you are hearing. Is there ‘a lot’? What is ‘a lot’? Is it unlistenable?
I have LP’s that are very quiet for vinyl, and others that look just as clean, and not so much. Again, so many variables.
One thing is for sure; is it a problem with your table? Very doubtful. Cartridge? Possibly not as quiet as others, but again, hard to say. If I had to guess, and we are talking about enough clicks and pops to be unlistenable, that is more about your vinyl.
I used to have a ‘starter’ Pro-Ject table I bought when getting back into vinyl, less quality than yours, and some of my LP’s sounded quieter than others, so It wasn’t a consistent problem having to do with the table/arm/cartridge combo. I now have a much nicer SOTA, very good Jelco arm, and Soundsmith cartridge. Is it quieter overall? Yes it is, but overall cost almost three times more than your set-up. So yes, it is possible that if you spend much more you can possibly achieve a quieter experience. But it won’t eliminate it. I do know one thing, I much prefer an LP with a bit of noise than listening to the same album on CD or streaming....all the time.
I grew up with LP’s so perhaps my, and other who did as well, have different expectations. I just don’t know what you are hearing. |
If you cannot compare in person, then study, read, find possible reviews of the carts you might be considering looking for their strong and weak points, Etc. Ask members here who might have the same cart and/or table.
We all like tweaks. That is pretty normal. If you can afford the Clearaudio, go for it, try it, as you can always put the stock cartridge in storage and use as a back-up.
Lack of soundstage depth may not have to do with the cart itself, there are so many other factors, including how that particular recording was made. Phono pre could also be a factor. Or, have you tried moving or tweaking your speakers? After getting my new vinyl rig setup, I found my old speaker locations (width) and toe-in needed tweaked/changed. In my case it wasn’t about lack of depth, but the table/arm/cart changed the width presentation quite a bit vs the old rig. |
@kro77 Is it the biggest contributor to a decks sound? Looking at the ultra versus studio they seem pretty close except for the carts. No, the cart is not the only difference between the two. The Ultra has a heavier platter, a better bearing, actually uses a sapphire thrust pad, similar to what is used in my SOTA Sapphire, thus it’s name, the Ultra uses a layer of aluminum in its plinth vs only MDF, the Ultra has Cardas wiring in the arm, the arm on the Ultra is also internally dampened and the bearings used are better. So no, there are other differences between the two, not just the carts used. I was strongly considering the Ultra before going the SOTA route with separate arm and cartridge. Be careful not to ‘chase’ something you think you are missing just by swapping carts. I’m certainly not saying the Cearaudio may not be an Improvement, it may be, it should be. If you can get it for $400, that is a good deal, but how many hours does it have on it? That isn’t a stylus you can replace yourself. I guess the question should be; what are you trying to improve? What do you think is lacking? And most importantly; what are you trying to make it sound like? Are you comparing it to something else? |
