I've owned/currently own everything from a Rega RP1 to an Avid Acutus Reference turntable, an AT3600 to an Ortofon Diamond cartridge, a Jancane to a McIntosh MP1100 phono preamp, and the standard house garbage that comes with every budget turntable to a Kuzma 4Point 11 tonearm.
I definitely agree vinyl sounds better than ANY digital format (and I've tried 'em all), but you gotta spend at least $2000 (around $700 each for tt/cart/pre).
Looks like you should look at spending double what you have now. I'd REALLY think twice. Vinyl is a money pit.
How much do I need to spend to make vinyl sound better than digital?
All,
I have a solid vinyl setup that I like to think of as entry-level “plus:” Project Debut Pro with Sumiko Moonstone cartridge. I enjoy vinyl for the ritual but find that my digital gear - a $400 ifi streamer and the AKM DAC built into my Anthem preamp - beats the analog rig in most ways. Far better imaging/soundstage and much tighter bass without the occasional distortion/sibilance/warbling of the vinyl rig. I haven’t messed with cartridge setup other than to check the factory-performed alignment, which looks perfect. The table is perfectly balanced, counterweight set correctly with an electronic scale, etc - so I have no reason to think there’s a setup problem.
Is this par for the course for this level of vinyl gear? What do I need to spend to get my vinyl gear to match the performance of decent digital? I’m thinking of upgrading to a Clearaudio Concept, perhaps with a Hana SL cartridge, but I want to make sure doing that is going to deliver a fundamentally different experience than what I have right now with the Project/Sumiko combination.
No interest in flame wars or rehashing the vinyl/digital debate. I know vinyl can sound wonderful and am simply trying to decide whether I can afford the price of entry for a system that can gets the basics right (no audible distortion/sibilance, decent imaging). I thought the Project/Sumiko would have gotten me there, but for whatever reason it hasn’t fit the bill.Thanks for any insights.