Is it worth upgrading my current turntable setup?

May I suggest you get a Raspberry Pi?

How does it sound?

Yes, get thee a better Turntable, and move that nice cartridge to it.

Alignment Skills. To effectively move cartridges and/or change headshells without hesitation, you need a few inexpensive tools and skills. Factory/Seller/Friend/Yourself. You will benefit for the rest of your life if you learn to do this yourself.

That table is a terrific TT to start with, to find out if you will stick with Vinyl. AT120 also, a good beginner, it costs less.

You already have an advanced stylus cartridge, so you are getting the most you can from that TT, time to move up.

THINK LONG, NOW

A heavier Plinth, A heavier platter, and what arm(s)?

I prefer quartz locked direct drive. I chose JVC Victor 7 layer plinth.

I prefer 2 (or 3) arms ready to go (I play a lot of jazz mono lps), to swap cartridges/arms instantaneously during a listening session. MC Stereo; MM Stereo replaceable stylus; MM Mono. SUT with 3 selectable inputs.

Single Arm: at least a removable headshell with alternate cartridges pre-mounted.

Headshell with Azimuth adjustment IF the arm fitting isn’t ’right on’.

Arm Height Adjustment: VTA on the Fly is nice for perfectionists, but when changing headshells: Easy Height Adjustment is what’s important

my long arm has 2 nastily hidden allen screws, forget it.

rear arm is wonderful Acos Lustre GST-801. Easiest height adjustment ever. Their GST-1 is also easy arm height adjust, but a more complicated sliding base cutout is required.

Technics Height adjustable base accepts two alternate arms: straight/fixed cartridge or s shape removable headshell. I just installed one for a friend

 

 

here it is with the straight arm on a technics plinth with SP-15

 

the sp15 also plays 78s and has amazing specs like their other models.

Some automatic features? Linear Tracking?

Some Linear Tracking Turntables have ’real’ arms and removable headshells which take ’real’ cartridges (many lightweight linear tt’s have small arms with P mount cartridges. My garage/shot turntable is one, Technics SL-J33).

I just found this Mitsubishi LT-22 for a friend (scroll down the page)

 

S/N 78db. LT-20 has s/n 75db

https://stereonomono.blogspot.com/search?q=lt-20

 

I have the vertical version, LT-5V, belt drive, the LT-30, 22, 20 are ql direct drive

No. Your turntable and cartridge are probably the strongest links in that chain.

A raspberry pi for streaming or? I don’t do much streaming so I just use my cell for that no biggie.

Elliot as much as I love vinyl I like to keep it simple. I won’t have a need for changing arms or cartridges. Something I could simply mount the 2M black to and forget would be ideal. Appreciate the suggestions.

Audphile1 I wasn't expecting to hear that take on it. Thanks. I’m curious to know your thought process on coming to that decision? The cartridge I can see being overkill but the table itself? 

Holmz it sounds pretty damn good in my opinion. Been bit with some upgraditis recently however so I'm debating on what will be the best bang for buck upgrade in my chain.

Probably not. 

My usual advice I’m afraid, it will be encouraging an encounter to take place of equipment that has raised an interest and might be seen as a wanted addition to your system.

Select a few of your favourite LP’s and set aside a little time for their cleaning, when done listen to these in their new as close to pristine condition as can be achieved, and assess the impression being made on the home system.

Make a few contacts to see if visits can be arranged to those in possession of devices you have shortlisted and make inroads to see if you able to be offered demonstrations of items.

Take along your newly cleaned LP’s and if there is something new to pick up on and a good impression is being made, usually the improvement on offer will be noticed instantaneously.

The ears are the very best tool for such investigations.

This method of gathering experiences does not require too much of an outlay either.

@blue_collar_audio_guy

Simple really….

You have a very good cartridge (not overkill by the way) on a solid turntable. May be the table isn’t as good as some other higher end belt drive models but even with the amplification chain you have listed you are unlikely to realize full potential of your analog set up. So bottleneck in my opinion isn’t your analog front end.

 

https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-4-page-2

@blue_collar_audio_guy

Is it worth upgrading my current turntable setup?

Elliot as much as I love vinyl I like to keep it simple. I won’t have a need for changing arms or cartridges. Something I could simply mount the 2M black to and forget would be ideal. Appreciate the suggestions.

YES!!

I agree with the idea of upgrading the turntable & arm BEFORE the cartridge. However you may get curious enough to try another cartridge afterwards. Then there is the phono preamp which I am not familiar. Price wise, it matches your TT which is good and maybe good for the near future. It depends upon which TT / arm combo you get. IE, I had a very good sounding Phono pre (Wright 100P) which served me until I moved up the line to where it just wasn’t matching the quality of the rest of the system

 

A more solid plinth and platter will yield more solid bass and all fundamentals of any frequency will be more firmly begun, then overtones, time decay all synergistically work together in an improved way.

my friends LT-22 has been here competing with my 3 arm setup for over a week. I put my nearly new AT440ML cartridge on it with Microline Stylus. Sounds terrific.

It’s one of the easiest TT you could own, and use.

Adjusting the arm, mounting the cartridge is pretty easy, I could help you thru it.

No anti-skate needed. No two null points to align with.

Easy arm height adjustment

Easy balance, accurate tracking weight scale.

On, start, walk away, plays, returns, stops spinning.

Up, move arm manually, play any specific track with hands free scratch free no needle drop damage assurance.

Here’s a very nice LT-20

 

That cartridge will sound better on this TT IMO.

As @pindac says:

Make a few contacts to see if visits can be arranged to those in possession of devices you have shortlisted and make inroads to see if you able to be offered demonstrations of items.

Take along your newly cleaned LP’s and if there is something new to pick up on and a good impression is being made, usually the improvement on offer will be noticed instantaneously.

The ears are the very best tool for such investigations.

This method of gathering experiences does not require too much of an outlay either.

+1

If it is good now, then you really don’t want to be risking wasting funds on something that is the same, or lower, performance.

I also run a 2M Black, and a couple years ago went from an old Technics 1200 to a JVC Victor TT-81 with a JVC Victor UA-7082 in the big JVC plinth. While the turntable and arm made a noticeable improvement, upgrading my phono preamp to an E.A.T. E-Glo Petit made an even bigger difference. I haven't heard your Tokyo Sound, but I'm guessing you could do considerably better.

I’d grab either the music hall mmf-5.3 or 7.3...they both can be had with a 2m Bronze already mounted. Then, take off the stylus from the black and put it on the Bronze, both cartridges are compatible. Then, put your 2m black in a drawer as an extra...both music halls will sound better than the Pioneer. 

After a couple of bouts with upgraditis, I did not hear problems from my system - not harsh at the treble, not muddy at the bass, just no complaints. Therefore, I reasoned, the components are compatible and the result is good. Yes, I could have gone places to listen to a higher level to which I might aspire. But why? I didn't hear a problem that needed solving. No more upgraditis.

 

No, the Pioneer PLX 1000 sounds as good and capable as any TT under $2000! I have one with a Denon 103R mc cartridge. Read Herb Reichert's review in Stereophile (gramophone dreams #4). If you seek a different sonic "flavor" then buy a new cartridge: Hana SL mc ($750) or a Soundmith Carmen mi ($799). Also changing the mat will result in a new sonic "flavor" for not much money! You may want to try a record weight - I use an Audio Technica.

@jasonbourne52 Also has a valid point to take on board.

I myself over the years have acquired a selection of Platter Mats and Puck Weights.

There is as stated a opportunity to change the presentation incrementally using these ancillaries. I refer to it as a different seasoning and Jason is referring to a Sonic 'flavour'.

This experience can be taken further, with a trial of different Sub Plinth Materials and Footers in a Assembly to produce a TT Support Structure.   

I sold my all my records, turntable, cartridge, and phono preamp. Got around $2000.00.  I stream Tidal from a ROKU Ultra device and then record some important songs from Tidal to reel to reel tape when I want to hear an analog type of sound without any pops and ticks. I record on tape.... albums like "Dark Side Of The Moon"   Many vinyl albums today are made from digital sources anyway.  Album prices have just gotten crazy. No more dirty records to clean or try to figure out what kind of turntable gear to match up.....and still be disappointed in the vinyl sound sometimes. I had about 10 records that sounded perfect out of hundreds.

Thing to do is borrow a better turntable rig, put it in your system and listen.

You will soon know whether you want to be upgrading.

 

@fdranger610     Your drive to digital is out of order for @blue_collar_audio_guy.

He says he 'loves' vinyl.

See if you can audition a Rega 3. It will sound different to the Pioneer and you might or might not prefer it. But it is a good yardstick in terms of assessing whether you want to explore belt drive turntables.

@blue_collar_audio_guy , nice system. If you want to make your system sing at it's best you have two issues to fix. The first is subwoofers and a two way crossover. Those little woofers are responsible for a large part of the audio spectrum. The upper frequencies it carries is being distorted by the long excursions low bass requires. If you take the low bass away distortion will drop noticeably and you will get an additional 10 dB of head room. The result will be a system that is less harsh, more effortless and with superior imaging. You will have to buy at least two subwoofers and a crossover. What is included in most commercial subs is a pitiful low pass filter. It will not roll the bass off to the main speakers losing 1/2 of the benefit of getting subs.  

Next would be the turntable. Here is the problem. In order to get a turntable system that will be noticeably better You are going to have to spend $10,000+. Intermediate steps are just a waste of money. A good turntable will last you a lifetime. Do it right and do it once. Stick with Kuzma, SME, Sota, Basis and Avid for turntables, Schroder, Reed, SME and Tri Planar for tonearms and Ortofon, Lyra and My Sonic for cartridges. Stay far away from 12" arms. They are inferior to 9" arms. Proper record clamping is a must either reflex or vacuum. 

If you want to learn a lot about turntables watch this video. It's only serious mistake concerns anti skating which in the view of most of us here is totally and completely mandatory. 

 

Woops, add Kuzma to the tonearm list!

The PLX-1000 is a really solid performer and you have a great cartridge. If you're not completely happy, try to zero in on where the sound signature of the TT is lacking, and look toward specifically addressing that without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

The good news is you probably won't have too much trouble selling the PLX-1000. But I'd keep the 2M Black. Very tasty.

Have fun!

Spending money on analogue is nostalgia, streaming nowadays beats it by a country mile.

While I am a big streaming fan…. Particularly for the future. Typically you still must invest a bit more on streaming than on an analog end to get digital to sound better, assuming you are doing your homework and buying good synergistic components.

 

I have been an analog guy for fifty years and digital since the first CD player and have been upgrading all along the way. Up until the last ten years or so, digital was far behind.

Actually, I just completed another analog upgrade the other day. My analog and digital were at the same level of performance with the same character, the analog about $6K behind digital in cost. This upgrade brought cost of each side to $45K and analog now moving ahead in detail and air over digital.

Thanks for the replies. I’m underestimating my turntable from what I’m seeing here. I knew it was a Stereophile recommended component but I always saw it as a DJ table that could pass for an audiophile table. I have considered the Music Hall 7.3 as suggested here but thinking it might not be an upgrade worth it for a marginal gain.

I have some tweaks I didn’t mention. I use a Funkfirm Anchromat for a mat and spindle weight puck for securing the record down. Both made very nice improvements in sound.

Subwoofers were also suggested. I have a Rythmik F12G I didn’t include my gear list. Didn’t think it mattered. I do plan on adding another one. Mijostyn I hear ya about subs have crappy filter networks. I would love a JL Audio CR-1 crossover ($3k) but it’s a bit out my budget right now. I’m not aware of any more affordable standalone analog crossovers to use in that setup what do you suggest?

I think I’m gonna leave the turntable alone and maybe focus on the phono preamp if I must upgrade. Maybe I should just save my money but what fun is that lol 😆

OP,

 

phono preamp ++++1

My non $100k+ system opinion is: no. Just enjoy it. Lol.

I'd happily run a PLX-1000.  My main table is a Technics 1310, and I have no desire for upgrade.  I just like the music, man.