thanks folks for the advice...
Swampwalker, you might be right about the Lukaschek. It's the only phono stage I have that has enough gain for the Shelter, and it certainly produces a detailed and clean presentation. But maybe I should experiment. My old Audible Illusions has an OK phono stage, so maybe a head amp or step-up transformer would be worth trying?
Also, based on your comment I did some searching on this forum and found a LOT of positive talk about the turntables you mentioned, and some others. Guess I should have checked there first.
Tiger, I still have the original arm on the Scoutmaster, so I suppose I could look there. Got the power thingie -- SDS?-- too, and the rim clamp (which is a pain to use). I do wonder about the 9" arm though. It's my first experience with a unipivot arm.
Are there other arms that are known to work well on this deck? I had an SME on my Thorens which I liked fairly well. But that technology was 20 years ago, so I'm sure there's better stuff now, right?
In the interest of full disclosure: One of the reasons for my current dissatisfaction is due to my recent upgrade of digital source. I got a ModWright Transporter and it's raised the bar on sound quality for my whole system. It sounds spectacular -- and better than my analog gear, which I just can't believe. I suppose it's possible that it's just that good. But LP's have always been so much better than digital, I'm thinking there must be something wrong with my analog chain. Usually I listen to about 80% LP/20% CD, but lately I'm listening to a lot more digital because it sounds so GOOD!
Sidssp: I don't think my system is a problem. The rest of my system is a mix of tube/solid state. My speakers are Magnepan 1.6qr that are heavily tweaked: Mye stands, & actively bi-amped with a pair of 120wpc KT-88 tube amps on the treble, and 600wpc solid state on the bass panels. I use a home-built transformer-based active/passive preamp, or sometimes a Modulus 3a tube preamp. I don't think the system's the problem. I'm totally happy with the sound it produces via well-recorded digital music thru the MW Transporter.
Crem1: I've got a Ginkgo platform, the one with the handball balls under it, although I haven't done any real listening test with/without to know whether it makes much difference. But I like your other reco. I know Peter Lederer of SoundSmith, as he's worked on my '70s Tandberg tuners and my old 1963 McIntosh preamp from my bedroom system. I'll have to see if I can audition the cart you mention. I think he also does retips of Denon's and stuff like that. Good idea to go talk to him! Thanks!
Swampwalker, you might be right about the Lukaschek. It's the only phono stage I have that has enough gain for the Shelter, and it certainly produces a detailed and clean presentation. But maybe I should experiment. My old Audible Illusions has an OK phono stage, so maybe a head amp or step-up transformer would be worth trying?
Also, based on your comment I did some searching on this forum and found a LOT of positive talk about the turntables you mentioned, and some others. Guess I should have checked there first.
Tiger, I still have the original arm on the Scoutmaster, so I suppose I could look there. Got the power thingie -- SDS?-- too, and the rim clamp (which is a pain to use). I do wonder about the 9" arm though. It's my first experience with a unipivot arm.
Are there other arms that are known to work well on this deck? I had an SME on my Thorens which I liked fairly well. But that technology was 20 years ago, so I'm sure there's better stuff now, right?
In the interest of full disclosure: One of the reasons for my current dissatisfaction is due to my recent upgrade of digital source. I got a ModWright Transporter and it's raised the bar on sound quality for my whole system. It sounds spectacular -- and better than my analog gear, which I just can't believe. I suppose it's possible that it's just that good. But LP's have always been so much better than digital, I'm thinking there must be something wrong with my analog chain. Usually I listen to about 80% LP/20% CD, but lately I'm listening to a lot more digital because it sounds so GOOD!
Sidssp: I don't think my system is a problem. The rest of my system is a mix of tube/solid state. My speakers are Magnepan 1.6qr that are heavily tweaked: Mye stands, & actively bi-amped with a pair of 120wpc KT-88 tube amps on the treble, and 600wpc solid state on the bass panels. I use a home-built transformer-based active/passive preamp, or sometimes a Modulus 3a tube preamp. I don't think the system's the problem. I'm totally happy with the sound it produces via well-recorded digital music thru the MW Transporter.
Crem1: I've got a Ginkgo platform, the one with the handball balls under it, although I haven't done any real listening test with/without to know whether it makes much difference. But I like your other reco. I know Peter Lederer of SoundSmith, as he's worked on my '70s Tandberg tuners and my old 1963 McIntosh preamp from my bedroom system. I'll have to see if I can audition the cart you mention. I think he also does retips of Denon's and stuff like that. Good idea to go talk to him! Thanks!