So, I don't want to throw anyone's phono stage under the bus, but since several have asked, I was using a Cambridge Azur 640p. I think it's a nice piece of gear, well packaged and attractive. However, in this signal chain, it (clearly) sounded all wrong. And yes, I did give it several weeks of powered on time to settle.
Maybe what I'm hearing is the difference between $180 of today's China-sourced parts vs $800 of parts like Kimber Kaps that McCormack used. Or maybe it's 2 weeks old vs 8 years old (no sure when this pre was made; serial in the low 6000's). Or maybe it's just what so many on this site have stated before, that Steve McCormack designed gear that 'sounds right'.
One of the biggest challenges for me when I researched this project was figuring out where to bias my spending power. For cost-no-object it's easy, just buy the top of the line from each of the mfgrs that appeal to you, or buy what A.S./Stereophile recommends.
I had to route dollars to the table, the arm, the cart, the preamp and interconnects. I knew the sound of the supporting components (Krell, Totem, Kimber). My research suggested it's all in the table, that a solid foundation was the critical component, allowing the arm/cart to speak it's best, and all I had to do was keep the signal path clean to the amp.
Now I think I'd say differently. I'd say it's all in the cart much like race cars are all about the tires, and the signal path from it's delicate wires through the arm to the amp is the critical path. Everything counts, of course, but again, I'd bias my dollars there. Maybe what I should have done was bought the Scout and passed the dollars saved to a Signature arm. I already bought more cart than I intended; I originally focused on the Evo III, but was encouraged to go to the Blackbird by the rep.
Now I wonder... where is the next weak link in the chain? Do people actually spend $900 - $1500 several times on different carts, trying them in and out of the system, listening for that magical moment? Or do I look downstream at the 10 yr old Krell, and try a tube amp (thinking Primaluna or maybe Manley)?
In the mean time, all I know is my Cat Stevens and CCR albums rival the CD copies I have like I wouldn't have believed. Oh, and those 180g pressings are highway robbery!
