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Need Help with System

This is my first post in the Analog forum so have patience. Looking to get back into Analog sometime this year or early next so I am looking for ideas from you seasoned analog junkies out there. I have a "beginners" rig from AudioAdvisor - HW19 Jr with RB300 and a now defunct Blue Point Special cartridge. The phono pre is/was the “VAC in the Box” with the upgraded power supply. This was going into a Golden Tube SEP preamp. After extensive upgrades the front end is now all dCS gear (digital inputs only). I will be most likely be getting the Grieg (an upgrade to the Purcell with phono and analog inputs) from dCS when it comes out later this year. So for now the analog rig sits idle. I have about 350 albums in storage and would like to listen to them again. My budget for the entire analog rig (up to the Grieg) would be about 2-3 K total – new or used.

PS – No - I am not going to sell the dCS gear so don’t ask…. :-)

Cheers, Dan
dan2112

Showing 2 responses by onhwy61

onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,150 posts
 
If I understand your system, you will be digitizing the analog output from the phono stage. If this is the case, then I'm not sure it makes much sense to substantially upgrade your turntable. I would recommend not spending more than $400-500 on a new cartridge (Grado, Audio-Technica, Shure, etc.) and paying alot of attention to cartridge setup and turntable isolation. Exacting setup and superior isolation can reap big time sonic benefits at a relatively low cost. Long-term I recommend you upgrade te phono preamp (or get a preamp w/ a good phono section). They can be had used for less than $1,500.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,150 posts
 
Dan, please let me expand on my earlier comment. I believe your existing VPI/Rega setup is capable of very good sound reproduction. To substantially improve upon this setup will require more than your $3k budget, IMO. I still stand by my recommendation that your money is best spent by upgrading your cartridge and paying careful attention to setup. The whole issue of digitizing the phono signal is problematic. The best signal path is nearly always the simplest signal path. If your analog rig was substantially upgraded, I believe the improvements would be negated by the subsequent digital processing. I could be wrong. One area where digital processing could actual help analog playback is in RIAA equalization. I wonder if a digital implementation of the RIAA curves could counter balance the degradation resulting from the A/D process. Good luck!
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