One more thing. If you decide to get Nottingham you should definitely try Boston Audio Mat-1 or Mat-2 record mat instead of that stock foam mat. They have a return policy so no risk. Many Nott owners use it, me included.
As you can see, even in this short thread there is a community spirit among Nottingham owners. |
Yes, Wave Mechanic motor controller can make a big difference. I don't have it yet. One can get it directly from the UK with no or insignificant customs fees; divineaudio.co.uk
For myself I would see no reason to consider anything else within this price range. Nottingham Spacedeck has been around for over 30 years and has a cult following.
If you go much higher, say, $10k for new table/arm, then yes I would listen to a few including Fletcher Audio Omega 5 table with Zero arm which were the latest creations of Tom Fletcher, the designer of Nottingham, though I am not sure it is sold in the US. |
Ortofon may be a little lean and bright for your taste of music. Also consider Goldring 1042, again from divineaudio.co.uk, Garrott dynamic coil, a few models, from decibelhifi.com in Australia, Nagaoka 500 - maybe a little too warm and not dynamic enough, and yes Benz cartridges if it is compatible with your phono stage. The cheapest and light Lyra might work well too and should be very clear and dynamic.
I cannot answer your question but instinctively would go for the improved original Spacedeck/Spacearm.
Be very careful when putting the cartridge in the arm if you do it yourself, tonearm wires are very fragile. Hold the tonearm wires and move the cartridge towards them not the other way around. |
Since they are available locally I assume that you can actually listen to them even if in very different systems which of course would complicate the matter.
Also while you are visiting the dealer try to work the tables and arms by yourself to get a physical feel fot the things. It might just come down to your preferences. Nottingham sounds big, emotional and confident; a little on the warm and dark side of neutral. Spacearm will not like heavy low compliant moving coil cartridges.
I have original Spacedeck/Spacearm and like them a lot. Not familiar with Wilson Benesch. My system and music I prefer are quite different from yours. |
VPI controller is no good for Nottingham. Walker might be excellent, I don't know.
Does AceSpacedeck/Acearm sound significantly better than the originals that you had? What cartridge did/do use use? |
Shakeydeal, if I may ask, what kind of music do you prefer?
I was about to replace my enty level Dynavector with something better but ran into Redgum integrated amp and spent all my available funds on it. So cartridge upgrade has to wait for a while. I seek full, coherent and dynamic sound. |
This is interesting. But you have Anna Log table and high resolution speakers. So..live and learn, right. |
I have to keep the table on the floor between speakers and for now use stock platform with Mapleshade rubber/cork feet. Not much of the external vibration, but I am sure this set-up can be improved. SRA must be very expensive and Neuance is no longer made. Anyone using maple or some other wood platform? Or Symposium platform?
As a sideline, I use Boston Audio tuneblocks under spiked speakers, integrated amp and cd player to excellent result. |
I would choose Benz Glider, but that's me. It is not exactly that I advised against Ortofon, I just said a word of caution. Also, I am unfamiliar with Luxman's phono. In any case, give a cartridge at least 50 hours to break in. |
This is not a silly question at all. You would want to adjust VTA depending on how you want your music to sound, it will also depend on chosen cartridge and thickness of records which varies. Some people even want to be able to change VTA during the playback. So..Boston Audio has a 30 day money back guarantee, at least if you buy directly from them. No risk really, you will just have to try. You might even order both Mat 1 and Mat 2 and compare. In fact, that's exactly what I would do if I planned to buy new. |
Mat 1 would be a direct replacement of the stock mat in terms of height, both are 3mm thick.
Some company, don't know who, makes a device for Nottingham arm to be able to adjust the VTA "on the fly", that's while the record is playing. I personally never bothered.
It may actually come down to personal preferences whether you like Mat 1 or Mat 2 more. |
