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Pro Ject Debut Carbon improvement possibilities

Good Day All,
In the past couple years I’ve been slowly re-entering the vinyl universe.  My current vinyl set up is a Pro Ject Debut Carbon with an Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge (the turntable came with a 2M Red, the Blue was a marked improvement), a Schiit Mani phono pre, and I also recently changed from the standard issue steel platter to the acrylic one. I’ve noticed a mild improvement with this platter change, most especially in improved bass quality.  I have been using the manufacturer supplied cables to connect to the Mani, and I’m going to scrounge around the house today to see if I have a set of Blue Jean cables to swap in, as I use Blue Jean in the rest of my system.  So that’s the first possible improvement I’ll try. But where to go from there?  I’m consider moving up to the Ortofon Bronze, but what other cartridge choices in that price range should I consider? Will vibrapods be a worthwhile improvement?  They are very affordable, and I’ve heard good things. My stereo rack is substantial, home made with solid steel bar and veneered MDF.  MC instead of MM?  A different phono pre?  I listen to a wide variety of music, but what I’m most enjoying in the vinyl realm are jazz recordings, mostly older in both new and older pressings, and smaller scale classical recordings.  Any suggestions appreciated, I’m still way down on the learning curve regarding vinyl playback. It’s been a long time since I first dropped the JC Penny’s tone arm onto Led Zeppelin II, and things are a lot better now. 

Much thanks,
Dave
dprincipato
9 responses Add your response
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
You already have an Ortofon, try something completely different, what’s the estimate budget ? I’ve been buying MM and MI cartridges for the past 7 years nonstop and i am very impressed by most of them. Price range for very nice working horses is $300-800 and there are so many amazing cartridges in this range.

With 2M you can improve with the stylus profile, but it’s the same cartridge, i think you can always try some classics that inspired many audiophiles for 40 years. Something that very musical and very involving like it should be, but not from the digital era, look for the best from analog era when MM was a king! 
dprincipato OP
53 posts
 
Thanks for the suggestion Chakster.  I’m not conversant with what cartridges would be the classics, but I’m very open to possibilities other than Ortofon. I know very little about the advantages of MI cartridges. As for Ortofon’s 2M line, the Red and Blue styli share the same cartridge, and the Bronze and Black styli share the same cartridge, so moving to the Bronze is more than a stylus change. Budget for a new cartridge is $500-$600.
Thanks!
phildbasket
8 posts
 
I have a similar setup in my second system and have a Herbies turntable mat on my aluminum platter and Herbies Tenderfeet replacing the original feet. It seems to make a difference in clarity of the midrange and tautness in the bass.  You don’t say what the rest of your system is  but my choice for the next upgrade might be the phono amp with more loading and gain options with an eye towards something that creates a path to a turntable and cartridge upgrade in the future.  Maybe a Project Tube Box S or DS.  They are pretty reasonable used and the tubes, even for an upgrade, are inexpensive.  
bkeske's avatar
bkeske
5,597 posts
 
I also re-entered the ‘vinyl world’ after a many many years absence. I had almost the exact set-up (Debut Carbon, acrylic platter, Mani, etc.), but changed the cartridge to a Grado Red as soon as I received it. I also got a separate power supply for the Mani, and installed DynaMat to the underside of the table, also added a little bit to the arm itself. All improvements. It was a good set-up to reintroduce myself to vinyl again, and it worked.

I just sold the Pro-Ject.

To be frank, I don’t think you will get much more out of that table. ‘It is what it is’. Yes, you can get more expensive carts, but there is a limit to what that table can offer for the money spent. Yes, you can keep the cart and move-on, but I would not expect any miracles.

So, I went in a much ‘bigger’ direction, and could not be more pleased. The difference in my new table, arm, and cart is incredible over the Debut Carbon, and I could have never achieved that improvement by trying to tweak it further. And, I’m still using the Mani currently.
dprincipato OP
53 posts
 
What did you move up to?
bkeske's avatar
bkeske
5,597 posts
 
@dprincipato 

What did you move up to?

An older SOTA Sapphire table, Jelco 850 MK II arm, and Soundsmith Zephyr MK III ES cartridge.

Even still running the Mani, zero comparison.
builder3
758 posts
 
dprincipato, I got back into vinyl several years back with that same Project Debut Carbon, super turntable for the money. When I decided to upgrade about a 18 months ago, I purchased the new MoFi Ultradeck with the pre-installed MasterTracker cartridge. It was a big step up, yet still plug-and-play, with nothing required on my end, other than the basic assembly. Couldn't be happier with it.
bkeske's avatar
bkeske
5,597 posts
 
The MoFi Ultradeck would be a great choice, and would definitely provide a much better experience than the Debut Carbon. Almost went in that exact direction myself, but after some consultation per the money to be spent, went the direction I did.
builder3
758 posts
 
Understood. It's not like there's only one correct answer.
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