2. analog
  3. 1244911188

Quiet Tonearms/cartidges??

I have a fairly good system and am considering revamping my turntable. I really haven't played vinyl in 20 years. When I did, I would buy an album, clean it, zap it with my Zerostat, then record it going through a DBX 224 and then play the tape. This would eliminate most pops and surface noise, while also allowing me to play at high volumes without any rumble. I have been reading about the higher quality tonearms and cartridges and understand that the high end models virtually eliminate surface noise of LP's. Is this HYPE or FACT? I rarely play LP's now-perhaps because I have no really good quality way of playing them, and I must admit, I enjoy the convenience of CD's. OK - I'm sure all you vinyl purists are muttering obscenities. I currently have a 1974 Pioneer PL-71 turntable , with a Shure V-15 III cartridge, which was pretty much the best I could buy at the time. I have a Theta CB3 preamp going into Krell KMA 160 monoblocks, driving some Wilson Maxx's (series II) speakers. I'm using a Theta Miles CD transport at the front. My old pioneer turntable doesn't sound "bad", but when I look at some of the new analog stuff out there, I'm wondering if I'm really missing out on some good vinyl reproduction. Don't have the bucks to invest in a turntable to equal the rest of my system, but may want to get into a medium grade line of analog equipment. Do any of you vinyl guys (or gals) have any advice? (Blowing my head off, or ingesting poison is not an option)
handymann

Showing 1 response by mechans

mechans
3,048 posts
 
My insanely high gain ARC SP6 B soldered on MC make loud firworks type pop using the Dynevector 20X 2.0MV H.o. Cartridge. I switched to a non tube phono stge which is the Graham Slee Amp 2 SE which you can use with a HO MC but is designed mostly for higher output MMs. The gain was not a problem I got plenty of sound out of my big speakers and 80wpc tube amps and moderate Mu pre-line stage using only 6SN7 because I like them so there! Franly now $370 which was hard fought price for the Graham Slee Amp 2 SE is no longer just tweak change for me and I was not sure what the reason is for the near universal praise for it.
It took an eterrnity of glare,smear, dry and at times a shrill high end that my uber gain ARC did not do but magnified noise to the point of having a noise floor close to the cieling. Mercy a reprieve after leaving the Amp 2 on since I bought it 5 months ago it is smoothing over or I just lost more high frequency hearing.
More to discover