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SDS or phono stage

I have a VPI Scoutmaster with Soundsmith Zephyr Mk II cartridge, jmw memorial arm, a stainless steel vpi record clamp, playing through a Musial Fidelity KW500 integrated amp with on board phono stage. Sounds quite good, but my question is this: would I be better off at this point adding an SDS or an outboard phono stage? Or both? In what order? Thanks!
arsh
amudhen's avatar
amudhen
17 posts
 
Get a decent strobe disc from KAB and see how your current setup looks via 33 & 45 rpm, using the srobe disc on top of a record and with your record clamp. Then purchase a used SDS for around $800 or so. They both made a noticeablle difference on my vpi aires. For a phono amp , look at the new Phenomena II battery powered.
mcgal
199 posts
 
I had a Classic 1 with a Zepher mk1. When I purchased the SDS, I thought it improved the sound quality enough to keep it. I notice the improvement more with the power conditioning that it does than the speed control. I do have the SDS plugged into a power conditioner also. I do like changing from 33 to 45 with a push of a button.
club900fe
5 posts
 
what about using the cheaper alternatives to the SDS that correctly maintain speed?
arsh OP
367 posts
 
Thanks for your reponses. Is the strobe disc that comes with the SDS good enough?
mcgal
199 posts
 
I find the strobe disk a little hard to read with my old eyes. Using a digital tack from Amazon for only $16.00 makes it easy for the fine adjustments that the SDS is capable of.
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