I will take count of your suggestion about Audiotechnics Art9. XA and XI. Never owned an Audiotechinica but high quality reputation.
what about their sonic character?
what about their sonic character?
The Wand turntable
I guess I got too bossy there. I will see if I can find the Aqvox doc that recommends "<20 ohms". My guess is that the vague statement you quote was cooked up by them in order not to lose sales to audiophiles who prefer to use HOMC cartridges (which typically have a high internal impedance). Like I also said, your cartridge obviously "works" into the current-drive XLRs, but I don't think it will bring out the best in the phono stage. |
I trust you lewm In the Aqvox manual I have, they wrote: The sensivity of the XLR Current amplification-Input depends on Voltage and Impedance of the Moving Coil Cartridge. The CI-Input fits to a wide range of MC´s, High-Output MC´s as well as Ultra-Ultra Low-Output, without specifying an internal impedance value. Maybe this is an older (or different) manual version. But anyway I am convinced BP2 is not the best matching and I should choose a low output/low internal impedance cartridge to listen Aqvox at its best. |
Please read the owners manual for the Aqvox. There they do advise using a cartridge with an internal impedance less than 20 ohms. ANY cartridge that fits that description will blow away what you are now using, not necessarily because the BP2 is inferior but because it is a bad match for the Aqvox or any current-driven phono stage. |
thank you ndevamp for your post and impressions of listening. In the meanwhile, I found a Gyrodec with SME 3009, and I think I will go for a “classic” than this new product. I would save money to invest in a new cartridge. @lewm and mijostyn thank you very much for your advises. i contacted Aqvox directly: it looks they do not give importance to internal impedance, BUT they sell a cartridge MC low output (0,18 mv) and 12 ohm internal impedance. So i think that this is the right way. |
Lewm is absolutely correct. Read the Aqvox instructions I'm sure they will tell you the same. Some current drive phonostages recommend an impedance of less than 10 ohms. The lower the better. Unfortuantely, most of the ultra low impedance cartridges are very expensive. But, the Audio Technicas are excellent cartridges and great values. Because they have much lower moving mass they will track better than the Blue Point and in my system I have no doubt they will sound better. Obviously, I can not speak for yours. My first post was being polite. Lewm is also being polite. Now I'm going to take the gloves off. There are a Host of MM and MI cartridges that are significantly better than the Blue Point which you are crippling further by trying to use it on a current mode input. You want to improve your system and get the most for your money? Get a new cartridge. |
I’ve only seen the Wand TT at Munich, and had a good chat to Simon. I heard it on a system I didn’t know, with Gershman Acoustics speakers. The system was lively and you could hear the rhythmic drive I know the Wand arm to have. (I use the Wand Master on my Garrard 401 setup with Dynavector XX2 Mk2 cart, a synergistic combo.) It looks great in real life, pictures don’t quite do it justice. It has electronic motor speed control and the platter is larger than 12” which gives it more inertia than an equivalent weight 12” one. If I didn’t have 2 Garrards already I’d have a Wand TT! I know Simon spent a lot of time refining the design before releasing it and has enjoyed other classic TTs in the past such as Garrard, Lenco, Technics SP10. He has a fine ear and being in design for decades, a fine eye for detail. I’d love one here. |
austinstereo and OP, Just to be clear, I am not recommending a change of cartridge based in any way upon the cost of the cartridge vs the cost of a tonearm. My point was in answer to the OP’s question which is in general about his interest in upgrading his vinyl reproduction by replacing either his tonearm or his tonearm and turntable. My first thought was and is that the BP2 cartridge is really the weakest link in his present vinyl chain, and I recommended a new cartridge. The present tonearm seems entirely adequate, and the Thorens is nice. Those two components can be upgraded at any later time. Now I know that you (bearthesurfer) are running your BP2 (internal resistance 135 ohms) into the balanced inputs of an Aqvox phono stage, which is a current-driven type, I feel even more strongly that you would benefit most by changing to a cartridge with a much lower internal resistance. If you are "married" to Sumiko, then I suggest you choose one of their LOMC cartridges with an internal resistance less than 20 ohms, if they make such a one. As it stands now, you are wasting gain and probably experiencing a treble roll-off which may or may not be audible; the BP2 would have a very hard time driving the Aqvox input, which inherently has a much lower impedance via its balanced inputs. It’s not more than 20 ohms but I don’t know the exact value. This can, and obviously does, work, but it is not a great idea. If you are willing to deviate from the Sumiko product line, then I suggest the Audio Technica ART9XA (0.2mV output) or the ART9XI (0.5mV output). Both have a 12-ohm internal resistance. Both cost about $1K. That is not cheap but it is probably less than one would spend on a new tonearm, let alone a new tt + tonearm. There are a myriad of other choices for a bit less money. Check out Hana, for example. Or a used AT ART7 or ART9. In the here and now, you might experiment with connecting your present cartridge to the RCA inputs of the Aqvox, if that is possible, so the cartridge will see the 47K ohm load afforded by those inputs. I bet it would sound better. But the Aqvox’s raison d’etre is its balanced, current-drive design, so it is good to take advantage of that. |
Mijo dislikes unipivots on principle, so all of us with treasured unipivot tonearms (or memories of same) must be in error. I'll let that thought stay right there. That said, the new Schiit Loki turntable looks like a much more sanely priced ticket to vinyl bliss than this 3800 Euro rig. And for a Sumiko MC lover, the Songbird Low is the ticket stub! |
@lewm It's understandable that folks often think that you must have a very high end cartridge to justify a high end arm. When I first heard a Basik cartridge on a Linn, I was blown away. Much more so when I discovered the cartridge was essentially an Audio Technica entry level unit I had installed and heard many times. If anything, the arm (and turntable is where the money should go first. |
The Michell arms are I believe Rega arms certainly the Technoarm 2 and the similar looking T2, modified by Michell for VTA adjustment. The Michell turntable accepts many of the arms available to-day, you just have to buy the approriate "armboard". John Michell's preference was for SME - he used an SME V at Hi-fi shows, as do Proac Speakers with an Orbe SE. |
@lewm I am using XLR inputs of Aqvox so it works as current-drive. Before Aqvox, BP2 was connected to an IFI-iPhono and with Aqvox I have got more dynamic sound. I like Sumiko sound, so I could replace the BP2 with a Super Evo III low output which has 28ohm internal impedance. Do you think the lowest internal impedance would sound better with Aqvox? |
Aqvox is very very good, by all accounts. What's more, isn't it one of the current-drive phono stages? If so, it would probably perform closer to its max if you used a lower impedance cartridge to drive it. I just looked up the specs of the BP2; internal impedance is 135 ohms. I also just nowrefreshed my memory of the Aqvox. Apparently you have the choice of using its RCA inputs to a standard 47K ohm load resistance. Perhaps that is what you are doing with the BP2, but it also offers balanced inputs with current drive (i.e., best suited to low internal impedance LOMC cartridges). At some point, you ought to consider acquiring a suitable LOMC cartridge with an internal impedance of <20 ohms, so you can take full advantage of that phono stage. Sorry, once again, if I sound overbearing. Just advice for future. |
I apologize for this comment, because it is beside the question you raised, but if you did purchase a turntable and tonearm or just a tonearm that was superior to what you already own, then in my opinion you would have to get a better cartridge in order to appreciate either upgrade. And I admit I have a bias when it comes to the Sumiko Bluepoint. I just don’t think it’s a great cartridge. For that reason, my impulse when I read your list of equipment that you currently own would be to suggest you investigate acquiring a better cartridge first of all. This is only my personal opinion, but I did own both the original Bluepoint and the #2 version Bluepoint cartridge, once upon a time. I suggest any good MM or MI cartridge in lieu of a high output MC cartridge, just to begin with, assuming your phono stage is best suited to cartridges with medium to high output. |
In case that helps.Thanks. I did know this review, but it is not rich of technical details. |
In case that helps. https://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/wand_turntable_e.html And for me it has the motor at the right position. A better cartridge is a good thought. |