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Thoughts About Turntable Upgrades

I hope everyone is having a good Saturday. I'm sitting here listening to CDs because at the moment my digital playback is simply better than my turntable. The Audio Mirror Tubadour DAC that I purchased a few months ago is simply outstanding when paired with my old Cary 308. This leads to my questions/musings about turntable upgrades. 

I got back into vinyl a few years ago and purchased the Rega P3 with a Pro-Ject Tube Box DS2 preamp as a starter kit. I upgraded the cart to a Denon 301 II, which was big improvement for me. Looking forward, I'm leaning heavily towards a Sota Sapphire. I want a US made table only because I'm interested in having a US based system. The Sota seems like a good fit because I value sound that is more laid-back and I'm looking for a table that will emphasize warmth, soundstage, presence, solidity. That's the best I can offer in verbally describing my goal. I'm frankly looking for something that will top the Tubadour experience! The Rega is good, but after a few albums my ears are a bit exhausted.

Here are my questions:

Do y'all have any thoughts on my leaning towards Sota? Any other recommendations? Is there any reason to start with a new preamp rather than a new turntable? If so, what are your recommendations? 

I'm interested in your responses to these questions, but also any other suggestions as well. Let me have it! 

 

rblondeau
rblondeau OP
28 posts
 

Thanks for the input, y'all. It's given me some more to chew on and research. I'll definitely check out MoFi and start reading up on phono pre-amps. 

Source quality is important for sure. I absolutely can hear the difference. I do still enjoy used record shopping though! 

Thanks again, y'all. Have a good week!

durkn
68 posts
 

I’m extremely happy with my VPI Prime 21+ & Soundsmith cart.

US made & excellent customer service.

audionut51
25 posts
 

Other recommendation made USA: Any Basis Audio table from 1400/2001/2000 and up. Used market steal/best value.....

larryi
3,982 posts
 

Sota tables are very well made, sound good, and are reasonably priced.  I don't think you will go wrong with your choice.  Basis makes terrific tables, but at a significantly incresed price (I own a Basis Debut vacuum clamp table myself).  Older VPI tables in good condition are also decent USA made choices, but I am a bit leery about current and recently made tables because of some reported reliability and poor construction issues.

If you are also looking for an American made tonearm, the Triplanar is one of the best, but current models are extremely expensive.  The Basis Vector is also good, but also somewhat pricey.  

pinwa
285 posts
 

I've spent a lot of time and money over the past 9 months getting into vinyl and comparing it to streaming.  Some quick takeaways from my experience. 

1) A good vinyl system is expensive.  Your DAC is better than your turntable/cartridge/phono stage.  It isn't surprising it sounds better to you.  You need to upgrade your cartridge and phono stage before you will really know if vinyl sounds better.  Even though I own three turntables (Rega P6, VPI Scout, Technics SL 1200GR) I still have no way of evaluating the impact a table makes since I don't own two copies of the same preamp and cartridge to do A/B testing.  So I suggest focusing on the cartridge and phono stage first.

2) Once you have actually optimized your vinyl setup I think you will find that new records are rarely worse than streaming (excluding surface noise) and are mostly noticeably better.  But with well produced new music the differences are usually quite small.   Old records are almost always significantly better than streaming.

3) Whether the expense and hassle of vinyl is worth it is quite subjective.  If you primarily play new music I would suggest not bothering until you have run out of other ways to optimize your system.  

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