thoughts on adding phonostage


Thinking of adding a phonostage/upgrade cartridge on current set up;
EAT b sharp turntable
rogue audio cronus magnum iii
goldenear T66 floor speakers
KimberKable ascent 8tc speaker wire and PBJ interconnect.

currently I have a ortofon bronze 2M cartridge.   will upgrade to EAT jo no.5 , Hana ML or ortofon MC quintent bronze depending on best price etc. excited to actually hear the difference as i think the set up sounds pretty good right now.  

question is, thoughts on phonostage? the cronus magnum iii has a built in MM/MC phonostage, woudl it be overkill? and do i pair the phono to the rogue audio, or to the EAT turntable, or can I go with another brand?

 

pmzn

Showing 1 response by elliottbnewcombjr

all vinyl, just broken in, making changes already?

I encourage you to wait 6 months, find out how hooked on vinyl you get before seeking change/improvements.

2m bronze, factory aligned, is a darn good start, stop reading, stop imagining something else, keep listening to what you have.

I imagine your Rogue phono sounds darn good, and is revealing enough that you would hear differences among cartridges, if you were able to easily compare.

then, you need to think long, because you have a TT with a single straight arm fixed cartridge which does not allow the use of alternate cartridges, so you, like others with fixed cartridges, think about a 'better' phono stage. I'd rather you build a stable of cartridges, Stereo; Mono; MM; MC; MI, and consider light tracking.

I found out yesterday, I got lucky again, Steve at VAS confirmed the used AT160ml I bought has no wear. It's a MM, with a MicroLine Stylus on a beryllium cantilever (the lightest/stiffest ever made) that sounds great, has amazing imaging, and tracks at 1.25g (some use it's lightest 1.0g setting).

I advise 'return' privilege's on any phono stage, because I sent 3 highly recommended phono stages back, and think it is a matter of finding 'preferred', not 'better' if that makes any sense to you.