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To those with multiple tables/arms/cartridges

How do you 'play' your system?
For 30 years I had only one turntable, one arm and one cartridge......and it never entered my mind that there was an alternative?
After upgrading my turntable nearly 5 years ago to a Raven AC-3 which allowed easy mounting of up to four tonearms......I decided to add two arms.
RAVEN
A few years later I became interested in Direct Drive turntables and purchased a vintage 30 year old Victor/JVC TT-81 followed shortly after by the top-of-the-line TT-101 and I designed and had cast 3 solid bronze armpods which I had lacquered in gloss black.
TT-101
By this time I had over 30 cartridges (both LOMCs and MMs) all mounted in their own headshells for easy interchange.
STORAGE

Every day I listen to vinyl for 3-4 hours and might play with one cartridge on one arm on one table for this whole day or even two or three days.
I then might decide to change to a different arm and cartridge on a the same table or perhaps the other.....and listen to the last side I had just heard on the previous play.
I am invariably thrilled and excited by the small differences in presentation I am able to hear....and I perhaps listen to this combination for the next few days before again lusting after a particular arm or cartridge change?

Is this the way most of you with multiple cartridges/arms listen?......or are there other intentions involved?
128x128halcro

Showing 2 responses by omsed

omsed
145 posts
 
I have 7 turntables set up ready to roll and many others in house. Some perfect classics (idlers, idler plus belt, direct drive) as well as new state of the art.

With all those, I end up using the most neutral, quiet belt drive table as on a wide variety of records it just shows more, has more dynamics, exaggerates nothing, just delivers what is on the record.

In the end, when you have a very low distortion device with extreme speed stability it just is more satisfying than more colored turntables, as alluring as it seems (before you do it) to have a "real warm table" for "easy listening" and others with other colorations. Colorations mean distortion is covering up true detail, and even on less than the best records, that gets old.
omsed
145 posts
 
To Halcro, arms and cartridges outnumber the turntables. Yet it boils down to only using 2 cartridges on 2 identical arms on my favorite turntable: a stereo and mono version of the same cart. That cartridge was chosen as it the most linear (I measure and nearly all mc carts have rises in the top end) and most natural sounding to me, while still retaining real detail.
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