Perhaps I can help. The signal from a phono cartridge is far lower (mV rather than Volts)than a cd player or tuner, so a cable designed for this particular function is the way to get the best from your vinyl playback. Interestingly enough, Cardas makes their Neutral Ref in a phono cable for under $300/1.25M and this is an excellent choice. Higher up the performance ladder is the Music Groove from Hovland at $800 and from there, you can go well past the point of common sense and performance. The only standard interconnect that I have used that had acceptable performance was the Nirvana SX Ltd - everything else seems to muddle the cartridge's performance.
Tonearm Cable:different from regular IC? Best one?
Hi Folks:
I have a tone arm (and Airtech MG-1 Air bearing tone arm) that has typical RCA coaxial R/L outputs, allowing me to use a regular RCA coaxial stereo IC cable between the arm and my preamp with phono (Supratek Syrah).
Question I have is - do I need to be somehow mindful of certain IC choice between tonearm and preamp, as a function of the type of signal output from the tone arm (which I assume is very low level), or can I simply mix and match any IC at my discretion, in the same way that I can from saw a CD player to my preamp?
Thus far, I’ve been using 47 Labs OTA cable (an IC kit where the cable is only about .4mm thick – high grade copper), and some Kimber PJB (only other IC I have that I’m not using already). I’m in the market to spend as much as $800 (used price) on an IC for this application, if the investment is worth it in the context of my overall system (see my virtual system for system details), but am happy to spend less if possible. Cables I’ve considered would include Nordost Valkryja, Stereovox, FIM Gold – but open to other suggestions.
So, I to sum up, I guess I’ve two questions – 1) Can I explore any and all ICs, or should I limit myself to certain ICs that are geared toward phono application? 2) Do you folks have recommendations on choice of IC for this application, at my pricepoint?
Thanks!
I have a tone arm (and Airtech MG-1 Air bearing tone arm) that has typical RCA coaxial R/L outputs, allowing me to use a regular RCA coaxial stereo IC cable between the arm and my preamp with phono (Supratek Syrah).
Question I have is - do I need to be somehow mindful of certain IC choice between tonearm and preamp, as a function of the type of signal output from the tone arm (which I assume is very low level), or can I simply mix and match any IC at my discretion, in the same way that I can from saw a CD player to my preamp?
Thus far, I’ve been using 47 Labs OTA cable (an IC kit where the cable is only about .4mm thick – high grade copper), and some Kimber PJB (only other IC I have that I’m not using already). I’m in the market to spend as much as $800 (used price) on an IC for this application, if the investment is worth it in the context of my overall system (see my virtual system for system details), but am happy to spend less if possible. Cables I’ve considered would include Nordost Valkryja, Stereovox, FIM Gold – but open to other suggestions.
So, I to sum up, I guess I’ve two questions – 1) Can I explore any and all ICs, or should I limit myself to certain ICs that are geared toward phono application? 2) Do you folks have recommendations on choice of IC for this application, at my pricepoint?
Thanks!
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