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Turntable suggestion -- budget.. or not?

Not another budget turntable thread, you might sigh... Heh. Well, I promise to make it interesting. A bit about myself first before I get into the main reason for the thread:

I am a musician and fully embrace tube technology and the general 'tone quest' that goes along with (in particular) guitar playing. I've built most of my amp gear -- circuit copies from the late 50s/early 60s. Some of the same characteristics that I seek in guitar tone, i'd like to also have in my listening setup -- warmth. I'm already familiar with the adjectives that get thrown around when describing tone. So, no need to hold back.

So, I'd like see what all the fuss is about... Vinyl appeals to me purely from the sound quality aspect. I have an extensive cd stash, and very little vinyl (this will change if the 'proof' is there).

I'm currently demoing a Pro-Ject 1.3 TT at home right now with a Cambridge 651p into a solid state power amp and out to speakers. The later two pieces gear likely won't change. However, going forward (and if the quality is there) I will build gear to surround my TT setup.

The 1.3 is nice, but the motor on the side is a bit gimmicky IMO. I can hear the hum from the motor (and I *do* have it on a good base). It definitely looks the best! The 651p sounds a bit bright to my ears too. Despite this, I'm quite impressed with what I hear from vinyl. I've been playing alot of recordings I know very well (Miles "kind of blue", and some wes montgomery) and in general things sound not only different but *better*!

Now to the questions. I'm leaning on sending both the 1.3 and 651p back for the reasons I mentioned above. I've had about 6-8 hours of continuous playback and I realize the break-in period is still happening, but I'm not hearing the warmth that I'm looking for. Sure, it will get better with more break-in, but I want something to knock my socks off right out of the gate.

Thoughts? Where should I go from here?
martinman

Showing 8 responses by martinman

martinman's avatar
martinman OP
96 posts
 
BTW, I'm a DIY person and like to tweak things. Buying something that I can upgrade later would be nice, but performance out of the gate is nice too :)..

Other considerations:
Pro-Ject Carbon
MMF 2.2

Rega RP1 is out due to the hardwired interconnects.

Will I be happy with these?
martinman's avatar
martinman OP
96 posts
 
Thanks for the suggestions so far everyone.

Yah, I didn't think the entry level stuff would cut it given what I'm after. Mattmiller -- agree on the $200 preamps -- tube all the way. Also appreciate the Rp3 suggestion. Seems like the next step up is where I should start looking. BTW, do you use your setup for home theater as well? I thought I read you were all analog, but I took a look at your system and I see the big tv :). The other gear I spoke of was a Pioneer 1120k and Orb Audio which is almost 100% dedicated to home theater. I was surprised (in a good way) with the way the 1.3 and 651p sounded through an analog source.

I'm going to audition the Rp3 this week at a local shop. They are also a LINN dealer too. We'll see what happens. LINN hasn't been on the radar for a turntable. I'll have to do some research. Although, it seems way out of the ballpark price wise (the guy I spoke with said they are 4x the RP1). To me, this translated to "too much to spend out of the gate", but we'll see.

martinman's avatar
martinman OP
96 posts
 
Arg -- sorry Sbrownnw -- that was your setup I was looking at w/ the TV. (a topic for another thread, but...) Subconsciously, I think I want to ditch my 5.1 setup. I always have problems with the center channel -- the dialog is never crisp enough.

Do you get a decent frequency response with the monitors? No need for a sub?
martinman's avatar
martinman OP
96 posts
 
To answer some questions, the cartridge in the 1.3 is a Sumiko Pearl Phono Cartridge.

TW ACUSTIC? The raven one is $6500 -- prolly not :)

I'm not quit sure on the budget yet. At first, I was looking at entry level tables, so ~$500. After the comments, I think I might bump to at most $1k. But even this is a stretch.
martinman's avatar
martinman OP
96 posts
 
As promised I went to demo the RP3 w/ (i think was the) Elys2 cartridge. When I got there the room was occupied, so the guy asked if I wanted to be 'ruined'. Of course I said 'yes', and then we headed into he high-end room. :)

Long story short, I listened to the RP8 and RP3 through the same system... Wow.. What a *dramatic* difference between the two. The RP8 was smooth, organic, even, full in the midrange and upper bass. Trebles were just right and not shrill. The RP3 was nice too, but the trebles were just to shrill and unrefined (compared to the RP8). Now, there is about a $2k difference in price between the two.

Back to the drawing board. I don't think the RP3 is for me, unless the trebles can be tamed significantly.
martinman's avatar
martinman OP
96 posts
 
Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Definitely not the same cart on the 8 vs 3. I asked what would it sound like if they were swapped. They guy said that a 'better' cart (referring to whatever was on the RP8) would highlight the shortcomings of the RP3. To me, this translated to 'why would you want to put a set of $10k interconnects on the RP3' type of logic. Sure I get it, but I wasn't convinced that the RP3 would sound 'worse' with the RP8 cart :)

Anyway, maybe I'm getting a little too specific -- sounds like an RP3 w/ an upgraded cart would sound pretty darn good.

@Royaloak: No not from Quebec, but close to RoyalOak, Mi :)
martinman's avatar
martinman OP
96 posts
 
Thanks for putting things in perspective Polk :)

So, what would be a D-28 Marquis w/ Madagascar rosewood ?? That's kind of what I'm looking for. LOL.

mm
martinman's avatar
martinman OP
96 posts
 
Hehe -- thanks polk!
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