I wouldn’t call myself an analog expert, but I did start on a Pro-ject debut carbon evo. I upgraded to a Sumiko moonstone cartridge, aluminum sub platter, and acrylic platter ; all plaster very minimal sonic improvement . I found a used entry level VPI Cliffwood turntable with an ATvm90ml cartridge for $700 locally and I immediately noticed the sonic difference. More definition, punch, alive… whatever you call it, so more engaging. The plinth, platter (heavier) and tonearm (longer) are also more substantial, so that made me a believer in mass and better tonearms. The cartridge also made a difference, but more so on the better turntable after trying switching it out. If I knew all this then, I would get a VPI prime 21, or better yet, to get more out of my budget, buy used VPI prime super scout or VPI primes that I’ve seen on sale.
Upgrade My Turntable - How Much Do I Need to Spend?
I have recently fallen in love with listening to vinyl on my turntable. In recent years, I have spent most of my listening time with digital music stored on my server (flac files recorded from CD's), but recently I discovered the beauty of placing an album on the turntable and listening to the entire album. It's been a wonderful find for me.
My 2-channel room features:
- McIntosh C260 Tube Preamp
- McIntosh MC452 Solid State Amp
- Martin Logan Montis speakers
- Various upgraded cables and wires
- Acoustically treated listening room
- Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC turntable
- Ortofon Blue Cartridge
My question is: how big of a step up do I need to make with my turntable to take full advantage of the other components in my system? I do not intend to do further upgrades with my speakers or amp system, but I would like to step up my game from the introductory level turntable that I bought years ago.
I've been doing lots of reading and studying, but I would love to hear advice from some of the analog experts on this forum. (Please don't flame my current system - there are reasons I love my McIntosh and those components are not going anywhere!) Should I make a move to a $4000 turntable? Or???? I would love to find a lightly used Rega RP10, and call my search over - but what do others think?
One thing that I believe I value is a simple setup. I have read horror stories about how much time and frustration can go into getting a turntable setup and then constantly having to tinker for optimal performance. I don't see myself enjoying that part of the process.
Thanks!