Mimberman, I am looking for suggestions from more experienced goners, my feelings are that I would do best if I upgraded my turntable and cartridge. I think the soumd I am getting is quite good but I think there could be more micro-detail coming from the cartridge tt combo.
Upgrade?Sim w5 Merlin vsm Ear 834 Clearaudio grado
Have been running Merlin vsm with home made pass a40 amp, until recently when I purchased sim audio w-5. The sim was defenitely an improvement over the a40 which was also an excellent amp. Preamp that I am using is a Woo audio made locally it's tubed and a very simple design with only a volume control and two inputs. My turntable is clearaudio emotion, grado cartridge and the phono is ear 834 deluxe. Cd player is the sony dvp 9000. The interconnects are made by moi using electrical wire-12 and 14 gauge twisted and soldered to rca's male plugs. Speaker wire is no name brand but heavy gauge and pure copper. Occasionally I use an onkyo P304 preamp which is pretty good for what it sold for. What if I may ask should be my next move???? The sound is phenomenol at this point though I want to upgrade even more so. I am sure the merlins and sim are the major forces of my system but the woo preamp too is holding up so well I would say it's right up there. I believe the tt as good as it is needs to be upgraded and the cartridge too. Any suggestions???