@rsf507 Ironically, Mr. Lavigne was the first gentleman to reply to this thread.
Does a record player make that much of a difference??
Question for all you Audionerds - in your experience, how much of a difference does one record player make over the next compared with the differences that a cartridge, phone pre-amp, and separate head amp make in the signal chain?
Reason I ask: I just upgraded from a MM cart to a MC cart (Dynavector 20x2-low output). Huge difference - the Dynavector sounds much more alive and detailed compared with the MM. I find my current record player (a Marantz TT16) to be a real pain to work with - I have to manually move the belt on the motor hub to change speeds, and the arm is not very adjustable or easy to do so. But, aside from that, it's not terrible. How much of a difference can I really expect if I upgrade to a better record spinner vs the change I heard from upgrading to a better cart?
My next acquisition is a separate head amp to feed the phono stage.
Thanks for all your insights!
Josh
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- 94 posts total
@noromance yes I saw although Mr Lavigne doesn't post often in these forums but when he does I pay attention. He's much more active on WBF. |
Someday, maybe, a VPI or a Dr Feickert... But I recently added an Orbit Theory to my third system to upgrade from a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC, and have fallen in love. At the price I paid, open box discount, it was a true steal...for a USA product. Quiet, tracks very well, cast magnesium arm, a clever anti-skate, solid wood plinth, 3 great adjustable feet, built in phono stage (which is conveniently by-passed) and an upgrade to Ortofon 2m Bronze (keeping the Blue for need). You can buy direct from Orbit. My only quibbles; the supplied phono leads and the plastic dust cover hinges which are obvious cost saving moves, very minor complaints. |
Consider the base of the turntable and its ability to isolate the table from footfalls, vibrations from the speakers and form earthquakes (measurable in very minor increments which affect the sound that you would never know about)_ disctintly from the ability to spin the record precisely and generate no noise from it's motor. The most expensive TTs do both in an excellent fashion, but if you are trying to optimize the investment, go with a light table like a Rega and spend a few bucks on a base (and wall shelf if needed like when you have a suspended floor). In my experience, I agree with @mijostyn that the turntable should sound like nothing so sound improvements in that would be less discernible than the arm/cartridge phono stage one you have a very good TT. Arm and cartridge need to be well matched as do the cartridge and phono stage which can make the choices complicated. Features can play a big role in the decision. The way the power supply is plugged into Rega's P8 was the opposite versus the P5 I replaced, and the wiring directly from the arm to the end of the interconnect wiring that plugs into the phono stage was much improved. However, I upgraded the arm first from the P5 arm (RB700) to the RB880 that comes with the P8 first, and found the tonearm upgrade dramatically improved the sound. The table, not so much. Still, since I liked the new features of the P8, I don't regret getting it. |
- 94 posts total