$800 Cartridge Shootout and Upgrade Path

I've had both the Denon and the Shelter, and I can only say I am much happier with the Shelter. I found it to be more lush and overall enticing than the Denon, which I found to be more analytical and not as smooth textured. Yet I don't miss any of the frequency extremes with the Shelter - I think it's very nicely balanced across the spectrum. I'd like to hear from others who have had both these cartridges. The direct comparison was on a Graham Robin tonearm with homemade silver cable, though I now have an Origin Live Silver Taper.

Mike the head tech at VPI is Ga Ga about the Sumiko Black Bird.I have a good discount on Grados and he also thinks Grado Master is better than Sonnata and worth the Price.At Red Hat they said that the Shelter 901 kicks ass at the $1500 price point.It's tough for me in my thinking if it's worth the $300 over the $1200 Grado.I might use the $1500 Shelter MC for Stereo and the $800 Grado mono in my set up.I think the Clearaudio and Denon are better for those who want to stay in the $300 range.Need to hear the Dynavector or get more people wiuth ears I trust to tell me what they sound like head to head before I say anything about them.So Sumiko over Grado by a hair at $800 at $1200 Geado Shelter at $1500.
Chazzbo

Upgrade your phono cable to an Empress. After that improvement you may be able to judge better about the cartridge.

First off I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to respond to my analog questions. It's really tough these days to get good help. As you know many audio salons either have no analog setups, or if they do, they may have one or two turntables that are usually what I don't want.

Jphii,

It may be a little strange that I have decided to start with the cartridge, but I believe it's the cartridge that has the biggest impact upon the sound of an analog front end. That is not to say the turntable, tonearm, and phono preamp have no influence because they certainly do. But I feel the cartridge and its requirements need to be considered first, like speakers, before the rest of the analog system can be chosen. For example, the choice of cartridge influences the choice of tonearm. The tonearm needs to have the proper mass to be compatible with the compliance requirements of the cartridge. Moreover, the arm has to match the turntable and work well with it too. So all these components have to be chosen carefully and balanced in order to get the best sound possible.

As to my associated equipment, I am currently using a pair of Martin Logan Ascent loudspeakers with a pair of Cambridge Soundworks Newton P-1000 subwoofers. My amp is the Proceed AMP5 and my preamp is the Klyne Model 7LX3.5. I will have the phono module added sometime soon. The phono module has a fixed capacitance of 150 pF, variable loading from 100 ohms to 47K ohms, and selectable gain of 36, 50, 64, and 66 dB. Also in the near future, the Proceed will be relieved of its two-channel duties and replaced by a bi-amping arrangement, which will include an Adcom GFA 5500 for the woofers and a tubed amp for the ESL panels (e.g., Conrad-Johnson Premier 140, McIntosh MC275 monoblocks, Quicksiliver V4 monos, or Music Reference RM200).

My room measures 28 feet long and 14 feet wide. The listening portion is a 14-foot square. I sit about 10 feet from my speakers, and it seems that a 100 watt per channel amp into 4 ohms is all I need.

As for the type of music I listen to on vinyl, 85% is orchestral classical music and the rest is instrumental jazz.

I hope this information helps.

Twl,

I have looked at the Teres 245 very closely. I like the way that turntable looks; I am a real sucker for aesthetics. But there is no way for me to know in advance whether I will like how it sounds, and I will not have a frame of reference in which to judge it. However, by the testimonials I have seen and by the various posts on this bulletin board, my impression is that it must be a very good sounding turntable indeed, one that I could be very happy with.

I do have one question. It appears that I will have to finish the turntable myself. I am not opposed to that idea, but having to apply the finish to a $2,400 turntable in which there is no dealer markup seems a little too much to pay.

Now I am not trying to cause trouble here; I am just making an observation.

Also, how much sanding is involved and how is the final finish applied?

As for tonearms, I seem to like the SME 309 or Morch better than the Origin Live. What is your take on these alternatives?