2. analog
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19th Nervous Breakdown...


Here I sit on the fence again, trying to decide whether it's worth it to shatter my budget one more time, wondering if the sonic differences between the following gear justifies the sacrifices necessary to pay the toll.

Should I live on beanie weanies and cheap beer for a good while and spring for a Basis 1400 or 2001 table with a decent arm, cartridge and phono stage for about $3K, or do I "settle" for one of the Regas, a P3 or P25, or one of the Music Halls for less than half that, upgrade my diet, and buy a few albums to boot?

I realize that this is in some ways a hopeless and hedonistic calculus, and that there may be no "right" answer. But I suppose what I am looking for are the opinions of those who have traveled the upgrade path and already paid the price. Was it worth it? How would you describe the sonic differences in moving up to that next level?

If you were starting over and COULD manage to stretch your budget to $3K or even $3.5K, what would YOU buy (entire rig, including phono stage, and, of course, buying used)? Or would you go for one of the "entry' level, non-upgradable units and be happy with it?

I have a good collection of albums from my mid-fi days, and I have a pretty good system (First Sound/Bel Canto EVO 200.2 monos/Vienna Acoustics Beethovens), so I do have an interest in more than 'dabbling'.

I have already received a LOT of help on this site and I appreciate every bit of it. There are many friendly and helpful folks around here. I am very happy with the system I have built so far.

Now if I can settle this analog business, I can relax for awhile and just enjoy the music. So what will it be, oh audio gurus, a VPI, Basis, or Oracle table, or a Rega, Music Hall, or Thorens table? Which arm? Which cartridge? Which phono stage?

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. I wish I were in a position to audition this gear, but I'm not.

thank you all...

128x128waltersalas
ezmeralda11
303 posts
 
If it was me I'd buy the better turntable. Food isn't that big of a deal. And with audio to me, alot of the better/best stuff is only the standard to just keep me listening, not even necessarily thrill me. When I had to buy a tuner, just because I didn't have one and wanted to listen to the radio, I knew anything less than a grand probably wasn't going to do it for me. I wasn't going to go for the top-of-the-line Magnum Dynalab, or a Day Sequerra, or the Linn Kremlin (although there was one up for bid at a *very* attractive price), partly because I knew I couldn't give it an antenna to do it justice, so the Fanfare was the only option (it seemed better than the comparable Magnums). I wouldn't've liked the cheaper tuner though, I don't think. That's just me though.
gboren
143 posts
 
For $3500 on the used market you should be able to buy a great rig. Whatever you buy, consider that the table itself will have the greatest impact on sound quality, then the arm and last, the cartridge. It has been my philosophy to put most of the money there and worry about upgrading the arm and cartridge later (and tweaks, gimmicks etc, later yet).

A few other tips:
1. be careful with used cartridges.
2. where the phono stage goes in the pecking order is difficult to say. I bought a nice phono stage to use with a low output mc cartridge. But my integrated amp has a mm phono stage and, in retrospect, I would have done better to use that with a decent mm or high output mc cartridge and put the money into the table. Oh well. Others may disagree, but I believe that the pecking order should be: table, arm, phono stage, cartridge.
3. Tweaks: don't waste money on expensive alignment tools - you can sometimes get them free on the web. Demagnetizers, clamps, etc can wait. But a good test record (Cardas makes one) is very useful.

good luck!
crc
8 posts
 
Don't forget to look at a Clearaudio Champion Level II from Brooklyn Audio. I recently ordered the table with the OL 250 arm and clearaudio cartridge. It is a wonderful system that matches well with my Sonic Frontiers preamp and LLano power amp with Straight wire connections all around and finally Apogee Stages. My phono preamp is the Creek moving magnet OB-8 (I think this is the right identification). Brooklyn Audio's Jody Crane is very knowledgeable and helpful. I encourage you to contact them. Email is:
jody.crane@ns.sympatico.ca Brooklyn Audio is also a showcase dealer on audiogon. I know you can get the same setup as I have for less than $3,000. Cory
gthrush1
241 posts
 
Basis 1400 turntable = $1400 retail
Graham Robin tonearm = $800 retail
Benz ACE (0.4 mV output) cartridge = $550 retail
MS Phonomena phono preamplifier = $600 retail

TOTAL = $3340 retail

If you buy this whole package from an authorized MS dealer, you could probably get it all new/sealed for 20% off retail, which would be about $2672. If you're not in the same city as the dealer and he ships it to you, you won't even have to pay sales tax. Heck, you might even be able to talk him into free shipping.

I don't know of a better setup for the money. You'd even have about $325 left to go out and buy some more records.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,150 posts
 
My audiophile experience has led me to conclude that the mid-level audiophile stuff is not worth the incremental cost. Either stay at the Rega level or spring for big bucks at the VPI Aries/JWM level, or higher. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that there is not some sonic improvement to be had between these two levels, but in my opinion it's not worth the money. You'll only get somewhat better performance, but you'll eventually want to upgrade again. Very cost ineffective. The Rega is a very good quality component. You might also consider a used Well-Tempered. Also, don't skimp on the phono stage. The EAR 834 is an excellent piece. Best of luck.
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