Turntable consultation

I am not that familiar with your tonearm and turntable, but I did a little research. From looking at a picture of your turntable, it is not the type where you can have a different mounting board made. The Pro-ject website indicated the following specifications for your tonearm

Headshell 0,5" (12,7mm) standard
Mounting distance 212mm (Linn standard)
Supplied counterweight cartridge weight 6 - 10g
Effective length 9" (230mm)
Effective mass 8,5g
Overhang 18mm

The Pro-ject website says 212 (Linn standard), but when you look up Linn on Vinyl engine it says 211 mm mounting distance.I took a quick look at Vinylengine.com (free website, but you need to register) and Kuzma, Moerch and Ortofon have the a 212 mm mounting distance.

SME tonearms require a SME mounting hole so a SME arm would not work on your turntable and because of the mounting distance Basis and Rega arms would not work either.

If you want to change tonearms you will need to see if the tonearm you are interested in will fit. In addition to mounting distance you need to check the size of the mounting hole and the screw pattern for the mounting screws. Hopefully the information above will provide some guidance and assistance.

You could also consider a different turntable. If you like the pod style turntable like your current Pro-ject you could look for a SME 10, and sell your Pro-ject. It may be less hassle than putting a different tonearm on your Pro-ject. There is one for sale on Audiogon now with a IV tonearm (no relationship with seller).

Hi, Knight7m. Thanks for your question.

I assume the most critical parts for sound in turntables are: Cart, tonearm, and phono preamp.

There are FOUR critical components in a vinyl front end: turntable, tonearm, phono stage and cartridge. The only one where you can (sometimes) get top class sound while staying on a low budget is the cartridge. The other three components are more critical... much more.

Having a high end cartridge is great. I use one too. But if the table, arm AND phono stage aren't of equal or better capability, you've put resources into a component that you'll never hear the full capabilities of.

This has been demonstrated many times, and is consistent with Linn's recommendations going back decades. When upgrading or allocating resources, look to the table, tonearm and phono stage first (in no particular order, each of them is vital). Look to the cartridge last (unless it's a known weakness of course).

Example from my systems, which include the following:
$8,000 LOMC, $200 MM
$6,000 TT, $500 TT
$5,000 arm, $500 arm
$12,000 preamp w phono, $800 preamp w phono

I've mixed and matched these in various combinations. Without any question, the worst sound is when I put the high end LOMC on the inexpensive TT/arm. The cartridge is so sensitive and revealing that it spotlights all the weaknesses of the rig supporting it.

OTOH, the inexpensive MM on the high end rig sings its heart out, playing way above itself because it's been given a top class support system that frees it to play its best.

There are few absolutes in audio but this one comes as close as any: a $500 cartridge on a $5,000 rig will play circles around a $5,000 cartridge on a $500 rig.

The difference between the two preamps is enormous. While the inexpensive one is no slouch (used c-j PV11, notably better than the Tube Box), the costlier one (Doshi Alaap) makes a staggering improvement. I've had critics and editors from audio mags visit my system. They only left after I promised to put them in touch with the maker of this amazing preamp, which at least two of them ended up buying for their own systems.

So, I agree with Jperry and Kiko65. You've put the cart before the horse by upgrading your cartridge well above the other 3 components in your vinyl front end. Time to start upgrading those. Until you do, you'll never hear what the Shelter can really do.

Happy hunting!

P.S. Don't get caught up in arbitrary categories like "Class A" or whatever other nonsense Stereophile puts out. Listen to as much as you can, talk to people with experience who seem to share your listening priorities, educate your own ears and judgement. You'll end up knowing a great deal more about what matters to you than any list in some magazine.

Thank you all very much for reply, and Jperry and Dougdeacon, your informations very helpful.

I will buy new preamp with budget around $3000, probably Pass XP15 or Halo JC3, and start from there.

And Dougdeacon, i assume from your talk the arm (9cc) is much less compatiblity than Shelter 9000 ?

And what your recommendation for new turntable with budget around $6000 ?

As far as turntables go, I would look for a used Basis with a Basis Vector tonearm. A.J. Conti of Basis said the Basis tonearm was a good match for the Shelter 901 and my experience was that it worked very well for me. The compliance of the Shelter 901 is the same as the 9000 according to vinyl engine. The 9000 is 1.9 grams heavier.

Make sure your cartridge and arm match up. Vinyl engine can help you with this information.

6k?
I would look a second hand Basis Turntable with a rewired Rega (Incognito wire) Arm ...