Good and not expensive phono preamp and cartridge?
Sep 4, 2007 at 4:07 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 39
truant

truant

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Hi everybody,
I'm looking for a good and not expensive phono preamp, and a cartridge too, to match it with a Mapletree Ear+ HD2 and Grado RS1. My turntable is a Technics SL 1210 M3D.
Any recommendation?
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I've been thinking in the Bellari VP129 with Grado Gold cartridge.
Is it a good setup?
Would be a better option that I bought a cheaper phono preamp (like NAD PP-2 or Music Hall mmf Phono Pack) and save money to buy a better cartridge?
I've been thinking in the Grado Gold because I have 2xGrado DJ200 to djing, and I like them very much. It will be my first Hi-Fi cartridge
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Many thanks!
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Sep 4, 2007 at 6:46 PM Post #2 of 39
I just bought the Grado Red Cartridge for my Music Hall MMF-5 and I am quite pleased with the sound. My phono preamp is the one built into my Rotel 1062 so I can't help there except to say that I was going to buy the Bellari if I had to buy an external preamp.
 
Sep 4, 2007 at 11:43 PM Post #4 of 39
I have a Cambridge Audio Azur 640p phono-preamp that I use with my Rega P7 and Benz Micro Glider H2 cart. It sounds great. The 640p works with both MM and MC carts and costs less than $200.

With that said I have read a lot of great things on Vinyl Asylum about the TCC TC-760LC from http://www.phonopreamps.com for $73.50 plus shipping. I even ordered one just to see what all the fuss was about. After listening to it for a few hours I think it is every bit as good as the Cambridge 640p. It also supports MM and MC carts and even has an adjustable gain control.

For a cartridge you might want to try the Audio Technica 440MLa. It gets recommended a lot on this forum. I think the word is they sound great and are heavily discounted. Needledoctor.com has them for $88 and list price is $219

Good luck.

--Jerome
 
Sep 5, 2007 at 12:43 AM Post #5 of 39
I am in a similar dilemma to the OP, I ended up buying today the black grado cartridge ($40), and thanks to that website jsaliga just posted, the TC-750 preamp... almost 4 times as cheap as the bellari I was expecting to buy. I'll be powering to the Senn 650's and the RA-1 amp.
 
Sep 5, 2007 at 12:54 AM Post #6 of 39
This Audio Technica 440MLa has a really atractive price!
I've read great reviews about this cart. And for less than 1/2 the price of the Grado Gold... Thanks jsaliga! The bad thing is that I don't see replacement stylus at Needledoctor store.
And for the phono preamp... I think I'll go for the Bellari. I like the warm sound of tubes
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Sep 5, 2007 at 1:00 AM Post #7 of 39
The AT440MLa is a true bargain at its price point. I slightly prefer my KAB/Ortofon ProS30, but its is twice the price. I can't speak for the phono stages mentioned here, but I own the Bellari VP129, and aside from some minor hum issues which I fixed with careful placement and almost completely eradicated with some power conditioning, it is a fine preamp.
 
Sep 5, 2007 at 12:07 PM Post #10 of 39
Quote:

Originally Posted by jjhatfield /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I can't speak for the phono stages mentioned here, but I own the Bellari VP129, and aside from some minor hum issues which I fixed with careful placement and almost completely eradicated with some power conditioning, it is a fine preamp.


jjhatfield, how did you eradicated theese hum issues? With a better power cable or something like that?
 
Sep 5, 2007 at 3:20 PM Post #12 of 39
Is there any clear difference in sound quality, at this price range, between MM and MC cartridges?
I'm new in Hi-Fi carts (I've been using dj carts for years, like Ortofon Night Club and Grado dj200)
 
Sep 5, 2007 at 5:39 PM Post #13 of 39
Quote:

Originally Posted by truant /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Is there any clear difference in sound quality, at this price range, between MM and MC cartridges?
I'm new in Hi-Fi carts (I've been using dj carts for years, like Ortofon Night Club and Grado dj200)


It's too dependant on tonarms to really call. In the most general of terms MC carts are thought to have much better midrange and are seen as more 'musical' whereas MMs are generally better trackers, and are usually said to have more extended highs and lows but lack subtlety.

Going back to tonearms you need to match the cart to the arm in terms of compliance (springiness of cart suspension) which is a standard measurement but also certain arms and carts are said to synergise well for whatever reason which could be down to the design of the arm or cart or a combination of both.

A lot of people are fitting more modern tonearms http://www.tonearm.co.uk/dj-technics-arm.htm to the Technics SL1200 with all around good feedback and also tweaking the supports http://www.isonoe.com/news.html so you may want to consider this as well before blowing loads on high end carts.

Here is a recent review of the stock Technics with some pretty exotic carts. http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/te..._sl1200_e.html

The Denon MC's seem to be a winner.
 
Sep 5, 2007 at 9:00 PM Post #14 of 39
At this moment I have no money to change the tonearm
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I think that I'll buy the Denon cartridge and the TCC TC-760LC preamp. It seems to offer good sound quality for the money spent.
 
Sep 5, 2007 at 10:11 PM Post #15 of 39
Quote:

Originally Posted by truant /img/forum/go_quote.gif
At this moment I have no money to change the tonearm
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I think that I'll buy the Denon cartridge and the TCC TC-760LC preamp. It seems to offer good sound quality for the money spent.


I think the Denon is one of the better choices with the stock Technics arm.If you are not afraid of a soldering iron,you can build a Hagerman Bugle phono stage for about $70 which I think would beat any phono stage mentioned so far.My Bugle is a stock 40db configuration with an LM4562 op amp in the U3 socket.You can also buy a Hagerman Bugle already built for $129.Still worth every penny in my opinion.I also installed an Origin Live Silver tonearm on my Technics 1200 MKII and received a huge increase in sound quality.The Technics is no toy when configured and set-up properly.
 
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