Turntables, looking for tips and suggestions - Page 2

I can't recommend a phonostage, unfort.  The full function preamp I'm getting is far overkill for your purposes, but I only got it for the linestage.

 

To be honest, I've been happy with the phonostage from sub-$1000 (even as low as $100-200) Vestax, Rane, and Pioneer DJ mixers.  That's probably heresy among the audiophile crowd, but I always really enjoyed listening to records on a sub-$1000 setup (for the entire chain).

 

I don't think you need anything fancy so Skylab's suggestion might be good.  I'd also just run Google searches and look on audio forums for a good preamp in your budget.  I think you can get something quality for sub-$300 easy.

Thank you Skylab and Elysian for the patience. So I guess that if one does not go really Hi-End, phono stages made of "printed" circuits sound quiet all the same, nevermind the casing...

Edited by Edoardo - 10/23/11 at 7:01am

For a beginning foray into vinyl, there are inexpensive phono stages that are good enough to enjoy, yes.

Yeah.  You'll get much more improvement by taking care of your vinyl and making sure you get good pressings.

 

I wouldn't stress over the phonostage too much.  I wouldn't say that they all sound the same, but diminishing returns kick in pretty fast.  Vinyl has a pretty distinctive aural texture.

You can't go wrong with a VPI Scoutmaster and a Ray Samuels Nighthawk battery powered phono stage to get started. You'll never look back.

 

Sorry for my poor English, with "pressing" here you mean the goodness of the disc/record itself or the accuracy of the pressure between the stylus and the mat?

Nah, I meant good quality mastering and production of the record itself.  Unlike CDs (with the exclusion of classical), vinyl is fun because you'll be hunting down various releases of the same artist/album/single, because some versions will sound pretty different to others.  It's pretty rewarding when you can hunt down an album where everything just works well.  There are a lot of poor modern vinyl releases, where the CD version is clearly better.

I love to listen to Vinyl even though there are clicks and so on :) But I have to admit that I ve spend a good amount already to get the best out of my current setup. Nevertheless there is always space to improve :). Right now I am happy with it and I have some really good records where the difference is not great to the digital version.

For myself I find I enjoy the ritual of listening to vinyl and it is a big part of the experience for me. I enjoy everything from sifting through my collection, the large format for album artwork, the tactile sensations of pulling the record out of the sleeve, giving it a quick brushing, manually aligning the tonearm and lowering the stylus onto the grooves. 

 

It just adds to my listening experience, I feel much more like I'm actively listening. 

 

of course when I'm lazy I just turn on the DAC and stream hours on end from macbook without dragging my ass off the couch...

 

I have a Rega RP-1 with the upgraded belt and cartridge, and run it through an Antique Sound Lab tube phono stage and I'm right pleased with myself. 

Edited by detoxguy - 10/25/11 at 1:14pm

I clean records with wood glue too. The glue I use costs less than 3USD a bottle (500g netto)

 

 

I think results are pretty nice. I don't have any close up pics of cleaned records, sorry. Just imagine they're clean as can be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drying takes almost a day... It depends on room temperature.

Not to plug my own selling post malveuax, but if your looking for a nice audiophile level TT I'm selling one right now due to financial problems: http://www.head-fi.org/t/577742/fs-month-new-pro-ject-debut-iii-white-turntable

 

Also in terms of keeping things clean, I would get some nice innersleeves and outsleeves, and then just a basic dust brush. Also I enjoyed my ART DJ phono pre-amp (which i'm also selling) with my TT, my friend brought over his bellario vp130 but I didn't notice much of a difference so I stuck with the ART.

Sorry to semi-necro this thread, but I have a similar question so rather than litter the forum with threads, thought I would add it here.

 

I recently started a PhD program, which made me move back into crappy college housing. This was great until I racked up enough noise violations they threatened to kick me out.

As such, I had to sell my maggies, and the sub I made from an Alumapro M16 and a bash plate amp. I downgraded to my old Paradigm Titans and a Bic F12, still more noise violations. Which is silly because we have cinder block walls.

 

I have always been a car stereo enthusiast, but the fact I am glued to a desk 90% of the time I am awake, I have not been able to get my car fix in lately.

(for anyone interested this is what I have in my car at the moment)

Eclipse 7100

Polk SR6500

2x Infinity Beta 15

ESX 120.4

 

Since I can't listen to music louder than a whisper, and I don't drive much, I have been thrust into the world of headphones.

 

My current home setup is:

Yamaha RXV-590

Sony PS-LX350H with the original cartridge.

Sennheiser 598

Millet Starving Student

Fiio D3

Macbook Pro

Ipod Touch 4g

 

To my questions:

Is this turntable decent?

Should I upgrade the turntable, or just the cartridge?

If just the cartridge what are some good choices, I know nothing about them.

 

So far this forum has been a wonderful resource for the novice headphone enthusiast. I have quickly become disenchanted with the Fiio and the Millet. Not that they aren't both nice entry level purchases, but with the amount of time I spend listening to music every day I have decided to upgrade. I have an Asgard on the way, and a Bifrost on order waiting to be filled. These were what I considered the best units that met my criteria for price/value. (feel free to toss in any comments about this decision.)

 

Which leads me to a tangential round of questions.

 

I miss my Magnepan MMG's so much it hurts. The 598's have about 100 hours on them, and I have yet to fall in love with the sound. Tad bright, lacking in bass, and missing that planar signature I dig.

 

Do planar headphones have qualities similar to planar speakers?

I have tried to research what planar headphones would mate well with the Schiit I have on the way, but there seems to be some (lots) of debate on this topic. I am fairly set on the amp and dac, at least for the moment. I really need to resist the urge to constantly change gear with headphones like I did with car audio. I am considering the Hifiman HE-400 and the Audeze LCD-2. I really don't want to spend enough to buy the LCD-2, but if it will sound like my maggies, I will eat less for a couple of mont...years. I know this seems to be on both ends of the spectrum, but I do think the 598's, Millet, and Fiio will quickly be listed on the classifieds here.

 

Would either of these cans mate well with the Asgard/Bifrost? Or would I have to get something like the Lyr (or other around that pricerange to push them)?

 

Sorry for the overly verbose post, but I live on a shoestring budget, and without a setup I enjoy listening to I have been experiencing a lot of stress.

 

I appreciate any help, thanks for reading, assuming anyone made it this far.

 

-Rational

 

TL;DR

I need either a new cartridge, or a new turntable.

I am unhappy with my 598's, and miss the planar sound, help!

Have an asgard and a bifrost on the way.

Hate bright highs, basshead.

 

Sorry for going OT, just found out that was a nono, will avoid it in the future, please forgive my noob mistake.

 

Edited by rational - 2/16/12 at 12:19am

I really don't think you'll be satisfied with most dynamics. You need a LCD2 or HE-500. As for cartridge, I just tonight installed a new one to replace the original cartridge in a 1980s Pioneer and the difference was quite large. The one I got was the Ortofon 2M Red from needle doctor (make sure you use the 10% off code, there are a few, but I used (SAVE10) I think it was) and it arrived quickly and was easy to install and setup. Your turntable is probably fine as long as the functions operate properly (quartz lock, arm moves right, etc).

By the way, I used to think I ate on a tight budget when I was mostly eating fast food, but when I changed to a healthy diet I cook myself, I found I was spending $4-5 a day on food (eating 4-5 small meals). This was $350 less per month that I could have been saving for years that I never knew about. It's fairly boring food, but is nutritious and cheap. A lot of people don't realize where they can actually save money if they really want to. Take a harder look at your budgeting if you really feel you need better music reproduction.
Edited by Maxvla - 2/16/12 at 12:53am

Thanks for the tip on the cartridge. I have not heard of Ortofon. I have always coveted audio-technica and shure. I am looking into the Ortofon and Grado.

As for eating, I have been on a very restrictive diet for about a year now, lost 120 lbs, with the last stubborn bit to go. If I don't cook it, or it isn't a nut or vegetable I do not eat it.

As long as I have owned a turntable I am embarrassed to ask this question; are cartridge mounts universal? I found that my turntable will support between 6 and 10 grams for weight, but nothing about the mount.

 

I should be saving money, but I sold the maggies and the sub for a tidy sum, and I have a few grand worth of car stereo stuff I need to sell. I figure I can reinvest some of that into a nice

desk setup. I certainly need better music reproduction. I just have a hard time spending more on a pair of headphones than I did on floorstanding planar speakers.

 

Appreciate the reply!

 

The wonders of searching! Standard mount 6-10 gram. I will figure this out yet!

Edited by rational - 2/16/12 at 1:19am