[pcf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif Me too - I still believe in more like 50% cartridge, 50% table.

Not when you have kids. Mine squashed a couple of half way decent cartridges (my fault for not being more careful

). I am now a bit nervous about spending too much money on them(the cartridges I mean).

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parafeed /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm curious. What price level does that apply to, or at any price?

For me it certainly applies from 1K total - 10K total.


Quote:

Originally Posted by pcf /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not when you have kids. Mine squashed a couple of half way decent cartridges (my fault for not being more careful ). I am now a bit nervous about spending too much money on them(the cartridges I mean).

I kept my analog rig on a high enough shelf when my kids were little that they couldn't reach

 

[Hopstretch]

I keep my rig in the basement and have told the kids there's a troll down there. They won't even touch the door handle.

And I just picked up a rather better tonearm off Audiogon, so I'll be interested to see what swapping that in does for the system with all else remaining the same.

 

[Parafeed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif For me it certainly applies from 1K total - 10K total.

Wow, really. I can kind of understand the point of putting a very high-end cart on a high-end turntable, (ie. once you reach a certain level with a tt), but the idea of putting a 1K cart on a 1K turntable, or splitting a 10K budget 50/50, doesn't make a lot of sense to me. 5K on a turntable/arm and 5K on the cart? Plenty of cart options for 5K, but how many tt options for 5K would do justice to a Koetsu or $$$$ Zyx?

 

[Skylab]

Well, I have for quite a while been using the $1,200 Benz Wood L2 on my Denon DP-59L, which was a $500 deck when it was new in the 1980's, so roughly $1,000 today. The results were astounding - everyone who heard this set-up marveled at how good it sounded.

I recently bought a VPI Scoutmaster, a $3K TT/arm combo, and I will very shortly be using it with the Benz LP-S, a $5K cartridge. And I guarantee you I will get the Benz in all its glory.

 

[Omriff]

Mark Baker of Origin Live reckons that the arm makes most difference. I know that it makes a lot of difference - as I have found from the experience of replacing a Nottingham Analogue Space Arm with an Origin Live Illustrious Mk 2 - but turntables make a fair bit of difference, and cartridges can make more difference than anything else. But I have a £550 cartridge on a turntable/arm combination which cost about £3500, and it sounds excellent.

 

[Skylab]

There are a lot of different paths to good sound - I guess that is the point, really.

 

[Parafeed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif I recently bought a VPI Scoutmaster, a $3K TT/arm combo, and I will very shortly be using it with the Benz LP-S, a $5K cartridge. And I guarantee you I will get the Benz in all its glory.

Fair enough. I still have a Ruby L (silver) somewhere. Only a few hours use!

I'm not a Benz fan, although I've not tried any of the later ebony bodies.

A troll in the cellar! Should have thought of that. My son managed to destroy a Helikon and a Shelter 901. What is is about tt's that attracts little fingers!

 

[Hopstretch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omriff /img/forum/go_quote.gif Mark Baker of Origin Live reckons that the arm makes most difference.

Well, he would wouldn't he!

I'll be replacing the Rega 600 on my Gyro with an OL Encounter Mk3, so the table and arm cost (both were bought used) will be pretty much equivalent at that point. I'm running a Benz Ace quite happily but wouldn't mind stepping up to something like a Dyna 17d3 some day. Couldn't really see spending more than $1k on a cart given the level of the other components, but clearly opinions differ on that!

 

[Dinan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopstretch /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, I've got no room to talk anyway as my own cart cost 70% of the table. Out of interest, what do you guys think the price sweet spot is for cartridges before diminishing returns really start kicking in?

My personal sweet spot for bang for the buck is $5K for the Benz LP although a Koetsu Onyx Platinum at $8K will kick its butt and a Koetsu Diamond at $14K will kick its butt so maybe $14K is the sweet spot.

 

[Dinan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pcf /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not when you have kids. Mine squashed a couple of half way decent cartridges (my fault for not being more careful ). I am now a bit nervous about spending too much money on them(the cartridges I mean).

I hear you but there are some solutions. Namely an arm with a removable headshell or armwand so you can put it in a safe place. It doesn't have to be big bucks either as a $250 Jelco arm sounds pretty good and fits the bill.

 

[Hopstretch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dinan /img/forum/go_quote.gif My personal sweet spot for bang for the buck is $5K for the Benz LP although a Koetsu Onyx Platinum at $8K will kick its butt and a Koetsu Diamond at $14K will kick its butt so maybe $14K is the sweet spot.

No offense, but I think we're going to have to conclude that you may be a bit of an outlier.

 

[Commanderloochy]

I think half the fun of records is being able to say that you "spin" vinyl.

 

[pcf]

I actually made a decision a few years ago to ease off/stop upgrading my analog rig for a few reasons- Firstly because we had kids, secondly I found myself spending more time fiddling with gears than listening to music; thirdly it was getting too expensive and I couldn't afford it any longer.

I stopped at the Loricraft Garrard 401/SME IV combination. Very musical but can be outperformed by some more modern turntables. I even decided to stick to one mid price MC cartridge- Goldring Elite because it works well with the rest of the system and I couldn't be bordered to try anything else. I went through a few Goldring Elites and just replace it. It's been working well for me and I find myself enjoying my records a lot more without wondering if I should upgrade something. Actually, the only new addition in the analog side in the past few years for me was a Nitty Gritty record cleaning machine.
I still upgrade my digital sources, amps and speakers/headphones but as far as vinyl is concerned I hope I am done with upgrading.

 

[4N6]

Anyone have any experience with the SoundSmith moving iron cartridges? Their very high output is interesting and the ability to remove my MC phono stage and go straight into my McIntosh Integrated's MM stage would shorten the signal path and remove a cable. I am not sure there are any MM cartridges that would compete with my Lyra Skala, so I am thinking the MI route.