$800 Cartridge Shootout and Upgrade Path

Artar,

I just bought a Grand Prix amp stand for my "mediocre equalizer" (tube amp) and before I go set it up I just wanted to respond to yr post about Redpoint. While I like the Redpoint look, they do not post prices on their website and somehow I got the idea in my head that they were out of my league price-wise. Looking back on it, I can't remember how I got that idea and am going to email them right now. I was intrigued by the idea that I could go to Colorado and hear the other two tables (though of course this would be in completely arbitrary contexts concerning associated equipment though ). Thanks for pointing this out, I should look into it further before I write them off.

Thanks for your kind comments, I feel that we are all in this together and I prefer the feeling that this is a conversation where we all report on our experiences and work to develop the questions and answers we seek.

Oh yeah, Michael Green doesn't make the Basik racks anymore. I saw one of the heavier "Clamp Racks" here used on the 'gon for $365 recently and it's a better rack than this one. My rack is very rigid and fine for a...basic rack it's nuthin' fancy. On the rack I use Black Diamond cones and pucks, Michael Green brass cones and Bright Star little rocks as well as a Bright Star Big Rock for the Oracle and a Townsend Seismic sink for my CDP. So I try to get a handle in various ways to get the sound I am looking for. After trying out this amp stand I may look into a Grand Prix equipment rack but they ain't cheap! Before I go that route I will upgrade source components though, so the rack I have is gonna have to do for now. Like I said, I had to custom build a plywood/foam platform to isolate the turntable from footfalls and have acheived this goal so I feel that this current set-up is good for now though it's good I live alone because the platform has zero WAF!!!

It's cold today here in Seattle but all the tubes in my amp, pre and phonostage outta warm me up.......now to wrangle my amp up onto this stand......

Chris

Chris,

LOL. I got it! You know the reference to your tube amp being a “mediocre equalizer.” What a sense of humor you have. Why, I was thinking of starting another thread concerning the virtues of having a 10-band, tube-based equalizer in one’s audio system. Now that would be really cool!

Yeah, I know what you mean about the Redpoint web site not listing prices for their turntables. I figured that if I couldn’t afford the Galibier tables, I wouldn’t be able to afford the Redpoints either. But, you could always give them a call. Who knows, maybe they are cheaper. And if Redpoint is in Colorado with the other two manufacturers, then you could make it a “threesome” visit so to speak. Going to Colorado will clear up a lot of things for you, and it will be fun too.

Similarly, I went to Washington this last summer to visit Bob Carver in Snohomish. It was an eye-opening experience. I really didn’t know what to expect. He was very gracious and accommodating toward my wife and me. I learned a lot and came away being very impressed with the sound of his equipment and utterly fascinated by his success as a designer and as a businessman. He also told me that he is working on a new tubed amp (a "mediocre equalizer") that will deliver 600 watts into 8 ohms! I saw a large shipping box that looked like it had over 50 KT-88s!

By the way, I didn’t know that you lived in Seattle. What a great town. I grew up in Lynnwood, and I lived there between 1953 and 1971.

I, too, think that we are all in this together. If I could get all of my answers from reading TAS and Stereophile and could depend upon what my dealer told me, I wouldn’t have stared this thread. The truth is that most dealers I have met know less than me about audio. I am not trying to toot my own horn, but rather I am only stating how little most dealers know about audio equipment, and especially about analog. I could have gone to The Analog Room in San Jose, a fine place actually, but then I would not be able to purchase the Teres or an Origin Live Illustrious. However, they would have found something suitable for me, but it would not have been very cheap. The Analog Room has some really expensive gear.

I’m sorry to hear that Michael Green no longer makes racks. I guess that I will have to make one myself, although my wife thinks that I will most likely never get around to it. She may be right!

What tube amp are you using? I have Martin Logan Ascents; you know, "low-resolution" gear. I would like to go tube, and I was wondering if you had any suggestions. I was thinking about the Quicksilver V4 Monos, Music Reference RM200, McIntosh MC275, or Conrad-Johnson Premier 140. The problem with the last two choices is cost. I was also thinking about the Jolida JD 3300A. It’s new and replaces the JD 3000A. It costs about $5,000.

I hope things warm up in Seattle! But you may have to wait until March for that.

Artar1

Artar,

I didn't mean that Michael Green no longer makes racks, just that he no longers makes the particular model that I own. He makes heavier "clamp" racks, where you can screw the shelves down onto a component. I guess putting cones inbetween. He still makes all sorts of "tuning" acoustical products:
http://www.michaelgreenaudio.com/catalog/mech.htm

As far as building a rack, well the platform was a project of desperation to play records and it mainly involved getting Home Depot to cut the boards I needed.

I gotta say that this Grand Prix amp stand is blowing me away. I have a Sonic Frontiers Power 2 SE amp and the sound quality after putting it on this rack is stunning. The backgrounds are jet black and guitar plucks sound more palpable(I'm listening to 'folk 'guitarist John Fahey's Red Cross right now). There's more space around everything and I can hear deeper into bass and drums. I know that a stand doesn't have a sound so I'll just say that this one lets the amp shine powerfully.

As for amp recommendations, well I'm not that familiar with the amps you're asking about. My brother is a big McIntosh fan and has heard them with the ML speakers and really liked the sound. He was thinking about getting a pair of the Ascents since he's heard them quite a bit at his local dealer in Detroit but decided that they would be too big for the size of his room. His living room is kinda small and though I told him to knock out a wall to make it bigger, I think he's gonna get stand mounted monitors and leave the wall where it is. Go figure. Perhaps you should get Carver to hook you up with 600 watts, that outta drive those Logans!!

As for the weather, I don't want it to warm up! I consider the winter great tube weather! I gotta enough tubes to warm up my apt good! I shut my radiator off completely because the winters here are mild(I grew up in Michigan and Minnesota) and the tubes give me what heat I need. (Well I do have a steam pole in the kitchen I can't turn off).

My dealer here (Tim at Experience Audio) has been patient and understanding with me and carries some nice equipment. He's the one who turned me onto the Grand Prix rack. When I said I wasn't an expert before, I meant it. I have listened to music, gone to concerts, toured with bands, worked in record stores and scoured the country from end to end for records but it wasn't until '96 that I discovered high-end audio. I have pursued more record collecting than audio equipment but in the last couple of years I have been trying to seriously upgrade my system. I've been to various dealers in cities I've lived in and been to a few Hi-Fi shows to hear equipment. Now I'm on the cusp of making some serious purchases and availing myself of the knowledge of others to help me out. It's tough to hear all the things you'd wanna hear! And I firmly believe that if I buy a "garbage" cartridge, because it's what I can afford, that when I upgrade to a better one, the experience with the lesser one will have been worthwhile. We accumulate knowledge through experience and I've found that each time I get something else, an amp, a cable, or whatever, that I hear a little better the next time. That's the learning curve!

Redpoint is in Arizona (the reason they split into Redpoint and Galibier was the distance between the two partners in Redpoint since one was in Colorado) but I have some personal business that will send me to Arizona in the spring so who knows.....I'll let you know...

Chris

I beleieve Redpoint's tables range from $5k-$15K depending upon options. The biggest differences to Galibier at the moment are free-standing (detached) arm pods and a slightly different Teflon platter. Prices probably increase with the amount of lead/oil dampening found in each component (plinth, platter, arm pod/s, and motor pod). Cosmetics are different as well and I beleive can be customized more than Galibier is offering presently. I've seen pics of Redpoints that were in a variety of colors (incl. Testarossa red:-)) rather than polished Aluminum. BTW, this is what I've picked up from reading and some brief conversations with Peter and Thom, I would still encourage you to call or email them to get more accurate info.

Matt

Hey Chris,

How’s Halloween? It’s quiet here.

I took a look at Michael Green’s web site, and his racks and stands are first rate. But then so are the prices. I will most likely make the stand for the turntable. I have to find a way to save money somehow. Maybe I can do it with the rack.

Just like you, I, too, will have Home Depot cut the wood for me. I think they charge a small fee, but it will be well worth it. In that way I won’t have to buy expensive cutting tools for a one-time use.

You have a Sonic Frontiers amp? That’s great. It’s really too bad Anthem stopped making tube gear. It seems like many people have components from Sonic Frontiers, and they seem to love them. Do your amps throw off that much heat so you don’t have to use the furnace? Wow! I wonder how a couple of tube monoblocks will fair in the summer heat of Tracy.

My learning experience has been a gradual one that has taken many years. I read a large number of reviews, listen to equipment whenever possible, and attend live symphony performances, which are now becoming quite expensive. Early on in my audio hobby career, I gravitated toward planar loud speakers, but could never afford them or house them properly in my listening room. My preference is for Magneplanar, either the MG 3.6R or the 20.1. At $12,000, it’s a bargain. However, my listening room is not big enough for either model so I purchased the Martin Logan Ascents instead. There is something special about a panel transducer; it recreates the original event so much more easily than most dynamically-driven loudspeakers that are priced under $10,000. The problem with such speakers is that a goodly part of the cost goes into the cabinet.

I didn’t know that Redpoint is in Arizona. And it doesn't help to know that their tables are apparently so expensive. So it looks like the Galibier will be a more viable choice for you, at least cost wise.

Artar1