2. analog
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Beginning the Analog Adventure

So I recently moved into a new appartment (and will revise my system accordingly soon) and just hooked up my music hall 2.1 again and it sounds better than ever, well everything in my new room sounds sooo much better...but really what hit me is that I want to move more into the analog direction as my system evolves.

so the question is where I go. right now I have a Music Hall 2.1 tt and rega phono stage running to my krell HTS as a preamp (in preamp mode) and then to krell mono's

I'm going to buy a bunch more vinyl either way, but should I upgrade my phono stage and TT now...and if so what should I look at.

thinking a price range of 500 to 1000 and am very willing to purchase used.

thanks for the input...my hi-fi store dosen't deal too much with analog

-Steve
stapimp
robm321
932 posts
 
Judy426 is right. The extra money you spend on a RCM is for convenience. As long as it sucks, it's as good as the rest. Unless you get into the freaky expensive stuff.
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
You could really improve things for very little money by building your own RCM. It will be every bit as good as a 16.5 and probably won't set you back more than $50 bucks. IMHO, once you decide on which cleaning solutions and brushes work best for you it is the vacuuming that makes the difference with record cleaning. At least until you get to the level of a Loricraft.

Based on my experience I would have to agree with others that your best move right now is to buy vinyl and develop a cleaning method that works well for you. But if you develop an itch that you just can't scratch then look for a tubed phono stage first. Something like used EAR 834P, Hagerman, etc. You'll be amazed how much your Music Hall will like tubes and you should be able to sell it for about what you paid for it. Anything more and you will get into that space where you would be better off just plunking down the bucks and upgrading on more of a major scale. But this is a hobby and so it is up to you to decide if you want to make a big jump or perhaps pay a bit more of a price in time and money to enjoy the journey by learning what each little change can make. (Here I will say that the 2.1 is limiting what you can do/learn with TT/tonearm/cartridge setup.) There are pluses and minuses to both paths, it's up to you. Have fun and enjoy!

Dan
stapimp OP
6 posts
 

Thank you all for your responses...definetely will take your advice and chill on purchasing new equipment for awhile.

as for the DIY projects where can I find plans to build my own phonostage and RCM? I can hold my own with a soldering iron and have access to high precision machining facilites (the benefits of being an MIT student)

thanks again

-Steve
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Stapimp,

For the RCM, just google "DIY record cleaning machine". You'll get several good hits. You will see that you can go mild to wild. I have a picture posted of my own under my system. It was made with an old Hoover vacuum and I spin the MDF platter by hand. I based it on the RCM shown on the teres audio site. Nuthin' fancy but it gets the records clean. But I would advise just buying cleaning solution. There are some pretty good home brews, but I believe that the Record Research Labs products are the best, easiest and safest to use. AIVS also makes a great product for really grundgy records.
pauly
1,012 posts
 
If you are interested in phono kits try http://audionotekits.espyderweb.net/, http://www.bottlehead.com/ and http://www.hagtech.com/. There are a few others around, but I have personal experience with these companies and their kits and customer service are first rate.

For scratch building best is just to do a google search.

Regards
Paul
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