Best investment; cartridge or line stage?
Alrighty fellow hifi aficionados, I tried to find a sub on this topic but failed. Here is my bang for the buck question: assuming money spent on either option will be within spitting distance of each other, where am I likely to get more bang for my buck? By investing in a new line stage or investing in a new cartridge. I am currently running a Sutherland TX vibe line stage with a rega aria cartridge on a rega p6 turntable. Appreciate your input! Current system is McIntosh MA252 integrated, rega p6 tt and Martin Logan Vantages.
@elliottbnewcombjr you are correct the cartridge is an Rega Ania. So another really great point a couple of you brought up. Cartridges do wear out, other investments not so much. I knew I would get some great input from this crew. Thanks so much!! Time to go dive deep on tone arms. |
Glad to help. Since we are agreed that only a very good tonearm can hold a cartridge at the correct angles, it is essential for that tonearm to be adjustable in order to optimize the cartridge that you have (now or in the future). In particular: vertical tracking angle of the stylus (VTA); rotating the cartridge parallel to the tonearm (azimuth); and of course, tracking force (VTF, which most tonearms do well). Azimuth adjustment is what really separates the best from the rest, IMO. I can hear adjustments down to about 3 minutes of arc on my air bearing table and arm. My experiments show that about as important as azimuth adjustment is resonance control, or damping, as @fsonicsmith points out. You can spend big bucks on tonearms that don’t look like they’re damped very well, so beware of that. Reed has a nice comparison of tonearm materials on their site. And I can assure you, Panzerholz sounds GREAT, no matter what some of Reed’s panelists said. An exciting time for you. Good luck! |
