I grew up with vinyl and back in the day I strived to get as good a sound as possible considering my budget (AR turntable + Shure V15 cartridge then Thorens + same, etc.) until, fast forward, I ended with my current Roxsan Radius 5 + Hana SH. Even though I'm really happy with the Roxsan combo I find I listen to most of my music using a Logitech Touch streamer and TBH the Roxsan has been relegated to more of an eye candy/nostalgia item. But that's me, if analog rocks your boat then go for it; I prefer the sound and hassle-free convenience of digital 99% of the time.
Help my analog sound as good as my streaming
Hi all - total newcomer here, really enjoying the forum and looking for some advice.
Relevant details: Pro-ject Debut Carbon EVO w/ stock Sumiko Rainer cartridge, into a Hegel H95 via a Parasound Zphono XRM. It sounds great-ish, but doesn’t blow me away like Qobuz via Bluesound Node 2i into the Hegel DAC. I’ll acknowledge that this entire system has a lot of room to improve in the eyes of many here - while I suppose I’ll eventually want to upgrade, I am absolutely thrilled with the streaming sound for now.
Question: is the cartridge the weak link here, or am I expecting too much out of the PDC EVO? If the former, does the Ortofon Bronze seem a good option?
Many thanks for any suggestions/thoughts!
Relevant details: Pro-ject Debut Carbon EVO w/ stock Sumiko Rainer cartridge, into a Hegel H95 via a Parasound Zphono XRM. It sounds great-ish, but doesn’t blow me away like Qobuz via Bluesound Node 2i into the Hegel DAC. I’ll acknowledge that this entire system has a lot of room to improve in the eyes of many here - while I suppose I’ll eventually want to upgrade, I am absolutely thrilled with the streaming sound for now.
Question: is the cartridge the weak link here, or am I expecting too much out of the PDC EVO? If the former, does the Ortofon Bronze seem a good option?
Many thanks for any suggestions/thoughts!
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- 57 posts total
A cutting lathe and a turntable serve entirely different masters. Kind of like the speaker designers that claim that using the same wood on their speakers as were used on the instruments is a good idea. Also if mass production were the final arbiter then I guess you own a amp, preamp and speakers made by one the large Japanese firms. |
@coys21, Time, patience, and a heck of allot of research, my first suggestion would be to join https://www.vinylengine.com/. I would also suggest investing in Dr. Feickert Analogue Next Gen protractor and a good but inexpensive vertical tracking force gauge, Riverstone Audio makes a decent one, this will help to remove unwanted distortion in your current set up. Is your TT perfectly level and sitting on something solid? A vintage Stanton 680/681 cart is a keeper and combined with Feickert protractor and VTF gauge you will be ready to upgrade TT when ever you like, my two cents... |
- 57 posts total