2. analog
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How Good Can My Vinyl Get?

So here is a question for turntable fans. I got back into vinyl recently, and so I decided to go with a budget starter table to see if it was for me. I got a UTurn Orbit Plus, with a pluto phono preamp and an Ortofon OM10 cartridge and have been really been enjoying it. It sounds very nice. eTotal outlay was about $500.

I suppose my question is...if I were to double, triple or even quadruple my initial investment, could i get a noticeably significant upgrade in sound quality or is it all just fractions of a degree past a certain point? I’m not talking about needing a $10k set of speakers to appreciate it kind of difference....i mean an improvement that makes you glad you spent the money.

How much scability exists in vinyl?




dtrandall
glassdesigns's avatar
glassdesigns
2 posts
 
I would recommend that you start with the cartridge to see the most improvement.  Everything else is just tweaking the sound of the cartridge.
analogluvr
859 posts
 
I think your cartridge is decent I would go with the phonostage 
johnto
1,035 posts
 
If you're enjoying what you have just relax and listen. When you have $$ to upgrade get out there and listen in stores and others systems. To many of us are always chasing the next thing instead of hearing the music.
When the time come you can save big by looking used.
dtrandall OP
43 posts
 
update.....

I upgraded the OM10 stylus to an OM20 and that brought some nice improvements. There was a deepening of the overall sound with greater dimension and energy. 
The next step is an upgraded phono preamp. I am looking both at the Lounge LCR mkIII and the Vista Audio Phono-1. I’m leaning towards the Vista because of all the gain and loading adjustability plus the ability to use a MC cart down the road.

 My hope is that the two improvements together will make upgrading the deck less important and something I can do down the road.
bstatmeister
537 posts
 
Technics SL1200 GR + Nagaoka MP150 + Schiit Mani. Done. That's ~2k and will compete with anything out there.

Don't forget a record doctor V. (This might actually be the most important component)
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