The first thing I’d do is add the JN-P200 or JN-P500 stylus to your MP150. The 200 adds the benefit of the boron cantilever. The 500 goes a step farther with boron cantilever, and a fine line stylus. Both are great upgrades over the 150. Amazon shows them @ $156 and $252 currently....almost a no brainer, but it is subjective. (I added the JN-P500 to my MP150, and love it. The friction fit is fine, and you can leave the screw off. I added a few grams of mass to the headshell to offset cartridge weight differences)
You already have a very well regarded TT, but isolation pucks or platform can help optimize things.
An active sub (or 2) is an easy and affordable improvement as well.
How are your cables and interconnects?
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Many here will ask questions similar to these? What do you think you are lacking? Dynamics, bass, soundstage etc, etc? What kind of music do you listen to? Would your speakers be close to a wall or can you have them out in the room? Stands? Are you limited by WAF? (Wife acceptance factor) in terms of aesthetics. I agree you have a good enough turntable and upgrading the cartridge could help. BUT what are you looking for, specifically? And of course, what is your budget? After all, many wives care about that too.
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The room will have more effect on sound than the gear. If there's anything you can do in that regard that your spouse would approve of - and some sound treatments can still be very attractive aesthetically - Makes a big difference whether you're on hardwood floors or wall-to-wall carpeting. Makes a big difference if you have plush furniture and stuff on the walls or if your furniture is minimalistic with the walls being unbroken flat planes, to help control sound bouncing around all over.
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Can the JN-P500 fit onto the body of the MP-150? If so, that may be an extremely economical way to get some upgrades without swapping out audio.
My TT already has isolation feet on it (put on by KAB), so I think we are good on that side.
Floors are solid hardwood. No carpet. I can possibly add some sound dampening to the walls, but I have no idea about placement.
I do have the turntable turned to face the width of the townhouse (i.e. facing the wall that is a shorter distance). If I am able to convince the wife to turn the turntable and the whole set up to be facing the further walls (i.e. go the length of the townhome instead of the width), would that be an improvement? i.e. more space means the sound doesn't immediately bounce off a wall.
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Cables on the turntable are what KAB put on when they upgraded the table about five years ago. They are better than stock, but I honestly have no idea how to find out the "brand" and "make".
The power cord goes to an external speed controller that KAB also gave me.
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I agree best bang for buck would be stylus / cart.
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Agree with larsman. There are very attractive wall treatments available today.
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I don't know how good your phono stage is, so I would probably upgrade to Nagaoka MP500 cartridge first. Or perhaps the speakers, but you say you like them.
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@vrikkian Can the JN-P500 fit onto the body of the MP-150? If so, that may be an extremely economical way to get some upgrades without swapping out audio.
It certainly can. It's a perfect friction fit. As stated, I did add some mass to the headshell to compensate for differences in the cart weight between the MP150 and MP500, but am not sure it's even necessary. It's subjective, but the results sound sublime to me.
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Townhouses and stereos sometimes don't mix well. Living too close to other people causes a lack of volume and dynamics.
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Sounds like getting a new cart is an easy sell. I’ll go with the new needle first.
Next, since I like my Focals, I’ll see if there are better bookshelves out there than the ones I have now that have been discontinued for some time.
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Subwoofer all day long. You are missing a ton of bass. Take some of load off the 906 and let a subwoofer do the heavy lifting. Buy the subwoofer with the best specs in your budget which is likely the SVS SB-2000 Pro.
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I think you know who the weakest link in your set up is. For your wife's needs, your system is perfect.
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Enjoy the music.if your cart is used alot you may want to change.the turntable is good been around for decades and proven.focal are great speakers even the older models.these days you can dsp your system and room.have fun keep the spouse happy you know happy wife happy life enjoy the experiment.see if there is an audio club in your town to swap equipment.crutchfield gives 60 days and upscale audio may as well on speakers.
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Agree with sub recommendation; for your budget you can't do much of an improvement in your TT setup. Cambridge is (IMO) a weak link, but since it serves multiple functions, may not be able to improve within your budget. Let you wife select a nice area rug; can help tame a somewhat live room and give her input into the room aesthetic.
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Spotify in NG compressed files
buy a copy dedicated dac or much better dac streamer combo
buy a sub for your speakers ,a$600 Svs pro 1000 with a nice remote app To adjust ,cables, power chords for the money Pangea sig,MK2
Wireworld Equinox would be perfect for your setup, very good quality reasonable
price
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Focal speakers only go down to 55 Hz ... so @travelinjack is probably the best suggestion; your TT set up is commendable; upgrades with cart et cetera will be marginal compared to opening up the low end!
Switch the Cambridge out on next upgrade as @fatdaddy2 correctly identified ... plenty of great options await
Good luck!
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An old time audio buddy of mine (and audio store owner) used to tell me "you can't get big speaker sound from a small speaker." A generality I know but if it's scale that you are seeking, bookshelves won't provide it. A nice compact pair of floor standers will have the same footprint as bookshelf + stands. As suggested above adding a sub will fill out the bottom end. It takes time and effort but can take small speakers to a new height. That depends on budget and space consideration of course and willingness to tweak and adjust. Some of the best "scale" in music I have owned was provided by a pair of Magnepan LRS's + 2 small subs. Not always practical I know. I'd maybe seek a compact pair of floor standers first IMHO....
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I have and love the Focal 906's even though I paid twice your price. My adding a single Rel S510 sub gave my system a massive lift. If I could do it again, I would have spent the same money on two smaller subs. Due to desired aesthetics, the sub should be better positioned; however, it still improves my 906's immensely.
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I would do the stylus, but also explore improving your speakers. Focal 906 have a nice tweeter, but my experience with them leaves me wanting more defined midrange and bass extension. There are better options with similar cabinet size.
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About subs, I’ve never looked into it because, as noted, space is a major factor. I cannot simply put the sub in front of the cabinet since that’s walking space.
Putting a sub into an empty cabinet space is a hard pass too, right? My cabinet is both open on the front and back, so heat is not an issue. I’ve had my phono and stereo amp on one of my cabinet’s shelves for years now and have no issues at all.
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I’m now retired and downsized to a three story townhouse after decades of audiophilia. My guidance is to sound treat your listening space(s) to mitigate spot-specific variances. What ever equipment you upgrade to, it will sound better in a sonically optimized room.
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I’m now retired and downsized to a three story townhouse after decades of audiophilia. My guidance is to sound treat your listening space(s) to mitigate spot-specific variances. What ever equipment you upgrade to, it will sound better in a sonically optimized room.
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Seems like you have many sound reflections. High ceilings and hardwood floors. You should do a clap test to see how bad your room echoes. Then start treating room accordingly. You may need to deaden a few areas since sound is reflected 20 ft up? So walls and floors may need absorption; area carpet, heavy drapes, etc. if you have windows that’s another hard reflection. Read up on sound absorbers and reflectors.
That could be a start to improving sound without buying equipment yet.
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@vrikkian room treatment and the addition of a sub are 1a and 1b. You can experiment with room treatment with pillow’s, throw rugs, blankets and other various items. Google / hit up some forums with threads, it will give you some solid, creative ideas that you and your better half can likely both live with. On a sub, I’d reach out to 2-3 different manufactures, distributors for advice. SVS, Crutchfeild, The Music Room, Upscale Audio. Ask for their advice based on your placement, space limitations. If there isn’t a solid solution found for a sub then look to sell the Focal’s and focus on bookshelf speakers known to put out solid low end performance through clever design and engineering. Buy used, you might be able to stay on budget with the sale of your Focal’s. Alta Audio Alyssa’s are an example of bookshelf speakers that can really fill a room, have a surprising low end performance. There are other brands, models that can do the same.
If you then get pulled down the rabbit hole of upgrades, I would focus on your amp first. You can use the Cambridge as a streamer, DAC, Pre and feed a standalone Amp that if you upgrade your speakers, would be the next best step. It would maintain the ease of use of your current system, outside room treatment would check the biggest influencers on performance, speakers and how you feed them.
DSP / Room correction was also recommended, you could look at something like the Wiim with DSP / Room correction, inexpensive little unit that can stream, has a DAC and most importantly has DSP / Room Correction, really cheap entry into exploring if that makes a big impact and could help you figure out how to room treat which is an overall better option than DSP. I’m not sure if your Cambridge is a Roon endpoint, you can also do some DSP using Roon, you cloud research that and trial it for free. That would take more work and either your ability to figure out how to adjust the frequency responses to offset shortfalls of your room or having a 3rd party design some filters for you.
As your system sits right now it appears to be well matched, balanced. I can’t speak to the synergy which is key but on paper, you have done a nice job matching components that should compliment each other. Strongest portion of your system seems to be your vinyl set up, that’s probably the last portion I would look at. Tempting to tweak the set up but you likely need to upgrade other components first to really appreciate the incremental improvements you’ll get from the incremental changes, improvements to your TT, vinyl set up.
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1st: I completely agree, simply change the stylus on your MP-150 Body to the 500.
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/who-is-using-nagaoka-phono-cartridges?highlight=nagaoka
Are you able to align/calibrate your cartridge? Near KAB? I'm walking distance from KAB in the Sleepy Hollow/Netherwood Heights historic district, Plainfield, NJ
excerpt
I picked up a Nagaoka MP-150 last spring, and added the JN-P (MP500) nude line contact stylus on boron cantilever to it, and think it’s spectacular. Incredibly musical with beautifully refined detail, amazing midrange clarity and separation. It sounds like I have wanted all my other carts to sound since getting into this in the early 80s. All in for ~ $570...not cheap, but not outrageous for the sound I’m getting"
.................................................
next, maximize imaging by improving initial sound wave distribution/reception. create a virtual system on this site, post some photos, so the ideas of across the width or down the length and your equipment/furniture/you didn't mention video? are easier to understand, suggestions will be easier to make and understand
.......................................
future changes
speakers, I would forget all/any subtle modifications for now,
re- arrange things so you can have larger speakers, 3 way placed/aimed best toed-in/tilted back to minimize floor/ceiling/side walls reflections (slanted face design/mid height on slanted stand/ or taller floor standing flat face slanted back to aim tweeters at seated ear level)
my assumption/guess: a small 5.1 home theater/music combo system, AVR with FRONT pre-outs, does the Cambridge have a home theater bypass input?
room treatments, maybe, but start simply with an easily re-positioned area rug
Toe In Alternates, Stereo and Video
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IF open to used speakers, let us know where you live so we can look for suggestions near enough to allow you to hear them when you pick them up.
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Sub for townhome might bother your neighbor,space is a problem too. I will stick what you have. Enjoy the music.
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adjacent apartments is another advantage of concentrating your directionality which minimizes content reaching floor/ceiling/side walls, and allows lower overall volume to be heard clearly.
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The lower-end notes are lacking—consider adding a subwoofer. Specifically, a sub with an 8 inch driver and tight control, like the REL T/5x or T/7x, which will be fast enough to keep up with the main speakers
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@lanx0003, as a lot of other people have said, I worry a sub is not correct for a townhome.
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I made a virtual system: https://www.audiogon.com/systems/11930
My room is not perfectly walled in (i.e. there's stairs that go up to the next floor at the end of one wall, plus I have bay windows so that juts out a bit), but for simplicity I'm 22.5' L, 12.5' W, and with 9.5' ceilings.
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This is a loaded question. What is the problem you are trying to solve for?
What are you lacking? What are you missing? What can you get away with?
Honestly, with your current setup, the only thing you are really missing is lower bass. Not sure what kind of music you listen to, but there is a lot of stuff in the under 60hz range. Adding a sub will make your system fuller, richer, and sound bigger than what it is. Taking some bass out of your speakers, might also clean up the midrange, just make everything sound better.
Once you have a "full range" setup, do other upgrades from there. IMHO. none of it means all that much if you don't have a full range setup.
Next up is sound treatments, but wife approved!
Rugs, house plants, canvas wall art (stuff the backs with insulation)pillows, etc..
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Photos of the room and furniture arrangement please
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@vrikkian
What do you wish to improve upon? And what kind of budget will she give you? Not counting putting a carpet on the floor. 😉😉
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While figuring out a new furniture setup to get larger speakers in your space, start auditioning some interesting finds, not to buy but to refine your preferences, listening to your Focals all the time.
Facebook Marketplace, this is speakers for sale, 100 mile radius of Baltimore, $200 to $2,100.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/baltimore/search?minPrice=200&maxPrice=2100&query=speakers%20for%20sale&exact=false
Don’t mistake loud volume with full range when you see large drivers.
Perhaps below are too big, but for example: I am a big fan of level controls to adjust tweeters and midrange driver levels relative to their forward firing woofer, in your space, to your and your wife’s ears, with a SPL Meter and Test Tones (no ports or like these front ports only), on stands that are slanted and toe-in away from side walls.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/560961356962901/?ref=category_feed&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=listing&tracking=%7B%22qid%22%3A%22-308827868666038385%22%2C%22mf_story_key%22%3A%2224106793762242254%22%2C%22commerce_rank_obj%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22target_id%5C%22%3A24106793762242254%2C%5C%22target_type%5C%22%3A0%2C%5C%22primary_position%5C%22%3A5%2C%5C%22ranking_signature%5C%22%3A1926822584997181617%2C%5C%22commerce_channel%5C%22%3A504%2C%5C%22value%5C%22%3A0.00013336701654066%2C%5C%22candidate_retrieval_source_map%5C%22%3A%7B%5C%2224106793762242254%5C%22%3A3003%7D%7D%22%7D
btw, after you finish chasing very low bass, especially in a space like yours, you realize it can be fun mud, I have my rear ports plugged in my current space, there was no wall behind them in prior space.
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I live in an apartment and a REL Tzero is perfect for me.
You can adjust the volume if needed.
I would then get a MC cart.
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Given the situation, I'd treat the room 1st. Instead of one sub, 2 smaller self-powered ones. Then swap carts if a new stylus doesn't curl your toes.
New speakers in that room shape calls for serious shopping and considerations/trade-offs and hopefully chances for home auditions...
At least you're in a metro area that potentially has B&M shops....
Closest thing to a 'club' here is this:
https://potential-new-boyfriend.thethirdplace.is/
Listening area is 'bout 12' w x 16'+ long, 12' ish ceiling. Older Klipsch, SS amp, and a 2 table mix deck.....doubtful any 'slip-cueing' would be tolerated...😏
I'll check it out, but fear it's just going to be more loud chatting over the music since it's not 'live'.....which is typ. for any other bar & grill 'round here....🙄
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"Don't you boys play any 'nice' music?"
"Turn it DOWN!!!"
'Joe's Garage: Volume 1", title track. ;)
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+1 for adding a pair of REL subwoofers. I also live in a three story townhouse and my listening space is a mere 9x9x9 converted dining nook. I recently added a pair of REL T/5X subwoofers and the sonic improvement was substantial. Besides improved bass, I experienced better highs, mids, and soundstage. A pair of REL T/5X subs retail for about 1/10th the cost of my Dynaudio stand mount speakers which makes it the best bang for buck upgrade I have made. Feel free to check out my virtual system to see how little space the REL T/5Xs take.
https://www.audiogon.com/systems/11787
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I would look at a subwoofer with a sealed enclosure, NOT ported, to mitigate boominess in your long, narrow room.
If your Focals roll off at 55 Hz, then you're probably good crossing over your sub at 60 Hz.
Since bass is non-directional below 80 Hz, you have a lot of latitude as far as placing your sub in your room. That is, unlike speakers, a sub doesn't have to be anywhere in particular. Inside a cabinet is probably going to sound less than ideal though.
Happy listening!
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All, thanks so much for the feedback and suggestions so far. I will take pictures of my living room tomorrow and post them here.
I have a upgrade stylus for my MP150 on the way:)
Looking at ISO acoustic bookshelf stands. Also a SVS subwoofer.
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Nice work, OP! 👍 You were mentioning sub placenent etc. If there's a way to localized your sub(s) near your listening position, that would be huge for you in not annoying your neighbors. And I agree multiple smaller subs is probably the way to go unless your townhouse has really good sound isolation or you have an additional room between your listening room and your neighbor. If you play at a reasonable volume, sub is the #1 upgrade by far for reasons already stated.
Secondly, yes room treatment. First reflections is huge. Not that difficult. Can DIY or have a company like gik acoustics build them for you
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@vrikkian You can play with subwoofer placement since deep bass is somewhat omni-directional. I use a SB-2000 non-Pro along with Revel F208 mains in a high rise apartment tower and have never had any complaints. That said, I don't play music at late hours either. If space is a major issue then maybe the SVS 3000 Micro would work but I still feel like the SB-2000 Pro is the sweet spot for price/performance.
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Get a measurement microphone to optimize speaker position, toe in, and listening position. In reality most living spaces aren't very flexible but addressing room issues always trumps gear upgrades imo.
Except adding a sub, that's better
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@immatthewj *L* Been in a couple of versions of garages, instrument shops, and
'pop-up' "chops" displays of varied talentry.....
Never got offered a donut...lots of other 'things', the occasional 'private session' to apply my drumstick.... but that's not stories for strangers than myself.... ;)
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