First and foremost, if you are new to vinyl, you need a pro to come to your home and set up your table for you. It should cost between $100-$200 and will be the best investment you can spend as far as turntables go. Having a pro set it up at the pro's shop is second best assuming you don't mess it up when you remount the arm onto the unipivot spike of your Prime, lose the counterweight setting, etc. I own the Prime and have had various Benz and SoundSmith cartridges mounted. I recently had my dealer install the dual pivot ($150) and an Ortofon Quintet Black and it has never sounded better. I have the 3D soundstage now that you have mentioned you are looking for. The Benz's are second best and the SS's a distant third in that category. SS's excel at lively dynamic punchy sound throughout the audio spectrum. The Benz's excel at detail and clarity. The Quintet Black with a well recorded record is the most organic, real-sounding of those that I have tried. Eventually you will want a top phono stage but it can wait. A used Simaudio 310LP or SimAudio LP5.3 or even a new iFi iPhono2 will give you years of enjoyment until you find the dream phono stage you can afford. I went this route (SimAudio Moon LP5.3) and eventually bought a Manley Steelhead that had about 5 hours on it for a very nice price. I've had a ton of phono cables in and out of my system. I had a slight hum problem. I just took a flyer on the Morrow Ph4's with Eichmann plugs because they are well-shielded and despite their veery reasonable price, my hum went down by 80% to a very low level and the SQ is incredible. Whichever phono cables you choose, make sure they are shielded between the Prime and your phono stage and between your phono stage and preamp.
Your choice - TT, Arm, Stage, Cartridge - $5000 budget
So imagine you were just given ~$5000 and told to buy your ideal analog setup within that budget.
What would be your choice for turntable, arm, phono stage, and cartridge be? Any other accessories to consider?
How would you spend it?
Obviously I’m looking to upgrade my analog setup and am focusing on the essential components at this time. Curious how you would spend my money haha.
My current gear:
Amp - Primaluna Dialogue HP integrated w/ KT150 power tubes, Mullard and Cifte preamp tubes.
Loudspeakers - Tekton Design Double Impact
For sound,I like the idea of a balanced overall sound, and a big soundstage. But what I really enjoy most is the idea of exposing the holographic image in a recording.
What would be your choice for turntable, arm, phono stage, and cartridge be? Any other accessories to consider?
How would you spend it?
Obviously I’m looking to upgrade my analog setup and am focusing on the essential components at this time. Curious how you would spend my money haha.
My current gear:
Amp - Primaluna Dialogue HP integrated w/ KT150 power tubes, Mullard and Cifte preamp tubes.
Loudspeakers - Tekton Design Double Impact
For sound,I like the idea of a balanced overall sound, and a big soundstage. But what I really enjoy most is the idea of exposing the holographic image in a recording.
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- 92 posts total
- 92 posts total