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Turntable Upgrade

I have a Pioneer PL-530 turntable and am the original owner bought in the 70's. The table still functions well and all controls work well. Have installed a few different cartridges over the years and am now using a Grado gold installed about a year ago. I have about 300 LP's and am always on the market to buy more.
While the sound from the table is good I wonder of a table/cartridge upgrade would result in a significant improvement in sound quality? I know that many would say that if "it sounds good to you leave it alone". Good advice but comparing a present setup of TT and cartridge isn't as simple as asking for a trial in home audition as for some other audio components.
In the 70's Pioneer and others made tables that were very "attractive" and performed well for that era. LP's will only sound as good as the quality of their original recording. If I am chasing an upgrade that is, at best, only minimal gains then I would ask the analog experts to give me your thoughts.

 
jrpnde
mdelrossi1
79 posts
 
+1 on getting a better phono pre.
What's your budget?
jrpnde OP
271 posts
 
For a stand alone phono preamp I probably would limit my budget to $500. Probably overkill for my current setup but if I upgrade the rest of my gear in the future the phono amp would be the one thing I would stay with.
For that price would I do better getting a new unit or a used one of higher quality for the same price? If going used, I'm not familiar with how much future repairs, etc.phono pres require.

parkie's avatar
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parkie
5 posts
 
I think that a Phono preamp upgrade is a good suggestion.  

I would look for a used Graham Slee - Era Gold V Phono Preamplifier.  It’s about $900 new, but has been around for years, so you should be able to find one in your price range.  I used one for a few months with a very high end preamp and I was really impressed at what a good job it did.  A couple of visiting audiophiles quite liked it as well (especially for the money!).

Another good phono preamp is the Musical Surroundings Phenomena II.  There is a more expensive version out now, the II+ at $800 new, so the older model should be easy to find in your budget.  I used it with a Dynavector 20X2Lo and it did a nice job.

The nice part about buying an external phono stage is that it isn’t too hard to sell if you change your mind.  Probably tough to sell that NAD module if you don’t like it.

Good luck with your decision!
jrpnde OP
271 posts
 
parkie,
Thanks for your recommendations. I did some research into the two phono stages you suggested. I did find a used unit from Graham Slee. It is this......
Graham Slee Reflex Era Gold Phono Stage MM/MC and PSUI Power Supply.
It is a different model than the Era Gold V you mentioned and I'm not familiar with that line of products and if the Reflex and Gold V are that much different in performance. Although I'm using a MM cartridge at this time I may want to try MC in the future.
The used unit I mentioned is $750. That's a bit more than I budgeted but do think it's a fair price? Thanks for the advice from everyone.

gillatgh's avatar
gillatgh
381 posts
 
Having just upgraded my 1976 Sony TT, which still functions and looks like new with a Shure A15 type 3 cart and sounds amazing, for what it is, with a VPI, I can honestly say that there is no comparison. Over the years technology has advanced so much it leaves the 70s in the dust. I must admit the convenience of the old full automatic TTs  had something going for it but the new generation TTs have much improved in sound quality, sound stage, depth, clarity and a general overall presence. All but a few of my old LPs sound like never before. Not knocking the hayday of TT but I'm glad I upgraded cause there is sooo much music on the old LPs that I  never heard before.

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