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Help me pick a phono, pre and cart

Hi all,
My WF spending restraints are going away so I’m going to upgrade my system.
I primarily play CD, but also have an MMF-5 with Glass platter, Golding GX1022 cart going through a Clear Audio Nano to Ayre Ax-7e to Sig 2 Ce’s.

This year I’m going to Quatro CT’s and upgrading my vinyl pre and source side. Next year I’m upgrading my main pre and power amp.

I’m looking for help in picking a phono player pre and cart. My musical taste is pretty wide: female vocals, rock, blues, jazz; not much classical on vinyl. Think Amy Winehouse/Cold Specks/Pixies/Weezer/Jeff Beck/Johnny Winter/Winton Marsalis and Maynard Ferguson for you other old timers. LOL
My budget is about $8-10k

Right now my main thoughts are VPI Prime Scout or Prime with Grado Statement series cart, and an Ayre Px-5e pre.
In addition to specific item recommendations, I’m very interested in how to split the budget item wise. In other words more or less on player vs cart vs pre, I.e. Scout with Statement2 or Prime with Reference2 for example. Or go higher than 20-30% on the pre?
I lean towards spending the most on what’s least upgradeable - sorry if that’s too general or obvious.
Thanks much
Jim

jetson
bpoletti
1,553 posts
 
@analogluvr   +5

I have owned Herron Audio equipment since it was first made available.  All my electronics are from Herron Audio including his exquisite amps.  Oh, wait....  Not the digital transport.  

Raul who?
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
@atmasphere 

Just a FWIW: we get about 10,000 hours out of our power tubes and warranty all the tubes in our gear for a year.

You're talking about the new tubes, not the expensive vintage NOS tubes that are by far superior to the any new tube. 12at7 is what you use? The very best of this type can be $50-150 each. Same with phono stages. The NOS tubes are extremely expensive if they are good. New tubes are not equal to the old tubes from the 50s,60s and even 70s. The owner of the tube gear will spend a fortune on the tubes. I'm quit, it was enough for me. Now i have to sell the tubes i boughin the past. 

In my opinion it's much better to find a decent solid state amp or phono preamp. 

I am not agains the tubes, but the posts here looks like only "tube sound" is right which is not true! 

Also i don't believe that Herron is the answer, because it is a tube phono stage (and very expensive unit). 
 
bpoletti
1,553 posts
 
@chakster When you auditioned the Herron VTPH-2a, what other equipment was in use in the system?  Which cartridge was used?  
analogluvr
859 posts
 
@chakster I find with the herron that you really don't need to go crazy on vintage Tubes. Keith has done an excellent job voicing it with the Tubes he provides. I bought the best telefunken Tubes you can get from Andy at vintage Tubes but when I went back to stock it was 99%. Now I'm running about $150 of Philips that I preferred in a direct AB against the teles and stock. So I sold the teles, bought some more Philips and pocketed the difference.  Now I should be set for life. 
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
I find with the herron that you really don't need to go crazy on vintage Tubes. Keith has done an excellent job voicing it with the Tubes he provides.
That has been my feeling as well.  While in the case of various tube power amps I have used over the years I have found small signal tubes to make dramatic differences, and in most applications I have found tubes from the 1940s to 1960s to be preferable to recent production, I have never felt any desire to tinker with the voicing Keith has achieved with the tubes he supplies in his phono stage.

Best regards,
-- Al 
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