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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
 
@rauliruegas "enough for now"?  Too much for nothing.  Concise is nice.  

So you're a manufacturer hawking your own design?   That doesn't exactly make you an objective source of information.  Since you're not an objective source of information, your credibility is damaged.  Damaged credibility makes your opinions of little value regardless of your EXTREME verbosity.  
Ag insider logo xs@2x
rauliruegas
13,101 posts
 
Dear @bpoletti :  """   I have not heard any better phono stage at any price.  """

that's your post speaking of the Herron and I have to say that after your deep experiences at any price you have top credibility.

Btw, what you read on those links I posted were not my words or experiences: were other audiophiles experiences. Got that? ! ? ! ? 

Whom says: " there is no worst deaf that the one that did not want to hear " or whom says:  "" there is no worst blind that the one that did not want to see """

Unfortunatelly in your system you can't enjoy MUSIC only noises. Good for you.

R.
bpoletti
1,553 posts
 
@rauliruegas Your words "there is no worst blind that the one that did not want to see." says the individual that refuses to "see" that engineering design of tube equipment can, and often does, provide superior results over solid state equipment.

I have finished responding to your epic novels.  

You should study Dale Carnegie.
tzh21y
1,654 posts
 
I read earlier on that you have to replace the arm on the 1200G.  Not  true.  The arm on the 1200G is very very good.  If you wanted to pursue a different arm that may be better such as a Triplanar you certainly could but you may find that the arm on the 1200G may just work for you.  I would replace the platter mat and headshell/headshell cables.  I love the arm that comes with the 1200G and I am very picky.  It took me 5 years to find a table I liked.  I found it with the 1200G.  I cannot see how it can get much better for the money.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,856 posts
 
Hm. Sounds like raul is a bu$ine$$man looking to sell his preamp, but actually prefers digital (I didn't make that up):
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/phono-preamps-with-balls

Here's an excerpt from that thread:

A CD with a top DAC ( 32bits/384 khz.) and good overall design outperforms any phono stage it does not matters the phono stage price/pedigree ( including yours. ) in the bass " management " and this is not because your unit or other units are not good designs because I know your design is a good one but it’s because the differences between a digital and LP recording technics.

The recording microphones pick up all the music in stereo including the bass range but for the LP overall limitations the low bass comes not in stereo as when in the recording but in mono way when in digital comes as what were pick up by those recording session microphones, digital has no limitations about.

That is one of multiple reasons why digital outperforms LP/analog in the bass no matter what.

I repeat, it’s not your quality unit design but the " medium " limitations. No contest by analog in this regards against digital.

-and yet he calls me a liar for it.


As I said on that thread, I've yet to hear a digital system at any price have more bass impact than analog. Raul misses a key ingredient here- its probably not that digital hardware is inherently inferior in this regard. What raul doesn't seem to understand is the industry is the problem- CDs are expected to be played in a car so they are compressed as a result. LPs have no such expectation and so have less compression or none at all. This results in more bass impact.
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