The Wand turntable

@lewm It's understandable that folks often think that you must have a very high end cartridge to justify a high end arm.  When I first heard a Basik cartridge on a Linn, I was blown away.  Much more so when I discovered  the cartridge was essentially an Audio Technica entry level unit I had installed and heard many times.  If anything, the arm (and turntable is where the money should go first.  

Many top tier turntables come with a relatively cheap cartridge....so to say the bp2 is junk is bunk...its a great little cartridge. 

Mijo dislikes unipivots on principle, so all of us with treasured unipivot tonearms (or memories of same) must be in error.  I'll let that thought stay right there.  That said, the new Schiit Loki turntable looks like a much more sanely priced ticket to vinyl bliss than this 3800 Euro rig.  And for a Sumiko MC lover, the Songbird Low is the ticket stub!

austinstereo and OP, Just to be clear, I am not recommending a change of cartridge based in any way upon the cost of the cartridge vs the cost of a tonearm. My point was in answer to the OP’s question which is in general about his interest in upgrading his vinyl reproduction by replacing either his tonearm or his tonearm and turntable. My first thought was and is that the BP2 cartridge is really the weakest link in his present vinyl chain, and I recommended a new cartridge. The present tonearm seems entirely adequate, and the Thorens is nice. Those two components can be upgraded at any later time.

Now I know that you (bearthesurfer) are running your BP2 (internal resistance 135 ohms) into the balanced inputs of an Aqvox phono stage, which is a current-driven type, I feel even more strongly that you would benefit most by changing to a cartridge with a much lower internal resistance. If you are "married" to Sumiko, then I suggest you choose one of their LOMC cartridges with an internal resistance less than 20 ohms, if they make such a one. As it stands now, you are wasting gain and probably experiencing a treble roll-off which may or may not be audible; the BP2 would have a very hard time driving the Aqvox input, which inherently has a much lower impedance via its balanced inputs. It’s not more than 20 ohms but I don’t know the exact value. This can, and obviously does, work, but it is not a great idea. If you are willing to deviate from the Sumiko product line, then I suggest the Audio Technica ART9XA (0.2mV output) or the ART9XI (0.5mV output). Both have a 12-ohm internal resistance. Both cost about $1K. That is not cheap but it is probably less than one would spend on a new tonearm, let alone a new tt + tonearm. There are a myriad of other choices for a bit less money. Check out Hana, for example. Or a used AT ART7 or ART9.

In the here and now, you might experiment with connecting your present cartridge to the RCA inputs of the Aqvox, if that is possible, so the cartridge will see the 47K ohm load afforded by those inputs. I bet it would sound better. But the Aqvox’s raison d’etre is its balanced, current-drive design, so it is good to take advantage of that.

I’ve only seen the Wand TT at Munich, and had a good chat to Simon. I heard it on a system I didn’t know, with Gershman Acoustics speakers. The system was lively and you could hear the rhythmic drive I know the Wand arm to have. (I use the Wand Master on my Garrard 401 setup with Dynavector XX2 Mk2 cart, a synergistic combo.) It looks great in real life, pictures don’t quite do it justice. It has electronic motor speed control and the platter is larger than 12” which gives it more inertia than an equivalent weight 12” one. If I didn’t have 2 Garrards already I’d have a Wand TT! I know Simon spent a lot of time refining the design before releasing it and has enjoyed other classic TTs in the past such as Garrard, Lenco, Technics SP10. He has a fine ear and being in design for decades, a fine eye for detail. I’d love one here.