Turntable upgrade recommendations: SME vs AMG vs Technics vs other

Dear @drbond  :  We already know that everything ( items. ) in the overall analog rig is critical: TT/cartridge/tonearm and for good reasons.

Now, you can have/own the ultimate: analog rig with the best whole capacity for the cartridge can pick-up " all " the recorded signal in those grooves adding the less every kind of distortions but the next step is the hardest and more " terrifying " for that recorded audio signal because that extremely delicate and sensitive signal must be amplified at a level that can be handled by the line stage or by the speaker amplifier and this kind of amplification is a true challenge for any phono stage that needs to amplify 10K times with no noise and no distortion ( those is imposible to achieve, nothing is perfect. ) or at least mantain at minimum to preserve the original audio signal integrity and things does not finish with the amplifiying steps but it comes additional steps in the phono stage that even degrades higher the cartridge signal than the amplifiying proccess and this is the proccess of the inverse RIAA eq that must be accurated with at minimum everykind of distortions.

The task of a phonolinepreamp will demands the best electronic design you can achieve to mantain at minimum the whole signal degradation that happens in the phono stage proccecess.

Yes, you need the Bugatti and if you think you do not then why to worry to change your RP-8 or your cartridge?

Don't you think?

R.

Hi @lewm ,

Here is a bad thing about a spring-suspended DD turntable: The energy put into rotation of the platter is also going to twist the chassis on its suspension, in the direction opposite to platter rotation (counter-clockwise).

EMT had solution for this issue for "light weight models 948, 938. Look at page 5.

Model 950 had a very light patter and very heavy 70kg chassis.

@rauliruegas 

Thank you for sharing your ideal set up.  I would probably agree with you if I had the chance to listen to that system, but I don't know if I'm ready to make the jump to a FM223 just yet. 

You definitely helped educate me about the true distinctions between a 9" and 12" tonearm. 

However, I do find it interesting that you recommend the Ortofon MC Verismo over the Ortofon MC Anna Diamond.  The MC Anna Diamond is supposed to be a higher quality, but perhaps you know something about the cartridges that I don't?

Thanks. 

@lewm 

"Could be you are saying that to couple a low torque motor with a heavy platter is a good thing, because speed in such a design is primarily maintained by the rotational inertia of the heavy platter. "

YES. In my rig, the platter must be accelerated by hand, as the motor is scarcely strong enough to maintain speed. This is the 'quirkiness' that I referred to in my first post - if you don't mind a bit or quirkiness, you can improve sound and save money at the same time. The late lamented Tom Fletcher used this principle to great effect. I have one of his better efforts too, but the air bearing puts it to shame.

The belt drive analog of that philosophy is also coupling a very weak motor to a very heavy platter, first done by both Walker Audio and Nottingham Analog.  There is a stock argument against that approach, but I don't pretend to know whether it holds water or whether the weak motor/heavy platter is wonderful. Enjoy it if you got it.

I agree with Raul. The argument about active devices and noise makes no sense to me.  Any phono stage must develop lots of gain in order to amplify the very low amplitude voltage signal from a cartridge.  This can ONLY be done with active devices, or did you plan to build a phono stage with passive components only?  The trick is to minimize the noise while realizing the gain.  Different designs do it differently and with more or less success.