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Selecting Analog Gear Based on Music Preference?

I’m just getting into turntables and vinyl after building a fairly high-end digital system over the past few years. One thing I consciously did as I put together this system was “voice” it for synergy with the kind of music I like to listen to, which is fairly well-produced classic rock like Rick Rubin’s work with Tom Petty, Sting and the Police, Tears for Fears, etc. And I also like to listen to pop music like Sam Smith, Maroon 5, and George Michael. So I’ve built this system with a Naim NDX2/ND555PS and tube preamp/Luxman M900u power amp combo with high efficiency Volti horn speakers. 

I picked up a Technics SL-1200Mk2 with an Ortofon 2M Blue just to get things started, and I have a Parasound JC3 Jr which all seem to be a great first step. But before I do any upgrades to the turntable and cartridge I’m wondering if there are better tables and cartridges for different kinds of music and listening? I don’t want to fall in love with some high end table and find out it really only sounds best when listening to renaissance lute music or acoustic guitar singer/songwriters, etc. I’m looking to get groove and resolution similar to what I’ve found with the NDX2/ND555PS combo. 

I’m looking toward the $2.5-5K range, and at the top of the range I find the Dr Fieckert Volare and possibly the SOTA Sapphire very interesting, and I have a soft spot for Technics, so the 1200G is a possibility too. 

Is there a direction I should be heading in if I’m looking for the best rig to reproduce a certain genre of music?

128x128jsqt
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,921 posts
 

@jsqt It does, but bass is very much a thing in classical music too. The Saint Saens Organ Symphony has pedal tones that are 16Hz which can really shake the place up. Bass drum whacks occur in all sorts of classical music. So the turntable needs acoustically dead rigidity regardless of the music.

If we're talking about a turntable, you'll find the platter pad has an effect on the bass- it should be as hard as the vinyl to really do its job right. The SL1200 is very speed stable and has a variety of anti-vibration systems running in it. I think its a very good choice for putting together a musical system. I prefer the platter pad made by Oracle to the stock one.

ebm
9,311 posts
 

A great system should play everything well.

kingharold
304 posts
 

Turntables without isolation should not exist. None of them are worth looking at.

I couldn't disagree more.  After thirty plus years of using sprung tt, AR XA then VPI HW 19, I changed to an unsprung Clearaudio Performance DC Wood.  I have never had better sound.  My DIY tt stand might play into this as its pedestal is a 350 lb. section of white oak log sanded smooth, stained and varnished.  It sits on a brick hearth which is supported by the ground.  I got the twenty something son of a good friend who is a competitive weight lifter to set it up on the hearth for me.

 

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