Turntable Upgrade Advice
Hello all!
I am considering upgrading my Clearaudio Concept TT in the near future to something a little more substantial. I have a short list at the moment, so was wondering if anyone has any insight into these and whether or not they would be an upgrade worth the investment.
1. Michell Gyrodec SE with Technoarm 2 ($5445)
2. Transrotor Darkstar with RB-330 ($5635)
3. Transrotor ZET 1 with RB-330 ($6365)
4. Nottingham Hyperspace with Ace-Space arm ($6590)
The Nottingham and ZET 1 are 'stretch' possibilities that are technically a little above my budget.
Mostly listen to Jazz on vinyl, but do play a variety of genres occasionally, if that makes any difference.
Well @mmcgill829 Millercarbon is now an Origin Live dealer rep.... He has the Sovereign and said it's the best table he's ever heard... I'll be getting 1 as soon as I can. But their other tables are excellent as well. As well as their tonearms. You can always email OL and they will answer all your questions. Here is a great video with OL's designer Mark Baker:
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@mmcgill829 I have not heard the Concept in a familiar setup so cannot say for sure how it would compare but the Feikert is solidly built and, more importantly, comes with a superior tonearm in the OL Silver. Since the table comes in below your price point I would suggest using the money saved to move up the OL line to one of their dual pivot bearing arms, starting with the Encounter. This will yield long-term benefits and allow you to upgrade your cartridge over time without running into limitations brought about by an inferior arm. That said, the OL Silver is pretty darn good so you could, alternatively, throw the leftover dollars at a fine cartridge but this begs the question--what phonostage are you using? |
@vinylshadow yeah, it definitely looks like the sovereign is the one to get doing some quick research. With the origin live silver tonearm, it looks like it would run about $9500 - just converting from GBP, but usually there is a markup for imported products, so I'd probably expect over $10k. I'll have to keep an eye on the used market to see if I can find one a little closer to my budget, if this is one I decide to go for. |
@dodgealum yes, definitely good points. I am slowly working through upgrading my entire system. Currently have a phonomena II+ but looking at a ModWright PH 9.0X as an upgrade (though I'm still debating a few options from the Gold note PH10, WhestTHREE, and the ModWright. Definitely want to stick with MC carts - have used the Benz ACE in the past and now the Clearaudio Concept MC and they've both been considerably better than MM I've used in the past. I'd probably be looking at a Hana MC to pair with a new table - probably an M series ML to start, but depending on how my overall budget is looking, might go for an Umami Red, but that is considerably more expensive. |
