@audioguy85 I wasn’t planning on dumping much more than say ~$600 into it at the moment, about the price of the Freya preamp when I started the thread. I know I can sell off stuff to offset the cost of different equipment, but barring that at the moment, what would you say I could do in the price range to have the most measurable improvement?
Weak Link in Vinyl Playback
Hi Everyone,
I’m looking for some input on a weak link in my system, mostly in regards to my vinyl playback chain in a 12’x11’ room.
I currently have a Technics SL-1700 MK1 with an AT-VM95ML cartridge. The turntable is connected to an iFi Zen Phono. The phono is connected to a Schiit Saga S via 3 ft. Blue Jeans BJC LC-1 cable, and the Saga runs to a single Schiit Vidar by the another set of the same cable. The Vidar is connected to Elac Debut B6.2’s via 10 ft. Belden 50000UE cable (as an aside, my digital path is Pro Ject S2 Pre Box Digital connected by the same 3ft. interconnects to the Saga>Vidar>speakers). I’ve connected a sub previously (a Martin Logan Grotto I that I inherited) to the Saga in the past, but am currently running without it.
My concern is that while the digital path sounds full to me, at least as much as can be expected, the vinyl path sounds a bit thin and weak. I guess I’d describe it as kind of lacking energy. My gut tells me the Saga S having 0 gain in both the passive and buffer mode (I run it in passive mode because it sounds more lifelike to me but I’ve used the buffer in the past as well) is the reason for this, but I’m not positive. I’m ready to upgrade to the Freya S if that’s the solution, but I didn’t want to start throwing money at a problem without really narrowing it down first. The Zen phono is set to MM and gain 1, which should be correct for my cartridge, the interconnects aren’t overly long (the speaker cable being 10’ isn’t too big a deal, I think?), the Vidar should be driving my inefficient speakers with no issue and judging by the digital path, it is.
I’m hoping someone here can weigh in on what would make the biggest positive impact in my listening and give me the oomph I think I’m missing. For what it’s worth, I plan on doing some room treatment down the road, but that’s not what I’m looking for advice on at the moment.
Thanks!
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Thin generally describes the house sound of Audio-Technica cartridges. The AT-VM95SH is basically the low end AT cartridge engine with a more expensive stylus. You'd need to move away from that line if you want to beef up the sound. I would recommend a Nagaoka MP-200 or Grado Platinum 3 if you want a more robust sound. |
@boomerbillone I did the same as you, @oldrooney , with a used table and new cart. I bought the alignment protractor and went as in depth with it as I could so I think I have it "fairly" lined up as it should be and it Is definitely a learning process. Which device with integrated phono did you end up going with? @elliottbnewcombjr @jasonbourne71 The Nagaoka keeps popping up on here and many other sites... I should probably clarify my initial post. I certainly don't think my current setup sounds "bad" - to my novice ears - as far as highs, mids, lows, etc. I don't find any one area overly lacking, but what I do hear is that since I have to crank the Saga so high to get reasonable volume, it almost sounds like it thins out the louder it gets, like if you turn up the volume way too high on a cheap system and everything kind of distorts and flattens?
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Unless you have a substantial vinyl collection (whatever that means to you), I'd spend the money on better speakers and focus on digital. My digital source is roughly 20% of the cost of my analogue source. Both are very good. Far better ROI on the digital side, and access to millions of albums costs $12 a month.
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I think a lot of this has to do with amplification. Your cartridge seems to be putting out 2mv Thats not going to cut it for most line stage pre amplifiers so a Phono pre-amp is needed first, now we can get the mv's up to 2.5 volts so that the pre-amp (volume control) will then take it on to the amp ( when I say amp I mean non-integrated). The Phone pre amp is the Key to great vinyl sound. |
- 103 posts total