$800 Cartridge Shootout and Upgrade Path

Doug,

Nice to see you remember the sale page!

Artar1,

I have to agree with Tom, but I think there are other cartridges you would like better. But, if you go with the Moerch, with it's interchangable tubes, the you open yourself to almost any cartridge on the planet. Doug is the classical music afficianado, and I would take any advice he gives you with great weight. I don't know what Tom listens to regularly, but his advice (and Doug's and a few others here) have helped countless people here, myself included.

Where are you located? I have an open door policy if someone wants to hear my Teres. And I'm not the only one. If it will help you in your quest, come on down & take a listen.

Alright already! I remembered, I remembered. Whad'ja expect from a classical-loving dinosaur?

Classical is a particularly tough challenge for a system. Even jazz is easy by comparison, and pop/rock are a cake walk. Natural instrumental and voice timbres are hard to get right, and painful when they're wrong. Throw in a dynamic range that can go from complete silence in one breath to house-shaking crescendoes in the next. Then expect your system to differentiate an oboe from a viola from an alto solist when Bach has all three doubling on the same line in the middle of it all.

Funny thing is, vinyl does it so much better than the best digital I've heard that it's not even close. Unfortunately, it's not even cheap either. ;-) Damn TWL and his advice. I should have retired with my Bose 901's and zip cord. Now I'll have to work two jobs until I'm about 90.

Soliver,

Thanks for the great recommendations, especially the Hadcock arm which I think is now called the Hadcock 242SE Integra. It costs about $1,250 or so. It is one beautiful arm and I believe there are several arm wands and head shells available.

The Music Maker is a possibility, but it is now at $995. I think the Shelter 501 heads my list at $800, thanks to Twl's review of the Music Maker. I know the Music Maker received three great reviews in the press that I have seen, but I think the Shelter may be more of what I am looking for. I like the MC sound; there's more air and atmosphere when everything is set up correctly.

I am also familiar with the Michell Gyro and the Eurolab from the reports I have read about them. The Michell is on my list; the Eurolab is now only available directly from Europe. But nevertheless, your recommendations have helped me a lot.

Dougdeacon,

Wow, you have a lot of knowledge about analog; perhaps, that is why you have "deacon" attached to your name? You're the man!

Well, the ZYX recommendation is great, but $2,000? That's a little over my budget by $500, if and when I upgrade. I will have to take your word that the ZYX is better than the Shelter 901; I have no basis for comparison. But at that price, what about the Lyra Helikon that everyone seems to rave about in the press? If I go with the Shelter 501, my next step up would be either the Benz Micro L2 or the Shelter 901. That's about as much as I can afford, I think.

The Teres 245 Cocobolo is too much. But I am interested in the Teres 160 at $2,250. With nearly the same (or the same) motor, platter, and bearing assembly, the major difference between the two is the base. Both weigh about 60 pounds, which is a lot. I don't think that I will be able to tell the difference between the two. Maybe others can, but I doubt that I would be able to.

In regards to the finishing, the Teres web site says that it takes only a couple of hours to finish the turntable. Well, I think it would be longer than that. All of the acrylic parts need to be sanded and polished. Then the base needs to be sanded as well, and then a stain or final wood preservative applied. The drying time alone will take at least 12 hours, or more. Then there is the assembly of the table and arm, not to mention the mounting of the phono cartridge, all of which will take some real work. Knowing myself, I would be looking at about 16 hours of labor, or something like that. But in the end, I would have one beautiful turntable.