$800 Cartridge Shootout and Upgrade Path

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.

Twl,

Thanks for your help, and thanks for your review of the Music Maker.

If I buy the Teres, I will be doing the finishing work. I will most likely spray the stain onto the base using a Sata air gun and air compressor. I would use M.L. Campbell stains, which are really great. And for the polishing of the acrylic parts, I wound need to get one of those handheld buffers.

You and I seem to have a similar view about price performance. I like to get the most from my audio dollar. I think the Teres 160 will do that for me, even though it will take some work to finish the turntable and to assemble it. But the experience might be worth it.

When I get the phono section added to my preamp, it will have a maximum gain of 66 dB. When the line stage gain is added, I will have a total of 80 dB. Will that be enough? I think so, but then what do I know?

I appreciate your enthusiasm for the OL Silver, but I like my tonearm to be jewel-like. I know that may seem a little shallow, but then I am a shallow kind of guy! The tonearms that have really caught my fancy are the Hadcock 242SE Integra and the Moerch DP-6, which is not very cheap! The Hadcock sells for about $1,240 currently and the Moerch around $1,890. I know that's a lot of bread, but I don't think I would be happy with anything else. After all, I would be spending a lot of time looking at the arm and lowering and raising it onto countless records. If the thing were too ugly, I might not like what I hear. I now that sounds a bit irrational, but then I am an irrational kind of guy!

Jphii,

Thanks for the offer! I live in Tracy, California; that's the Central Valley, but it's close to the Bay Area.

It seems like a lot of people like the Denon DL 103R and the AT-OC9 ML/II. One fellow on the AudioAsylum Vinyl bulletin board has gone so far as to say that the AT-OC9 is better than a $4,000 Dynavector XV-1! While I am not going to spend four big ones on a cartridge, I have to wonder about the validity of that statement. So what I would like to know is the Denon better than the Shelter 501? Now I don't want to start a cyberwar or anything but that's a legitimate question, I think?

Okay everyone,

This is where I'm at on the turntable decision. It looks like I will be going for the Teres 160 ($2,250) using the Shelter 501 cartridge. It's now a question of tonearms. Which should it be, the Hadcock 242SE Integra or the Moerch DP-6? I would love to go with the Hadcock because it's cheaper and real nice according to the 6 Moons review. But the Moerch is also very nice. Help! Also, is there anyone who thinks the Teres 160/Shelter 501 combination can be outdone by something else in that price range? Any further help would be appreciated! Thanks guys!