$800 Cartridge Shootout and Upgrade Path



I am putting together an analog system, starting with the cartridge. I like a well-balanced sound with a slightly lush midrange and excellent extension at the frequency extremes. The cartridge should be a reasonably good tracker. Here are my choices:

1. Dynavector Karat 17D MkII
2. Shelter 501
3. Sumiko Black Bird
4. Grado Statement Master
5. Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood

Which one comes closest to my wish list? Which one would you choose?

Here are the upgrade cartridges to the above list, one of which would be purchased later:

1. Shelter 901
2. Benz Micro L2
3. Grado Statement Reference
4. Koetsu Black

Which one comes closest to my wish list? Which one would you choose?

Now, which turntable/tonearm combination (for new equipment up to $4,500) would you choose to handle a cartridge from the first group and the upgrade cartridge from the second group?

Any help you can provide is greatly welcomed. Thanks!
artar1
My upgrade path has been sporadic with what cash I can scrounge up to spare. I was only able to get the Sonic Frontiers through the largesse of a loan from my then girlfriend who works at Microsoft. And yes, it puts out enough heat that I have decided to get a solid state preamp since any tube preamp upgrades would be too much.

No one I know spends cash on audio other than the basics. I have a friend that I am mentoring through this who has recently purchased a Rega 3 and I suggested a Dynavector 10X to suit his budget. He got some Paradigm Titans and though he's listening through cheap receiver to his ears he's hearing music. It's blowing away listening to CD's on his old big boombox and he's happy as a clam spending all him money on records. He's got plans to get the rest eventually, he loves listening to my system and I know that while he might not go that far, he wants to go a lot further. It's small steps according to budget and even those low budget steps make nice music. As Stereophile says about their cheaper recommendations; it's possible to put together a satisfying system with those components. And this is true.
Not all people get addicted enough to reach for that higher rung and to be honest I can understand that. For some it's enough just to hear the music clear and clean without worrying if that sub-upper-middle bass performance might be tad loose in the 40khz register or whatever.
For me I just love the sounds and the simple statement that there is so much more "there" there describes my ascent(or descent from my bank accounts point of view) to higher plateaus of audio.

And as I have found recently, tweaks can be a great way to upgrade your system without spending too much. While that Grand Prix audio amp stand was a huge improvement in refinement (and continues to boggle my mind) some Black Diamond Racing cones and pucks and a new Electro-Harmonix tube in my preamp are wringing out ever more performance.

I'll keep the Rogue in mind when my friend gets a phono stage, our local dealer carries their stuff. That's a nice recommendation.

And the Redpoint stuff is out of my reach, 7K+ for the basic table so I'm sticking with my initial choices. I saw a pic of the Teres 255 spinning recently and it was very cool looking, I might like the look of the clear platter better than the wood one!
And yes, I feel that I am totally insane to be thinking of spending this much on audio. Mainly because it's not a small portion of my income to do so. I have to scrimp and save to get there. But when I'm listening to great sounding music, it's all worthwhile.
A record collector friend of mine once said, concerning spending all your money on records, "When's the last time you missed a sandwich you didn't get to eat because you spent all your money on LP's? But you'll always remember that one record that you passed on in that store that you haven't seen since." Ain't it the truth?

Chris

Chris,

My upgrade path has been a long, but determined one. It’s not easy scraping up the money to buy the next component despite my comfortable salary and lifestyle. Audio is damn expensive, but is only eclipsed by cars and jewelry. Thank God my wife exercises considerable control when it comes to buying jewelry for herself in the same way I exercise restraint with all things audio.

Your friend will need to find a good integrated amp to replace that receiver. How much is he willing to spend? Plinius makes an outstanding integrated that’s not to absurdly expensive, but then again, one cannot beat the sound of a Jolida, which I would recommend highly.

You’re right about the addiction. Most people show considerable restraint when it comes to buying audio gear. Usually they buy the cheapest component that will get the job done, and no more. I seem to be the opposite: I dream about the best possible sound for the money, and then I stretch my budget even further until my head is in the clouds, but my bank account is in the dregs, so to speak. I reach for the highest rung, but it’s really amazing how high and costly that rung has become. One would have to be a multimillionaire to be able to afford many of the components reviewed in Stereophile these days.

I am going to give some of the Black Diamond products a try to see if they improve the sound of my system to any appreciable degree. But I remain a little skeptical.

>>And yes, I feel that I am totally insane to be thinking of spending this much on audio.<<

I agree totally, so much so, that I am rethinking my analog decision. Spending $6,000 on an analog front end is too much and I don’t feel too comfortable about it even though I can afford it. I also need to buy a phono stage and two or more amps for my system. As I was adding up the cost, the price was starting to creep upwards of $20,000 in additional expenditures! Wow! So I took a long cold shower.

So what will be my new choices? Well, I started looking at the VPI Scoutmaster with the Origin Live Encounter tonearm or the Thorens TD 850BC with the same arm. But I think the Scoutmaster will need a special arm board for the OL tonearm, and the Thorens looks cheap to me. So then I went back to the Teres 160, and that’s what I will buy. My analog front end will now have a Teres 160 turntable ($2,250), an Origin Live Encounter arm ($1,500), and a Shelter 501 II cartridge ($800). The total price will be $4,550, only $50 over my original budget. I think I can live with that!

In all likelihood, I would not be able to tell the difference between the Teres 160 and the 255. The only difference between the two is the hardwood used in the plinth; everything else is the same. Not only that, if Dsiggia uses a Teres 160 (and his system is great!), then it ought to be good enough for me!

That’s my very latest thinking. Now I will have enough money to finish the rest of my system by June or July of 2005! Whoopee!
According to Twl, who should know, an Encounter is barely better than a HIFI-modded Silver, which sells for nearly $600 less. In your present circumstnces that seems like an even more reasonable solution.
Artar, thanks for the kind system compliment. I think you'll be ecstatic with your front end. I will also add that you can place a want ad on the Gon for a OL Silver Mk I (easier to add the TWL mod) & purchase this arm used for about $600-$650, another significant decrease in cost. You won't lose a penny if you decide to re-sell this arm.

I may have missed it earlier in the thread, but what's your budget for a phono preamp? What are you considering?

Dsiggia,

In regards to the phono preamp, I am willing to spend up to $2,000. In a previous post I mentioned some of the phono stages that have caught my eye. To this list I have added a few more:

1. GSP ERA Gold V with either the GSP Elevator, or Bent Audio Mu step-us transformer ($1,750 to $1,952)

2. K&K Audio SE Stereo Phono Kit ($1,500)

3. Wright Sound Company WWP 200C with the WMT 100 Step-up Transformer, or Bent Audio Mu step-us transformer ($1,100 to $1,650)

4. AcousTech PH-1 Premium ($1,500)

5. Klyne phono board added to my current line stage ($2,000)

The K&K is very popular; both 4yanx and Ozzy62 use one in their systems. Amandarae uses the Wright Sound Company phono stage and seems to like it very much. The Klyne was reviewed by Larry Kay in Fi Magazine.

(http://www.klyne.com/pages/reviews.html)

Both the GSP and AcousTech are rated “Class A” in Stereophile for what it’s worth.

I appreciate any input you might have on this topic.

Thanks.