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Need to re-discover analog - please help

Like the short-sighted, lazy, modern moron that I am, I threw away all my LPs and turntable when I got hooked on my first decent CDP, a Kinergetics Platinum KD-40, 15 years ago. Because it was easier to take care of CDs. Now, my mother who was a musician, and had a classical collection of about 200 really absolutely great recordings, collected from the 1940s til the 80s, has left me her collection. They just have to be preserved, played and savored. I need an analog set-up that will a) do them justice and b) not sound noticeably "worse" compared to the digital set-up I am now used to. My analog set-up that I discarded (I know, I know.........please dont rub it in, what's done is done.) was a Denon 103D and Sony PS-800 linear tracking TT and also a Kenwood marble platter with SME tone-arm and also Denon 103 D cartridge and circa 1980 PS Audio MC phono stage.
The present system, to which must now obligatorily be added a turntable: EMM DCC2/CDSD; Atma-Sphere Line-stage MP-1 MkII, Atma-Sphere MA 2.2 modified (27 tubes each); Kharma 3.2; Indra Stealth i/cs; PAD Dominus i/cs and S/Cs (Rev C & B).

I tried MM cartridges before - Dynavector,Ortofon,Shure V15 iv - but only liked the MC Denon 103D - so would prefer that MC "sound".

I have not kept up with the analog market, nor new equipment, and am totally ignorant about the components but would greatly appreciate input as to what TT, tone-arm, cartridge and phono preamp to get that would neither bankrupt me nor do the wonderful collection my mother left me a disservice, nor my ear that is now spoiled by the pretty "good" digital, ancillary set-up I have. Nor, obviously, sound "inferior" to the CDs:)

What sort of a budget am I looking at to keep the system within the overall quality of the associated equipment that I have, without going crazy, since i will still mostly be listening to CDs (unless i get totally hooked and go bonkers..........)?

I listen to classical 90% of the time and 95% of her collection is classical.

As always, I appreciate your advice.
springbok10
darkmoebius
900 posts
 
Well, amongst the plethora of great equipment suggestions(of which, I am unqualified to comment), there are two big ones that I do have experience with - dealing with Mehran of Sorasound and Larry at Hollywood Sound.

Like you, I am a returning newbie to vinyl and just bought my first system over the last few months. I just bought a ZYX Fuji FS from Mehran last week and as been mentioned above, he is one of the nicest, most thorough, and patient people I have ever dealt with in audio.

He listened to all my beginner thoughts and questions, then walked me through the important aspects of tonearm/cartridge interaction. He never tried to force or even push a sale, just offered advice and suggested I think about it. I must have waffled back and forth several times before plucking out $1k of my hard earned money on a slightly used Fuji. He has checked back in with me since then to see how things are coming along, and with setup suggestionsfor tools and test records I will need to get things right. He just goes that extra mile to make sure YOU are happy with the cartridge.

I also contacted Larry at Hollywood Sound months ago about buying tables after seeing his ads here on Audiogon. He also listened to all my newbie questions and then helped steer me towards choices that best fit my budget and experience. Nothing special there, but guess what?

He turned down a guaranteed sale(I called ready to buy) to suggest that I buy a table from a reputable dealer near me who could help with setup and support. He even supplied a couple of names.

How often does a dealer turn down a "sure thing" to suggest better support from someone else?

Two great guys - Mehran & Larry, you can't go wrong with either of them.
lugnut
1,190 posts
 
Doug,

I don't disagree with you. If you read my post I said my cartridge enjoys "most" of the performance aspects of the better ZYX cartridges and I stand behind that opinion. I didn't say it equals them. Pick any two very highly regarded interconnects that work well with this system and there will be much more audible differences with them than within the ZYX cartridge line IMO. Also, let's note that you listen almost exclusively to orchestral music whereas I listen to all music genre's. You have been invited to drop by and listen for yourself to determine if my system is resolving enough. What I was trying to recommend are components that wouldn't be replaced because of disappointment but would endure through their useful life at a price point that didn't exceed the Meitner gear.
rushton's avatar
rushton
2,445 posts
 
All of the above have been great comments. Dougdeacon is clearly our most knowledgable contributor on the ZYX cartridges. I've not heard one, I have heard from a few folks whose ears I trust (in additon Doug) that the ZYX Airy and above are really nice sounding cartridges that have a nice balance of strengths. I have a bias towards medium output cartridges in the 0.34mv range and above because I prefer all tube amplification in the phono stage and have never been happy with the transformer solution many find acceptable. I think there are versions of the ZYX available as medium output. If your interests push you up to the $4000 price range, I'm still very fond of the Magic Diamond cartridge Lloyd Walker sells, and Harry Weisfeld has been very complimentary of the Dynavector DRT XV-1s.

For a phono stage, I'd recommend you go directly to an Aesthetix Rhea. Used Rhea units are available in the $3000 range, and they are fully balanced from the first gain stage forward (so they will accept a standard RCA input from your turntable), and they have a 600 ohm balanced output impedance so they are a perfect match for your MP-1. The Rhea will be a nice complement to the rest of your system and will give you sonic performance in that same realm of performance. There have been several reviews of the Rhea in the various mags, here's a link to Robert Harley's comments in the TAS issue in which the Rhea and Calypso received "Editor's Choice" awards: http://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter/151/calypso.html
.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Patrick,
Didn't mean to start a tussle of course. I was just responding to your statement that,
The Fuji and Universe are better but not by much to my ears.
Your experience is not my experience, that's all. In our system and to our ears the differences between ZYX models are greater than (and quite different from) the differences between interconnects. You're right that these differences are more easily exposed by large scale orchestral works, and even more so by large scale choral works. Chamber music, most jazz, jazz and pop vocals and rock are all a bit less demanding of a cartridge.

Of course I'd love to get out to Boise to see you again and meet Barbara, and to hear your system and Steve's. Unfortunately my present circumstances make scheduling a trip difficult.
springbok10 OP
711 posts
 

Thanks for the Rhea suggestion,, Rush. I will call Larry and Mehran on Monday. The Rhea sounds ideal, but, unfortunately, takes up a large amount of real estate (18" deep) which is not available in my set-up. Too bad, as there is a barely used one on A'gon. WAF will not allow for a new piece of furniture, nor will the budget, which, from the suggestions above, will probably mean getting rid of a whole smaller ancillary digital system in another room. But you vinyl guys obviously think that's OK - and I'll let you know in a few months if you were right:)
By the way, to all of you, to whom I am very grateful, I want simple, so no air pumps or Linn Sondek type "difficult to set up" arrangements - less fussing the better. No exceptional tweaky units - I want instant or semi-instant vinyl voodoo! And my TT and tonearm should be less than $3K, cartridge less than $2K and phono stage about the same. Total of about $7-8K, I guess.
How about VPI Aries Scoutmaster + JMW-9 toneram,ZYX, + a phono preamp to be determined. I need more suggestions of balanced outs that would mate with the MP-1 and a ZYX cartridge, please, for about $2K?
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