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Motor & Bearing or Cartridge upgrade?

Hi guys - If both upgrades cost the same bucks, which do you think will provide the greater sonic improvement?

1) Upgrading an Avid Volvare to a Sequel with a new outboard motor and bearing. Please consider ANY motor improvement. Lower noise floor and improved PRAT, or,

2) Upgrading from a Lyra Helicon to a Titan with all the great stuff a Titan will add.

I'm leaning to a cartridge upgrade. What do you think? Thanks. Richard
richardmr
rauliruegas
13,129 posts
 
Dear Tom: I agree totally about the TT importance.

I know very well the Avid line ( the dealer here in Mexico is a friend of mine ) and in my opinion, other than the Acutus, a cartridge change can do a better improvement for Richard. But as I say this is only a single opinion, nothing more.

Regards and enjoy the music.
raul.
richardmr OP
90 posts
 
Raul, Thom, etc. I've been asking around about the above question and so far it's straight down the middle with good arguements on both sides. Is it true that one must have a really superior table to bring out all the virtues of a great cartridge? Is a $4.5k table and a $4.5k cartridge a poor match? BTW, I have the Tri-Planar VII arm.
rauliruegas
13,129 posts
 
Dear Richard: +++++ " Is it true that one must have a really superior table to bring out all the virtues of a great cartridge? " +++++

It is true for any audio device not only the TT: tonearm, phonopreamp, cables, plataform, set-up, etc, etc. Btw, the phonopreamp do a dramatic/huge difference in the quality cartridge sound reproduction.

let me put the next stage:

in one side: the Helikon with the Sequel and in the other side the Titan with the Volvere.

Which one combination can give you a better quality sound reproduction?

I have no doubt that the Titan/Volvere is really better than the other one.
The issue here is that the Volvere is a very good entry level TT and that's why ( in your case ) in my opinion the cartridge will give you " more ".
Now, when you alredy have the Titan and with that performance level I'm sure that you will want to grow-up to the Sequel and you couild have a subtle but important improvement there, of course you could migrate to the Acutus and that improvement could be better yet.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.
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