matching tt to music

Tobias, I almost pulled the trigger on the same Scheu tt and tonearm you own at an audio show a few months ago. Even had a home demo setup with the dealer, PrimeOne Media out of Canton Mi. Ended up with the VPI setup because I ran into an opportuntiy to purchase the whole VPI line at a substantial discount on a continuing basis.

Tvad, that's what I keep on hearing about the Dynavector line, the 20XL certainly seems to be a well balanced cartridge, lots of strengths, no glaring downsides.

I've also had a number of recommendations for the Shure V15 III and above. I did have a V15 II on this tt when I first purchased it. Sold it before I had a chance to hear it post Thorens mods and Rega arm. When I initially heard it on stock table with stock arm I preferred the Sumiko Blue Point Special. The Shure wasn't as detailed, just kind of boring sounding to me.

If I understand you correctly, you bought the "wrong" turntable. Why not go back to your older setup? I doubt sticking a different cartridge on the VPI will really get you to where you want to be. You're not trying to match the turntable to the music, which is a false assumption to begin with (IMO), but to mask the inherent sound character of the turntable.

I find Onhwy61's observation rather interesting. The last VPI I listened hard to was in the Soundsmith room at the Montreal show in April. Don't know the VPI model, I presumed it was the full Monty since Soundsmith is a dealer, and the TT had a Schroeder Reference and the really remarkable Soundsmith Strain Gauge cart.

That arm, BTW, should sound like no arm at all, given my very limited but joyful experience with the Schroeder Model 2.

Anyway, there was a Beatles reissue playing as I came in, an older number, one of the ones I danced to when I was 13. I remember thinking, Gee, you can hear everything... but I didn't want to dance and on that song, I should have wanted to dance IMVHO.

I don't know what it was in that setup which kept things cool. I would want to listen to other VPIs to see if it wasn't the TT.

Onhwy61,no, you don't understand me correctly. I am perfectly happy with the VPI when synergy is attained. It sounds wonderful with well recorded lps and lousy with lousy recordings, isn't that how it should be. The Thorens, which is a lower resolution tt, sounds better with poor sounding lps, masking the things I don't like with lower quality lps.

It seems irrational to me that a turntable would make lousy sounding recordings sound good, and at the same time make quality recordings sound their best. I thought it was accepted that high resolution was the goal of higher audio. Higher resolution equipment, inherently, will reveal the warts of inferior software or partnering equipment.

Some claim the best of the best audio will ameliorate this conumdrum to some extent by attaining high resolution and maximum musicality at the same time. Therefore, some would determine my setup to be excessively analytical and lacking musicality. Perhaps this is true, however, at what point do you call a turd a turd. Even for the best of the best, there has to be some point where the weak link in the chain will negatively affect the best in the chain.

For me, that weak link in the chain is the lousy sounding software. Perhaps a more musical, and high resolution tt will make certain recordings that sound bad on my setup sound better, but there has to be some point where the bad software overwhelms the highest quality tt.

And then we have perception, perhaps my idea of what sounds bad is different than yours, perhaps my threshold of what sounds bad is excessively low.

Either way, I don't like what I'm hearing with the VPI and lousy software. Perhaps I'm wrong in thinking a lower resolution tt setup will make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, but I go back to what I heard when the Thorens was my only tt. Lousy recordings sounded better, better recordings were lacking in resolution.

The VPI makes my good recordings sound like I want them to sound, so it takes care of that deficiency of the Thorens. It also makes lower quality recordings sound worse than the Thorens, thus, I want the Thorens back in for the lower quality recordings.

Neither one of these tt's does everything for me. Again I ask, as in my previous thread. If there is a tt setup that makes quality recordings sound their best, and at the same time, makes low quality recordings sound good, I would like to know about such a beast. That would be a miracle to me, a wanna buy regardless of cost! I also go back to perceptions, someone may claim they have a tt setup that does it all, it may for them, perhaps not for me.

It may be that I have too high standards for lousy recordings, however, it seems I'm not alone. Outlets that trade exclusively in high quality recordings exist, people are spending their hard earned money, in some cases hundreds of dollars for a single album. I dont' think I'm alone.