OK, so I went to two different retailers today in the area and listened to two different tables. Needless to say, I'm in love :-). The sound is so much more natural than the digital I'm used to and guess what...the surface noise didn't bother me a bit. I listened to some new Vinyl that I picked up before I went out listening, and I listened to some old Vinyl (including a 1961 signed copy of Brubeck's Time Out that one of the reps had there). While the surface noise was certainly noticeable, I was instantly overtaken by the music and the sound and it didn't bother me a bit.
The first setup I listened to was a Pro-Ject 2 Xperience with the Pro-ject 9cc arm and a Sumiko Blue Point No. 2 HO MC cartridge. It was hooked up to an Audio Research Vsi60 Tube Integrated Amp and a pair of Vandersteens (can't remember the model). The sound was very alive and well placed. My only concern was that Electrostats also have a very different sound than my speakers so it's hard to say how big of an impact they made. The biggest standout for me was the incredibly accurate tonality in the instruments.
Music listened to on the Pro-Ject:
Ray Lamontagne - Trouble (Trouble, Jolene)
Nirvana - Unplugged in New York (Man Who Sold the World)
Neil Young - Greatest Hits (Old Man)
Steely Dan - Aja (Black Cow)
Dave Brubeck - Time Out / Take Five (Blue Ronda a la Turk)
My next stop was to listen to the Music Hall MMF5.1SE. This unit had a Pro-Ject arm on it and a Goldring MM Cart. The setup was entirely different. McIntosh Pre, McIntosh Amp and (exceptionally large) DynAudio speakers. The room was extremely cramped (at least 12 pairs of other speakers in the room, along with other equipment racks) and a much smaller space than the first place in general. The room was heavily treated with sound panels on the walls and ceiling and Bass Traps in the rear corners. This system sounded much "tighter" and less appealing. To be honest, it sounded more like the digital sound that I'm used to. Not quite as edgy, but not nearly as open and easy to just sit back and absorb.
Music Listened to on the Music Hall
Neil Young - Greatest Hits (Old Man)
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms (Money for Nothing)
So beetween the two, my nod goes 100% to the Pro-Ject. However, I couldn't help but wonder if the supporting components/rooms were causing a big difference. Does the sound that I describe and the differences sound more like the different speakers' signatures than the TTs?
I really liked the sound of that Pro-Ject and I want to think that it's what I can expect from a table of that caliber or higher, but I'd hate to get one, bring it home, and end up with the sound that was similar to the MH that I heard as I was not nearly as impressed (although it was still nice) since my current speakers are more similar to that of the DynAudios than the Vandersteens...
I sure hope this venture isn't going to cost me a new pair of speakers as well!
As always, any responses/opinions are greatly appreciated.
-gh0st
