Music Hall 5.1 owners?


The "How good does a TT have to be for a good cartridge" thread got me thinking - with limited funds and experience, how would one best approach a cart upgrade for say, a Music Hall 5.1? Are there any owners of this table who have any suggestions or success stories?
rbloom659
Getting more relatively cheaply is not something you're going to get with analog. Really - the 5.1 is a good table. I think the problem is elsewhere. What phono preamp are you using? The problem is, as I'm sure you know, the arm on the 5.1 really can't take advantage of a really good cart, although the Goldring is pretty good. I'll tell you, my friends bought the Marantz table, which comes with a nice arm and cart for about $1500 and it sounds damn nice. Just sell the 5.1 and save for something better. IM0.
If you don't have one, a Pro-Ject Speed Box (or Music Hall's version) is a very good upgrade in general. It's not just a convenient 33/45 rpm changer.

I use on on my Pro-Ject 1Xpression and have heard them on other Pro-Ject's and Music Halls. I haven't heard it on the MMF 5.1 specifically, but the all share Pro-Ject motors, and the 5.1's motor may very well be the same as my Xpression's. The improvements are across the board; there's not improvement in one area at the expense of another. It's very hard to find that in this hobby.

The Speed Box 2 is about $150, so it's not a major expense. Places like Music Direct have a 30 trial period, so there's almost no risk. Haven't heard the Speed Box SE to be able to say if it's worth the extra cost.
I have a MMF 5. I'm not sure about the difference btw the two TT's. Yours has probably a better tonearm. Anyway, I just bought an expensive (at least for me) cartridge (aurum Beta S MK II Wood). I'll let you know if spending all this money was worthy (or just silly) as soon as I have it installed!
Yes, I believe the 5.1 has a better arm, though I'm not sure in what way. I would like to hear what you discover. Thank you for your response -
As mentioned above , I would like to know if the new 5.1 is actually capable of a cartridge upgrade from stock .
I have seen , in a couple of places , that the tonearm may not be of sufficient quality to take advantage of a cartridge such as a Grado Reference Sonata 1 or a Clearaudio Aurum Beta S Mk 2 .
Can anyone else speak to this point of view ?

Happy Tunes