DcTom: if you are a young late 50's (or even early 60's) kinda guy, we are
roughly the same age. Love your table, too :) Yeah, so many albums, so
little time. But, now that I have the time, I'm really enjoying the process of
discovery. And, I love finding something 50 years old that sounds killer.
Musically, I'm still learning my way around the jazz world, other than the
obvious stuff. Classical, I kinda come and go, depending on mood- I went
through a 'big choral' period and a 'cello' period, what I should really do is
just sit down and listen to symphonies, but there's only so much of one type
of music or a single composer that I can take in a single session; I mix it up,
I'll go from some Sibelius to Led Zep to some old Verve or Pablo jazz
record. BTW, that 45 rpm version of 88 Basie St., which somebody had
recommended to me is just an unbelievably good record, musically and
sonically. And, the remaster of Sachmo doing St. James Infirmary is
wickedly entertaining. But, i've found gems on e-bay used for cheap that
have cleaned up great. Not doing ultrasonic cleaning yet, but that's to
come- I was waiting for the dust to settle on the Audio Desk.
For the OP, re TT recommendations, (and I'm shooting in the dark a little
here, so invite help), isn't there a very good VPI that retails for 6k with arm?
I'd buy something like that used, if you can. Believe me, you can hear a
difference in turntables and for the price of entry, you should start with
something very good.
Cartridge, I think you could get by with a high level Grado or Soundsmith
MM or iron; I know that in the under 3K category, the Lyras are supposed
to be very good (I owned some of the higher end Lyras at one point, but I
think the newer ones are little less analytical)- however that would blow
your budget. So, if I had to trade off, i'd buy the better table/arm and a good
not state of the art, but not cheapy cartridge.
Phono stage, real cheap somebody on another forum was touting a
Hagerman Bugle which is like 149 dollars among the uber cheapies. I have
no idea what that sounds like. I know some people liked the older EAR but i
think it has to be modded to get the most out of it; those aren't terribly
expensive, but my impression is that it is a little euphonic without tweaking.
I know the Sutherland battery stages were considered 'pretty good' but I
can't speak from first hand experience. I will tell you that a really good
phono stage makes a world of difference- I went from a very highly
regarded one that was by no means cheap to a different one recently, and
it was a night and day difference in system performance. And it isn't just a
question of throwing money at it- that's sort of the point: even a big ticket
one didn't do as well as another big ticket one in my system. So, I guess
where I come out is spend the money on the table/arm, used, buy a good
but not extravagant cartridge, which you will upgrade later, and let's hear
from others on good phono stages that can be found used. I know some
folks here like the Herron, the Zestos is too new to find cheaply. I also think
some folks liked the Fosgate, but i think that one, used, is still a little too
new to find at bargain basement prices. Not a lot of help, but a start....
Oh, and as Les_ Creative pointed out, you're gonna need a vinyl cleaning
machine sooner than later to listen to the records properly. Just buy a VPI
16.5 when you have an extra 600 bucks and don't worry about all the
better ones for now (but get some good fluids).
