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19th Nervous Breakdown...


Here I sit on the fence again, trying to decide whether it's worth it to shatter my budget one more time, wondering if the sonic differences between the following gear justifies the sacrifices necessary to pay the toll.

Should I live on beanie weanies and cheap beer for a good while and spring for a Basis 1400 or 2001 table with a decent arm, cartridge and phono stage for about $3K, or do I "settle" for one of the Regas, a P3 or P25, or one of the Music Halls for less than half that, upgrade my diet, and buy a few albums to boot?

I realize that this is in some ways a hopeless and hedonistic calculus, and that there may be no "right" answer. But I suppose what I am looking for are the opinions of those who have traveled the upgrade path and already paid the price. Was it worth it? How would you describe the sonic differences in moving up to that next level?

If you were starting over and COULD manage to stretch your budget to $3K or even $3.5K, what would YOU buy (entire rig, including phono stage, and, of course, buying used)? Or would you go for one of the "entry' level, non-upgradable units and be happy with it?

I have a good collection of albums from my mid-fi days, and I have a pretty good system (First Sound/Bel Canto EVO 200.2 monos/Vienna Acoustics Beethovens), so I do have an interest in more than 'dabbling'.

I have already received a LOT of help on this site and I appreciate every bit of it. There are many friendly and helpful folks around here. I am very happy with the system I have built so far.

Now if I can settle this analog business, I can relax for awhile and just enjoy the music. So what will it be, oh audio gurus, a VPI, Basis, or Oracle table, or a Rega, Music Hall, or Thorens table? Which arm? Which cartridge? Which phono stage?

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. I wish I were in a position to audition this gear, but I'm not.

thank you all...

128x128waltersalas
grandpad
151 posts
 
Gboren, guess will have to agree to disagree. There's no absolute right or wrong here, just personal opinions/experiences.

Personally, I would define source as the cartridge in this context, then matching it with an arm that gets the most out of it. The turntable must, obviously, meet at least a minimum standard so as not to introduce colorations, etc. Actually as far as turntables are considered are considered, I think a critical consideration is whether you go for a suspended one or not, which leads one into how/or where you are going to place it to insulate from vibration. This can lead into the wonderful world of intertubes, sandboxes, concrete pillars, wall shelves, etc.

Great hobby isn't it? It's a wonder we have time to listen to music!
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,252 posts
 
Walter, your plan is well considered, but the point I was trying to make earlier is that stretching to upgrade now will prove more costly in the long run. Looking at the general quality of your system (which is quite high), I suspect that you will quickly want to upgrade again above the Spacedeck/Dynavector/Black Cube level. My advice is to keep it cheap now while planning and budgeting for a "serious" setup later. What I'm really saying is that the sonic differences between the baseline Rega and the Spacedeck is less than the difference between the Spacedeck and a VPI Aries. Of course, one could argue that the added enjoyment of the Spacedeck now will outweigh the added cost of the future upgrade. As you said in your original post, there is no correct answer. Good luck.
gboren
143 posts
 
Grandpad,
Upon reflection, I'm not quite sure we disagree any more. While I would probably still use the upgrade strategy of getting a great table and worry about the arm upgrade later, I am no longer convinced that the strategy is at all linear (ie, table>arm>cartridge).
grandpad
151 posts
 
Gboren, I think you're right, I don't think we're really that far apart at all. Besides, I've found these friendly debates are educational as long as we're not rigid in our points of view.

While you are obviously a vinylphile, I did order the 2 xrcds you recommended on another thread (Black Pearls and Sunday at the Village Vanguard), so we're both jazz fans - Coltrane is my absolute favorite.

BTW, did you decide on an arm for you LP12? If so, which cartridge did you mate with it? The Helikon SL is a recent acquisition and superceded the Koetsu Onyx, my long time favorite. Can be used with a wider variety of arms than the Onyx. Mates well with the Graham. Don't know whether it's the "best" with the LP12, but Bob offers an armboard for it so it must be doable. His proprietary alignment system is slick.

If you live anywhere near eastern Long Island, drop by and we can continue the debate, along with some music, wine and a swim (not necessarily in the order).
gboren
143 posts
 
Gee Grandpad, Thanks for the invite! Unfortunately, I live in Michigan so I'll have to take a rain check.

I haven't decided yet what to do, but I am pretty sure I'm going to keep the Linn and just upgrade the arm. Possibly a Graham or Ekos II depending on what's available on the used market.
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