Finally Taking The Plunge

How about a VPI Scout/JMW 9 arm combo, coupled with the Dynavector 10x4? That will get you in right around the $2000.00 mark and provide a very satisfying entry to vinyl. If you wanted to kick it up a notch and avoid spending $ on a phono stage to drive a low output moving coil you could look at the Scout with a Dynavector 20X high output. The 10x4 is HO as well. The above mentioned Shelters are great but are also high compliance and might not mate well with the VPI arms. The Scout offers a great upgrade path, great style, easy setup, very easy to maintain. You may, with the purchase of the Scout/JMW/Dyna 10X4 even have enough money within your range to get yourself a record cleaning machine as well. Properly cleaned LP's, even older ones, take on a whole new life on my Scout/Dynavector 20X setup. I am rediscovering my entire collection again, including old pressings from the early 70's of my college days. This is despite the fact that I have had analogue rigs the whole time. I know the Scout is no where near state-of-the-art, but it is an enormously satisfying entre to vinyl if this is to be your first setup.

Newbie, there's plenty of my threads stored in the archives, but for starters a tube preamp in this price range will simply be too noisy. Definitely out of the question.

Psychicanimal, I did as you suggested and looked thru your archives on analog. You certainly have lots of entries, but only two that I could find related to the EAR pre amp. In one you inquired about the pre amp and in the other you responded to a poster that tubes were always noiser than transistors and that they should stay with solid state. Is this the extent of your experience with the phono pre that I recommended? Or did I miss something?
Please tell us of your personal experience with the EAR phono pre amp. It has 68db of gain - with quiet tubes it should present no problem to any MC cartridge but perhaps ones with the lowest out put. Medium or high level output MC or MM cartridges would create no problem for this pre whatsoever.

And for the sake of further discussion, assuming that there was a very low level of tube rush on a very low output cartridge, how would you rank that noise with all of the other noise and distortion inherrent in vinyl, such as residual groove noise, wow and flutter, pre echo, tic and pops, inner grove distortion, distortion caused by off center spindle hole, vta settings not consistent with thickness of the disc your playing, etc. I for one would find this noise to be the least objectionable. Or are you a SS fan who finds tubes objectionable in general?

By the way, it would be nice if you would post the equipment you use to make your evaluations - I can see that you use a Technics 1200 and, and at least you were, using a SS transformer. What else - tell us about your electronics, speakers, and environment, so we can judge for ourselves whether or not you have any the equipment and the experience needed to really make meaningful evaluations of high end products.

Incidentially, I still don't see any recommendations for the inquirer.

I agree with Slipknot.The Scout/JMW9 Is a very serious Table/arm.

Neubie, you spent a Friday night searching the archives? Hmmm...

Dan Wright has told me over the phone that the EAR 834 is really noisy and that he got rid of his for a Monolithic Sound solid state pre. Then he developed the mod and moved on to his own tube design phono pre. I trust Dan and it is my experience that tubes do suffer from noise and microphony. I'm not against tubes, as I had a Melos SHA-1 pre-amp. But the $249 CIAudio passive pre amp I now own really smoked it! Someone is developing a killer, budget tube linestage and I might get to try it. Maybe I'll buy one!

By the way, it would be nice if you would post the equipment you use to make your evaluations - I can see that you use a Technics 1200 and, and at least you were, using a SS transformer. What else - tell us about your electronics, speakers, and environment, so we can judge for ourselves whether or not you have any the equipment and the experience needed to really make meaningful evaluations of high end products.

Incidentially, I still don't see any recommendations for the inquirer.

I mention my equipment as often as necessary, but given my nomadic lifestyle I'm still in the process of setting up my home office/ audio room. Seems I'm in no hurry. Lak said he would take the pictures and you will be the first to know. The deck is a *modified* 1200, that is. And who is "we"?

If you paid attention you would see that I have a slogan:

"High end is who you are, not what you buy."

(translation: The professional is able to compensate the idiosyncracies of his equipment.)

As for advice, I am very careful as so many opinions are confusing. Going for tubes in a $2K system is not a wise move due to the noise. Dan told me the Decware tube preamp is really god but it would be above budget. If someone prefers tubes in this price range it would be best to place them further downstream.

You did read this:

Newbie, you are a newbie.

Vinyl rules in my system. My belt driven CD transport is a piece of art, but the modded 1200 (aka The Creature) is the one who really brings the emotional involvement. This afternoon I was waiting for the auto shop driver to pick me up and I played a reissue of a Cheo Feliciano album (not José) with some serious love ballads. My Forté is down so I'm using my backup Yamaha A-1 integrated (1980) without my Monolithic phono stage. My left Swans has a blown tweeter. The recording was bad, the pressing was even worse and I was in front of the left speaker. When the driver honked the horn it was like when the alarm clock rings. I was in a trance. I can't say that from CD. I wish...

This should tell you a lot, but it seems you did not pick up anything! Find out what a Yamaha A-1 is. That's my "spare" amp. Evil creature still going strong agter 20+ yrs of use with 100% stock Nichikon caps...

Oh, it's that time of the year--Back to school days!!!