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Upgrade: Turntable or Cartridge?

I currently own an early generation of the Clearaudio Emotion turntable (no CMB, spiked feet, aluminum Satisfy tonearm). My cartridge is a Grado Sonata1 (new version) Reference (High Output). I'm trying to decide if I should upgrade the turntable or the cartridge, and between the two, which would provide the greatest benefit. My phono stage is the PS Audio GCPH, which I've found to perform pretty darn well, and don't think I need to upgrade that at the moment.

I do feel that the Emotion turntable could still handle a cart a good deal more expensive than the Sonata1. To my ears, the table is extremely quiet, with fairly decent speed stability. There are a few convenience things that are annoying, such as the decoupled motor which always ends up sitting against the table and needs to be moved. The location of the switch to turn the power on, and also the exposed belt can get annoying. However, I'm still willing to live with those things if upgrading the cartridge will provide much benefit. In the end, I'm in this for the sound, not the convenience, otherwise I wouldn't have a turntable.

For cartridges, I was considering quite a range: Shelter 501 Mk II, Benz Ace or Glider, Clearaudio Concept MC, Ortofon 2M Black, Dynavector 20X2 or Karat, etc. I'd like to try out a decent MC for once, if I do choose to upgrade the cart. I've had trouble getting rid of inner grove distortion with the Sonata1 and Satisfy tonearm, even after very careful alignment. Maybe they aren't a perfect match?

Any ideas here?

Thanks
jwglista
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
In fact, that is what I normally do, but at times I get a bit lazy and try to turn it off with one hand.
Lazy moments are for CD's! There are no shortcuts to good analog reproduction. In fact, the more capable the system, the more care the user must take. My vinyl rig retails for about $18K but I still have to pay attention when I turn the motor on. If I move it by mistake it can take 30 minutes of fussing to re-position it correctly (I use a non-elastic drive belt, so there's zero margin for error).

However, putting something like a rubber mat or tape underneath may allow turning the motor off with one hand, and even further isolate vibrations coming from the motor.
Depending on the system, it may also slur transients and dull dynamic response. The more revealing and accurate the rig, the less tolerant it will be of elasticity *anywhere* in its mechanical connections. Putting rubber feet or even a single thickness of Scotch tape beneath my TT motor turns a vibrant and hugely dynamic table into a sludge. By all means try it, but keep an open mind about the effects you hear.

P.S. Your new cart sounds like a huge step up. (I'm not surprised, most Grados are better at smoothing things over than reproducing lifelike music). Enjoy the journey!

dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
P.S. Try some (metal or wood) spike cups beneath your motor spikes. This may increase friction between motor and platform, reducing its tendency to slide, without adding elasticity.

To keep the belt at the same height on the platter you'd have to raise your TT by the same amount. Don't know if that's important on the Emotion, or feasible if so... just something to consider.
syntax's avatar
syntax
2,193 posts
 
Zyx cartridges are very good, they work extremely good with a wide range of Arms and they are also available with different outputs. Personally I think, a Fuji 100 is hard to beat in a price range which doesn't ruin the discriminated Audiophile. One of my friends uses it in a 18k$ Turntable/Arm combination.
hcalland
39 posts
 
Duvallite

I used the HEAVYFOOT V.3, and I had the table sitting on a butcher block at the time. P I later upgraded to a Mapleshade platform.
jwglista OP
206 posts
 
Hcalland:

I see you now have a VPI Classic 1. I am considering this as an upgrade for sometime this winter. How would you describe the differences in sound between the Emotion and the Classic?
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