2. analog
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Thinking about getting into vinyl again...

After 25 years. Any suggestions (besides don't ; )?

Thanks to my Audio Note Dac, I have an Awesome Digital setup and am very pleased with the sound. However I do love vinyl setups when I hear them. Further, now that my system's just the way I want it, I have nothing to obsess about, research, tinker with...etc.

I have a Modified Musical Fidelity A5 integrated...to my, ears the best sound I've ever heard and I've tried many many pieces. (In fact, that may be why I've run into a wall, I'm done looking at amplification too). Hoping to avoid the whole phone stage thing... assuming the A5's is decent.

I want a decent vinyl setup -- but don't want to spend a fortune either. After exhaustive research I'm pretty set on trying a Rega P3 w the Elys2 cartridge (bit over a thousand new). Right or wrong, part of the reason I chose this is relative simplicity of setup and use. Although I'm open to messing with accessories and upgrades, I don't want to mess with spacers, complicated adjustments, changing arms, or hacking the table in any way.

Any thoughts about:

The move in general
Tips and tricks
Accessories: Cleaning Kits, scales, etc.
Upgrading that MM Cart (slightly, I don't want to spend more than a hundred or so more)
I thought a bit about getting a professionally restored Thorens?
Vendors (No real table dealers around me...looking at Music Direct...especially because of the easy return policy ....and they've been good in the past)

(Note: I will very likely stick to new on this as the idea of buying and shipping (again) a used turntable seems fraught with risk)

(One bonus question: When I switch my a5 to phono (nothing connected) i get some hum/noise...I'm assuming that's because nothing's connected to the the inputs or the ground?---Just hoping I don't go through all of this just to find out I have a bad phono section!)
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ctsooner
2,480 posts
 
I decided to get a great Gingko Cloud 11. These things sound freaking awesome. I've heard them in a few places on different tables and WOW for the cost. I have heard all kinds of devices, however so many ruin the sound. I think that it depends on the table and it's suspension as to what device to use. So far I've heard Gingko on the Linn, Rega and a 60k plus Basis and on all of these different types of suspension it made a positive difference. This is why you need a good dealer who knows what works best.

As for adding an isolation device, what's wrong with adding one when it helps? They work with any turntable. That's just like using a good rack or your electronics using proper legs.

BTW, may of us have used special devices on our speakers to change the sound a bit. Personally I don't with speakers anymore, but for a TT or transport or any tube gear (been a tube guy for a long time before going with Ayre). It's not a big deal to most.
abrew19
146 posts
 
Don't get me wrong. I don't think there's anything 'wrong' with adding mass or isolation as aftermarket enhancements. I'm all for it. I'm just saying that Rega saves a lot of manufacturing cost with their designs. with the mid-priced RP3/RP6/RP8 especially, I'm not convinced they pass the savings along to the customer. They are well-engineered and fine sounding products, but the plinth is a piece of high tech cardboard with a coat of of flashy paint. At 3 Grand, compare the RP8 to the VPI Classic. There is no comparison when you break it down to the component and sub-component level. But like I said before, nice Rega have very nice tonearms however.
ctsooner
2,480 posts
 
I wonder if Rega knows that most use their own isolation devices and that's why they do this. Heck, if I can find a 1k rig with everything and make it sound as good as a 2k rig by adding a 350 device, that's still a big bargain to me. I have now heard the Rega 300 series arm on a ton of tables and the arm really is a bargain. It allows you to possibly get into a top table and then let you upgrade the arm later if you need to. I will say that from my ears, the table means much more than the arm and possibly cartridge. I know many manufactures feel the same and I can see why. I was able to hear two different tables with a top of the line arm and then with the Rega arm (same cartridge). The sound wasn't THAT far off and the cost differences were at least 1k and I think one arm was probably 3k or so. It's just all dependent on so many variables.
kiko65
279 posts
 
Up for debate Abrew19,

There is a SIGNIFICANT comparison when you break it down to the component and sub-component level.

Both TTs engineered completely different but with the same attention to details based on common principles:

One, a 50 pounds "Behemoth" of a table that comes standard with the stainless steel version of the JMW-10.5i unipivot tonearm in rigid mount mode, a solid plinth, a solid fixed mounted AC 600 RPM synchronous motor, new Mini HR-X isolation feet, and the Classic Aluminum Platter. All in all, an outstanding product capable of outperforming tables costing twice as much.

The other, a revolutionary design: custom made skeletal plinth, new ultra-stable RB808 tonearm with state of the art bearing assembly, triple-layer glass platter for fly wheel effect, 24-volt low-noise, low-vibration motor controlled by a hand-tuned electronic external power supply, new double bracing technology for stifness where it matter the most, between the tonearm mounting and the main hub bearing, forming a structurally sound "stressed beam" assembly.

In the end, there is no right or wrong, just a matter of taste. Some people (including me) prefer the RP8 over the Classic, especially because of the richness and musicality of the Rega compared to the "revealing" nature of the VPI deck. Please note that "revealing" does not mean harsh or over the edge. It just sound more analytical to my ears, nothing more, nothing less.

Happy listening.

ctsooner
2,480 posts
 
Great post Kiko. You really broke it down the way many of us see it.
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