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Weakest Link? Your honest opinions.

Before I spend any more on audio equipment, I'd like some opinions on my current vinyl rig:

Nagaoka MP200 Cartridge (this I will be upgrading to a Zephyr as soon as possible)>

VPI Classic 1>

Blue Jeans BJC LC-1 RCA Cables>

Jolida JD9 Phono Stage>

Monster RCA Cables>

Marantz PM-68 Int Amp>

Canare 4S11 Star Quad Speaker Cable>

Kef Q55 Speakers (bi-wired)

Everything aside from the turntable/cartridge I've had for 5 to 6 years, and are my first foray into HiFi audio.

Just bought the Classic 1 recently, and I'm loving it so far, but I feel a better cartridge will really improve the sound. The Nagaoka was used previously on my Rega P1 (which I'm using in my office rig). I'm saving up to buy the Zephyr, but does anyone notice any other obvious faults in my system?

I feel like the Marantz and Kefs could be replaced at some point, but I wouldn't want to make a purchase unless I know it's going to make a significant improvement over what I already have.

Also, does anyone think some part of my rig might prevent the Zephyr from performing as well as it should?
narticus
narticus OP
11 posts
 
Haven't upgraded my outlet yet, but I did purchase the following:

Pangea AC14SE - for my turntable
Pangea AC14 - for my preamp
Audioquest Black Mamba II - used between turntable and preamp
Audioquest Sidewinder - between preamp and integrated amp.
VPI/Soundsmith Zephyr Cartridge

The Zephyr, of course, made the most noticeable change. The old Nagaoka was a great sounding cartridge for the price, and on my P1, but this is clearly a huge step up. I find it hard to stop listening to records now.

I still need to A/B the cable upgrades. An improvement wasn't immediately noticeable, but if I changed back to my monster or bjc, it would probably be very apparent. I'll give it a shot tonight and report back.
vinylmad814
59 posts
 
Hmm you know....I have heard those Kefs and for the price I quite liked them. I heard them being driven with a Rotel integrated amp. So I don't think the speakers are the weakest link at all in your system to be honest. I would say change out the integrated and i am not saying the Marantz is a bad unit either but having heard your speakers with the Rotel I was quite impressed with the KEFS. Have you changed out the stock tubes out of the Jolida? What come with the unit? Probably stock Chinese or Russian 12AX7's. Lots of audio enthusiasts like the Mullards and of course the Telefunkens. These 2 for sure will give you great improvement in overall sonics.
narticus OP
11 posts
 
Good to hear you enjoyed the Kefs.

Not sure what tubes are in the Jolida now, but they're definitely stock. I'm going to look into replacement tubes and opamps for it.

On the integrated end, I've been eyeing tube amps primarily. Icon Audios seem nice.
torevado
12 posts
 
"Get a better job and buy some real Audio".
What other response to expect from the snobby audiophile.
Actually 20% of so call audiophiles are pure snobs.
The Cables thick like a pregnant Anaconda and Amplifiers
with the at least 500 Tubes. Less is no good.
riffer
362 posts
 
Amp & speakers.

If you are going to fiddle with cables, use the LC-1 from the phono stage to the amp and get a nice phono cable like the VPI one for the tonearm to phono stage. That's how I have my Scout>Trigon VanguardII/VolcanoII>MD-209 set up.
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