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Help a vinyl newbie improve his rig

Hi everyone,

Over the last few months I've been experimenting with vinyl and tubes for the first time, and, well you know the story…I've left my CDs and solid state amps behind and am loving the beauty of analog sound on tube gear. I've got an integrated and speakers that I'm very happy with (Cayin SP10a and Wavetouch Grand Teton Gen2), so I'm looking to take a step or two up the ladder with the turntable and phono amp. Currenly I have a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon and a Vincent PHO-8 phono stage.

So, my guess is that the turntable is the weakest point and that to make a jump in sound I should be looking at 'tables like the Rega RP6, VPI Scout Jr. Clearaudio Concept, etc. From the few reviews I've read, the Vincent seems to be a solid phono stage (even though I'd like a tube phono stage in the future).

I'm not asking for specific recommendations on 'tables, but rather trying to get a feel for the most important first step in upgrading the vinyl sound quality.

I appreciate any thoughts you may have.

Best,
Scott
smrex13
smrex13 OP
423 posts
 
Johnnyb53 -Thanks for the great ideas. I'm going to give the Ortorfon Blue a shot- it's probably a good education for me to change a cartridge. Worst case scenario I break the turntable and have to buy a new one, which I'm looking for anyway.

I'll let you know how it goes…

Thanks again,
Scott
jperry
1,408 posts
 
I used to own a Rega P-25 with a Rega cartridge. I purchased a Dynavector 17D3, which was a significant upgrade. Still not satisfied, I bought a used Basis 2000 with a Rega tonearm. That was a very large improvement over the Rega P-25 turntable. It also was easy, when a Basis Vector tonearm became available, to upgrade the tonearm, which made a more significant difference than the cartridge or turntable change.

So in summary I agree with Rushton that a Basis 2XXX series turntable is a place to start, then a Bassis Vector tonearm when you can find one. Rega makes a nice turntable and tonearm for the money, but IMO it does not compare to a Basis.
sbrownnw
652 posts
 
I had a pro-ject xpression III and went to a RP6. Much better deck. I also tried the Vincent pho-8 against the Jasmine LP 2.0 mkII and the pro-ject phono tube box with upgraded and matched tubes. The Jasmine won out with a warm tube-like sound and matches up well my audio refinement separates.
johnnyb53
3,490 posts
 
02-16-15: Smrex13
Johnnyb53 -Thanks for the great ideas. I'm going to give the Ortorfon Blue a shot- it's probably a good education for me to change a cartridge.
Well, my point is that upgrading to a Blue doesn't require a cartridge change. You simply pull the Red's stylus out of the cartridge body and plug in the Blue stylus as the replacement. The cartridge body that remains bolted to the headshell stays the same and is identical for the two cartridge models, so you don't need to change that part of it.

The Blue *stylus* is also about $70 cheaper than a complete Blue *cartridge*.
smrex13 OP
423 posts
 
Johnnyb53 - Ah, I see. Thanks. Is it easy to do? Do I just yank it out? :) I'm sure there's something I need to know in order to change it out so I don't break something. I have a Blue on the way, so I will let you know how things sound. Looking forward to some relatively affordable tweaking.

Thanks again,
Scott
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