Rocky return to vinyl


I've recently moved from an integrated amp with no phono stage (Jolida 302B) to monoblocks and a preamp with phono -- Marantz 2s with a Marantz 7 pre. I've had an old Rega Planar 3 in retirement for a long time. It has what I gather to be the less respected RB200 arm, and I got a Shure M97xE, based on recommendations here at Audiogon. Most of my collection now is CD. My LPs are mostly high school stuff, and I got the inexpensive Shure just to take a small step into the world of vinyl with my new-to-me Marantz amps. As it so happens, the one LP I have that I also have a CD copy of is Earth, Wind, and Fire -- an anamoly in my listening, but fun and the CD sounds pretty good. (I have a Music Hall CD25.) Now, when I converted to tubes a couple of years ago, I got the impression my preference for tubes probably would translate into a preference for vinyl. And it still may. But I was VERY disappointed when I put on that LP. The instruments sounded muddled and congested, especially in direct comparison to the CD. I've tried a couple of more albums, but they all fall way short of what I'm used to from my decently recorded CDs.

I'm assuming the most common response I'm going to get here involves my spending several hundred dollars. But could I just be missing something basic? Should the difference with this Rega/Shure setup be THAT different from the Music Hall CD player?
judasmac
All right, while I have your attention, let me ask this. Let's say I too get hooked on vinyl. What are the obvious upgrades for me? Tone arm? Cartridge? I'm talking anything radical here. Let's say, under $500.
INHO, with the equipment you have now the best place to put $500 would be a record cleaning machine or maybe a RB 250. I wouldn't get too crazy until your ready to change something like tables or phono stages, or ...
I can't believe no one has said this but I think your problem is you have your vta set to low. I have the same cart as you and had the same problem when I very first set it up but when I raised the vta everything sounded much more clear and right. also what newmanoc said about being used to the "artificial clarity" of cds probably has a lot to do with it too.
If I might part you with even a little more of your $ ;-) I would suggest that if you can get into the $750-1000 range you could get a setup that you will likely be happy with for a long long time - if that's not an oxymoron around here ;-). That opens up possibilities for P25, Sota, Basis combos. I've a friend with a P25/RB600/Dynavector combo that I liked better than a Cary 308T and held its own against SACD. YMMV of course.
I think it would either be your TT setup or the fact that a recording on vinyl that is mediocre will usually sound bad. In my experience, LP's are either very good or very bad. CDs tend to be more forgiving on mediocre to bad recordings.

A well-recorded LP is still the king. Nothing can match it. That's why people go through all the setup and inconvenience that is involved.

I think you need to buy more LPs - old (probably scratched and dirty) high school LPs aren't going to give you much. Buy LPs from companies that are releasing quality pressings and try them. If it still sounds bad, then it's your equipment/setup. If they sounds good, then you may end up using your CD player as backup as I do.

Rob


Rob