$800 Cartridge Shootout and Upgrade Path

Hey Chris,

How’s Halloween? It’s quiet here.

I took a look at Michael Green’s web site, and his racks and stands are first rate. But then so are the prices. I will most likely make the stand for the turntable. I have to find a way to save money somehow. Maybe I can do it with the rack.

Just like you, I, too, will have Home Depot cut the wood for me. I think they charge a small fee, but it will be well worth it. In that way I won’t have to buy expensive cutting tools for a one-time use.

You have a Sonic Frontiers amp? That’s great. It’s really too bad Anthem stopped making tube gear. It seems like many people have components from Sonic Frontiers, and they seem to love them. Do your amps throw off that much heat so you don’t have to use the furnace? Wow! I wonder how a couple of tube monoblocks will fair in the summer heat of Tracy.

My learning experience has been a gradual one that has taken many years. I read a large number of reviews, listen to equipment whenever possible, and attend live symphony performances, which are now becoming quite expensive. Early on in my audio hobby career, I gravitated toward planar loud speakers, but could never afford them or house them properly in my listening room. My preference is for Magneplanar, either the MG 3.6R or the 20.1. At $12,000, it’s a bargain. However, my listening room is not big enough for either model so I purchased the Martin Logan Ascents instead. There is something special about a panel transducer; it recreates the original event so much more easily than most dynamically-driven loudspeakers that are priced under $10,000. The problem with such speakers is that a goodly part of the cost goes into the cabinet.

I didn’t know that Redpoint is in Arizona. And it doesn't help to know that their tables are apparently so expensive. So it looks like the Galibier will be a more viable choice for you, at least cost wise.

Artar1

In this thread, I have spent a considerable time talking about my upgrade aspirations, which for most people who love vinyl, cannot afford even if they won a small lottery. Now I know that seems difficult to believe given the systems of the people who have posted here, but it’s true. The fact is that most vinyl spinners are not prepared to spend between five and six thousand dollars on an analog front end. I still can’t believe that I am prepared to do so, but that’s the reality of audio today. Most requests for equipment suggestions on the Vinyl Asylum are for systems costing less than $2,000, and in some cases, much less.

So what do we tell such people? Do we tell them if they are not willing to spend at least four grand that they are simply deluding themselves? That doesn’t seem fair or realistic. I don’t know a single person who has spent that much. An audiophile acquaintance at work, for example, someone who makes about 140K per year and his wife nearly as much, is talking about buying a Rega P7 to play his vinyl collection, which must total about 1,000 LPs. He can certainly afford more, for he just dropped seven thousand for a pre-owned home theater processor. Maybe in his case, as it is with many, vinyl is now a sideshow, but I believe that even Circuit City is currently carrying the “black disc!”

So where am I going with this you might be asking as you stifle a yawn or two? Am I now equivocating over my recent decision, or am I simply wasting everyone’s time? The answer is “No” either case. While I was doing all of the research for my analog purchase, I also had an opportunity to unearth information about what would be considered a single step up from an absolute entry-level turntable/tonearm/cartridge combination. I am sure that anyone reading this thread, and whose eyes have glazed over after seeing some of the prices that have been bandied about, might rejoice to know that there are musically satisfying analog front ends that won’t empty the bank.

My first selection is the Musical Hall MMF-7. For a mere $989 (at LP Tunes) one can get a belt-driven turntable, the Pro-Ject Nine tonearm, and Goldring Eroica H moving coil phono cartridge. Normally this combination sells for about $1,200, and the Goldring carries an MSRP of about $400. The MMF-7 has received a number of very favorable reviews and seems to be well made. If you don’t like the cartridge, you can always sell it and buy a Clearaudio Aurum Bets S, Dynavector 20XL, Grado Reference Sonata (with its possible humming problem, although the cartridge does carry a tune I hear); Ortofon Kontrapunkt A (now on sale for $429), Sumiko Bluepoint Special EVO III, or Shure V15VxMR (which may be discontinued soon). If you know of a vinyl lover who has limited funds and is leery of buying used equipment, the MMF-7 combination is one I am sure that will bring years of delight.

For a few hundred more, one can buy the Rega P5, which sports the Rega RB700 tonearm. I believe this table is the replacement of the highly regarded P25, which has been discontinued. The RB700 has a higher effective mass than the Pro-Ject Nine, which means that lower compliance cartridges can be tried, such as the Audio Technica AT OC9. Like the MMF-7, the P5 is a virtual no brainer when it comes to setup, and should be easy to use and maintain. It does, however, only allow limited VTA adjustments, which can be circumvented by several aftermarket upgrades. In fact one of the attractions of owning a Rega is the number of upgrades available for it.

The last turntable on my economy list is the well regarded VPI Aries Scout. At $1,600, which includes the VPI JMW-9 tonearm, the Scout is a real winner that’s difficult to beat for price-performance. One has to spend upwards of $4,000 or more for a turntable and tonearm to obtain only a small improvement in sound from what I have read about the Scout. But keep in mind that the effective mass of the JMW-9 is only 7 grams and it has a somewhat limited provision for antiskating, which is achieved by twisting the tonearm cable, a novel idea to say the least. Because of the somewhat limited effective tonearm mass, one is advised against using something like the Denon DL103R, despite its famed reputation.

There are other turntable/tonearm combinations that one could try; the marketplace is certainly loaded with them. So what I have suggested here is not to be considered the absolute in sound for decent analog playback. Rather, I am offering a good starting point for anyone who is shell-shocked by the price of a Teres or Galibier turntable, or maybe even a Redpoint, just to name of few. Thus, the tables I have described in this post are real-world contenders in an industry enamored with opulence and high prices.

VPI JMW-9 (Effective Tonearm Mass: 7 Grams and Subsequent Resonant Frequencies for the Following Cartridges):

Clearaudio Aurum Beta S (10 gm, metal body; compliance = 15 cm; resonant frequency = 10 Hz; $500).

Dynavector 20XL (8.6 gm; compliance = 12 cm; resonant frequency = 11.6 Hz; $525).

Grado Reference Sonata (6.5 gm; compliance = 20 cm; resonant frequency = 9.7 Hz; $500).

Ortofon Kontrapunkt A (10 gm; compliance = 12 cm; resonant frequency = 11.1 Hz; $429 on sale).

Sumiko Bluepoint Special EVO III (9.6 gm; compliance = 12 cm; resonant frequency = 11.3 Hz; $349).

Shure V15VxMR (6.6gm; compliance = 30 cm; resonant frequency = 7.9 Hz; $325).


Pro-Ject Nine (Effective Tonearm Mass: 9.5 Grams and Subsequent Resonant Frequencies for the Following Cartridges):

Clearaudio Aurum Beta S (10 gm, metal body; compliance = 15 cm; resonant frequency = 9.3 Hz).

Dynavector 20XL (8.6 gm; compliance = 12 cm; resonant frequency = 10.8 Hz).

Grado Reference Sonata (6.5 gm; compliance = 20 cm; resonant frequency = 8.9 Hz).

Ortofon Kontrapunkt A (10 gm; compliance = 12 cm; resonant frequency = 10.4 Hz).

Sumiko Bluepoint Special EVO III (9.6 gm; compliance = 12 cm; resonant frequency = 10.5 Hz).

Audio Technica AT OC9 (8 gm; compliance = 9 cm; resonant frequency = 12.7 Hz; $280).

Rega RB700 (Effective Tonearm Mass: 11 (Approximate) Grams and Subsequent Resonant Frequencies for the Following Cartridges):

Clearaudio Aurum Beta S (10 gm, metal body; compliance = 15 cm; resonant frequency = 9 Hz).

Dynavector 20XL (8.6 gm; compliance = 12 cm; resonant frequency = 10.4 Hz).

Grado Reference Sonata (6.5 gm; compliance = 20 cm; resonant frequency = 8.5 Hz).

Ortofon Kontrapunkt A (10 gm; compliance = 12 cm; resonant frequency = 10 Hz).

Sumiko Bluepoint Special EVO III (9.6 gm; compliance = 12 cm; resonant frequency = 10.1 Hz).

Audio Technica AT OC9 (8 gm; compliance = 9 cm; resonant frequency = 11.9 Hz).

And finally let me recommend the Rogue Audio Stealth phono stage with the Op-amp option for $835. This unit is a nearly plug-and-play device in its simplicity, and should work well with the cartridges listed above. It offers 100, 300, 1000, and 47K ohm loading, and four gain settings: 40, 50, 60, and 65 dB. All settings are made internally using dip switches. Its sound has been compared to the Graham Slee ERA Gold but with the ability to play low-output MCs.

Enjoy!

My upgrade path has been sporadic with what cash I can scrounge up to spare. I was only able to get the Sonic Frontiers through the largesse of a loan from my then girlfriend who works at Microsoft. And yes, it puts out enough heat that I have decided to get a solid state preamp since any tube preamp upgrades would be too much.

No one I know spends cash on audio other than the basics. I have a friend that I am mentoring through this who has recently purchased a Rega 3 and I suggested a Dynavector 10X to suit his budget. He got some Paradigm Titans and though he's listening through cheap receiver to his ears he's hearing music. It's blowing away listening to CD's on his old big boombox and he's happy as a clam spending all him money on records. He's got plans to get the rest eventually, he loves listening to my system and I know that while he might not go that far, he wants to go a lot further. It's small steps according to budget and even those low budget steps make nice music. As Stereophile says about their cheaper recommendations; it's possible to put together a satisfying system with those components. And this is true.
Not all people get addicted enough to reach for that higher rung and to be honest I can understand that. For some it's enough just to hear the music clear and clean without worrying if that sub-upper-middle bass performance might be tad loose in the 40khz register or whatever.
For me I just love the sounds and the simple statement that there is so much more "there" there describes my ascent(or descent from my bank accounts point of view) to higher plateaus of audio.

And as I have found recently, tweaks can be a great way to upgrade your system without spending too much. While that Grand Prix audio amp stand was a huge improvement in refinement (and continues to boggle my mind) some Black Diamond Racing cones and pucks and a new Electro-Harmonix tube in my preamp are wringing out ever more performance.

I'll keep the Rogue in mind when my friend gets a phono stage, our local dealer carries their stuff. That's a nice recommendation.

And the Redpoint stuff is out of my reach, 7K+ for the basic table so I'm sticking with my initial choices. I saw a pic of the Teres 255 spinning recently and it was very cool looking, I might like the look of the clear platter better than the wood one!
And yes, I feel that I am totally insane to be thinking of spending this much on audio. Mainly because it's not a small portion of my income to do so. I have to scrimp and save to get there. But when I'm listening to great sounding music, it's all worthwhile.
A record collector friend of mine once said, concerning spending all your money on records, "When's the last time you missed a sandwich you didn't get to eat because you spent all your money on LP's? But you'll always remember that one record that you passed on in that store that you haven't seen since." Ain't it the truth?

Chris

Chris,

My upgrade path has been a long, but determined one. It’s not easy scraping up the money to buy the next component despite my comfortable salary and lifestyle. Audio is damn expensive, but is only eclipsed by cars and jewelry. Thank God my wife exercises considerable control when it comes to buying jewelry for herself in the same way I exercise restraint with all things audio.

Your friend will need to find a good integrated amp to replace that receiver. How much is he willing to spend? Plinius makes an outstanding integrated that’s not to absurdly expensive, but then again, one cannot beat the sound of a Jolida, which I would recommend highly.

You’re right about the addiction. Most people show considerable restraint when it comes to buying audio gear. Usually they buy the cheapest component that will get the job done, and no more. I seem to be the opposite: I dream about the best possible sound for the money, and then I stretch my budget even further until my head is in the clouds, but my bank account is in the dregs, so to speak. I reach for the highest rung, but it’s really amazing how high and costly that rung has become. One would have to be a multimillionaire to be able to afford many of the components reviewed in Stereophile these days.

I am going to give some of the Black Diamond products a try to see if they improve the sound of my system to any appreciable degree. But I remain a little skeptical.

>>And yes, I feel that I am totally insane to be thinking of spending this much on audio.<<

I agree totally, so much so, that I am rethinking my analog decision. Spending $6,000 on an analog front end is too much and I don’t feel too comfortable about it even though I can afford it. I also need to buy a phono stage and two or more amps for my system. As I was adding up the cost, the price was starting to creep upwards of $20,000 in additional expenditures! Wow! So I took a long cold shower.

So what will be my new choices? Well, I started looking at the VPI Scoutmaster with the Origin Live Encounter tonearm or the Thorens TD 850BC with the same arm. But I think the Scoutmaster will need a special arm board for the OL tonearm, and the Thorens looks cheap to me. So then I went back to the Teres 160, and that’s what I will buy. My analog front end will now have a Teres 160 turntable ($2,250), an Origin Live Encounter arm ($1,500), and a Shelter 501 II cartridge ($800). The total price will be $4,550, only $50 over my original budget. I think I can live with that!

In all likelihood, I would not be able to tell the difference between the Teres 160 and the 255. The only difference between the two is the hardwood used in the plinth; everything else is the same. Not only that, if Dsiggia uses a Teres 160 (and his system is great!), then it ought to be good enough for me!

That’s my very latest thinking. Now I will have enough money to finish the rest of my system by June or July of 2005! Whoopee!

According to Twl, who should know, an Encounter is barely better than a HIFI-modded Silver, which sells for nearly $600 less. In your present circumstnces that seems like an even more reasonable solution.