Technics SL-1200MKII and AT-440MLa, very good

> I believe that would be nude, square shank, stylii.

Thanks for clearing that up. I'm just getting back into vinyl after a 25-year hiatus and I have some catching up to do.

Another question--what's with the round stylus on the Denon 103 and 103R?

Being nude refers to not being bonded to a piece of metal. In a bonded cartridge a very small diamond is bonded to a piece of metal, a holder of sorts, and this piece of metal is then affixed to the cantilever. A nude cartridge uses a larger diamond, of higher quality, which is either pressure fit or attached by adhesive, or both, directly to the cantilever. The square shank is the end of the diamond that fits into a hole that has been cut into the cantilever and is square to align the cut of the diamond, on the opposite side, correctly. The cut, conical, elliptical, fine line, etc. refers to the other side of the diamond, the side that contacts the record. The Denon uses a nude, grain oriented, conical stylus in the 103 and 103R, this is also referred to as a spherical stylus. The two descriptions are used interchangably.

Well, I'm finding this all very interesting. I read every thread (here) on the Bellari VP 129, most are positive regarding this unit. But I got a little turned off when I read in one thread that the price increased substantially after M.Fremer reviewed the unit. I have a local dealer that really likes the NAD PP-2. I've also read all threads (here) regarding this unit, and the common consensus seems to be that the Bellari is preferred over the NAD. But I decided to start at the bottom if you will, and picked up the little NAD.

I grew up with vinyl having mediocre setups in the past always just using the phono section of whatever receiver I had at the time. After taking a long hiatus from vinyl I decided to set up my old Yamaha tt in the garage just for fun and since I have over 100 albums. I recently decided to replace the Yamaha with the Technics, because I wanted a dd workhorse with more adjustments on it, and I wanted something that would be less susceptible to feedback as well (which it is). Since I got more into the high-end in '03, I have a greater appreciation for all thing's audio these days. The reason I bring this up is...
PLEASE EXCUSE MY IGNORANCE ON THIS (vinyl) SUBJECT!!!

This stupid little phono pre has opened up a varitable pandora's box for me! For the first time in a long time, I actually enjoyed the quality of sound I was hearing last night. Man what a difference! What's better? Simply put, all of it. For a budget setup it sounds pretty darn good, and obviously, there is much room for improvement here. I just hooked it up with some old AQ Topaz cables I had laying around, but am going to throw a spare set of Nordost Blue Heavens on it tonight to see if it improves further. So, where to go from here? I'll run the lil' NAD for awhile and then probably move up to either a VP 129 or a (used) Gram Amp 2, leaning towards the latter.

The good thing about the NAD is that it has good name recognition and is readily re-sold without taking too much of a loss. Generally speaking, though, it is considered to be pretty much an entry level phono pre and not one of the better ones at that.

I'll re-iterate what I said above about the DB Systems phono pre as I think it would better both the Bellari and the Gram Amp, probably for much less money. To put it into perspective someone that I purchased the MM version from for my son's system that owned both the MM and the MC versions of the DB Systems preferred the MC to an older version of the Lehmann Black Cube with upgraded power supply. The Lehmann has generally been very highly thought of, sold new for around $700 and they typically sell instantly on Audiogon in the $300-$400 range.

The only bad thing about the DB Systems is the poor name recognition and limited resale that goes along with it; other than that it's a great phono pre that makes a lot of sense in terms of matching up/balancing well with your existing front end before you upgrade in that area to go really upmarket and then want to do the same with the phono stage.

HDM is correct about the DB phono pre. It would also free cash to buy KAB mods for your 1200, like the fluid damper & outboard power supply.

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