Over-obsessive about my system's sound quality?*

Weak link, IMO. I've done this on my vintage Marantz 2238 and into my ModWright tube linestage. "Thin," as you say.

You have a decent, entry-level set-up that should (and often does) sound good.

Find a friend who has a Dragonfly and check it out w/ your iPhone.

 

I know I’m new here, but I find this post incredibly rude to the OP. What does your gear have to do with his?

Buying better gear might be the worst option, causing yet more obsessive listening!

I’d suggest taking a break and try to focus on the music. Maybe listen to some new stuff to keep the emphasis on the music and not the gear.

 

I agree. Learn and instrument. Take a music class. Read a book on Mozart etc.

 

It's not rude at all. No idea where this is coming from. He has an issue he posts about and I posted the solution. Disliking it does not make it any less correct.

This is the Hardware forum so of *course* threads will deal with the gear and not the music. That's why there's a Music forum for discussions on actual music.

And yes, entry-level gear cannot deliver the sound quality that the OP wants, hence the suggestion by many including myself to spring for better gear. Being an idealist does not change or push back the limits of the gear and consequently its listening experience potential.

 

Which inputs on my receiver are the digital ones then? Are you saying that by me using a 3.5mm to rca with my iphone i am using the phono stage on the receiver?

 

I think I've answered my own question. I see that the back of my receiver has a digital section. This may be a stupid question but can i use these digital inputs to bypass the analog ones on my receiver when connecting my turntable through a preamp or do I have to use the analog inputs for a preamp?

If I buy a 3.55mm to coaxial (if it even exists) would I get better sound when listening from my phone?

 

Phono is not the same as analog. If you use RCA you're using analog. The "CD" RCA entry is an analog entry. Phono is a RCA entry for turntables.

 

I don't understand how the Dragonfly works.

 

No on both questions.

Digital inputs on the Onkyo allows the Onkyo to perform the digital to analog conversion using its digital-to-analog converter (DAC) if you use a coax or optical digital cable from a digital source to the Onkyo. If you use an analog cable from a digital source, you are utilizing the DAC in the digital source device...which may or may not be as good as the one in the Onkyo. Only you can ascertain which is better (or even different).

Your Turntable is an analog source, so it needs to be connected to an analog input. But because the way your Turntable amplifies it’s own signal, it’s signal needs to be boosted by a Phono stage (or pre-amp) before you can hear it as loud as other inputs. That is why it needs to be plugged into that specific Phono input on your Onkyo. If you had an external Phono pre-amp, you could then plug the turntable into that and then plug that pre-amp into one of the regular analog inputs on the back of your Onkyo. If you plugged the turntable into a separate pre-amp first, the signal would be loud enough for the Onkyo to relay that information without further boosting, so you would NOT want to use the Phono input on the Onkyo in that case.

With your phone, the 3.5mm jack is analog out, so your phone’s DAC is doing the conversion. It would not send a digital signal to a coax input this way.

 

To me, seemed you are bashing his system and offering a solution that might cause further sound over music obsession. Also felt you were taking this opportunity to brag about your own stuff. That’s how it came across to me.

Whenever I find myself focusing more on sound quality it’s because I’m actually bored with what I’m listening to. Changing up the playlist can do wonders.

 

so is the consensus that if i buy a Schiit Mani preamp or whatever preamp i will not hear much of a difference in sound quality because i am still using the analog inputs on my Onkyo receiver?

 

It bypasses your iPhone's DAC and uses the Dragonfly DAC which, in theory, should sound better since it is a better/larger/dedicated DAC.

 

You're reading into my post something which wasn't there. I merely offered my anecdote as a means to illustrate the path I suggested has some truth to it.

 

Right. And perhaps the issue isn’t so much the quality of sound as it is boredom or something else.

We should all know that “better gear” is hardly the solution for obsessive behaviour and tendencies. It’s the result.

 

Most people on this board would highly disagree with you, including myself.

The fact that focusing on sound implies boredom to *you* does not mean it is a position shared by most or the OP, in this case. I'm glad you've found something that works for you, however.

 

Frankly, it's impossible for any of us to know precisely what the issue is. Could be various things. Which is why throwing money at the problem isn't necessarily wrong, it's just not the logical first step.

 

Indeed. Money is the third step. Start first with lawyers and guns.

 

I think that your vinyl would sound better being that the phono amp built in is of a cheaper built. If you bought a phono amp you could then use it with your next system.
I personally think you would hear an improvement.

 

It's probably a combo of my OCD mixed with anxiety and depression! Fun stuff...

 

If you get confused just listen to the music play

 

I too had sibilance problems with the 2M Red and no amount of alignment tweaking helped much. There are many better carts out there for not a lot of coin. Even so, you might benefit a little from aligning your cart to Stevenson geometry. This mitigates distortion and sibilance for short tonearms IME.

I agree. Experiment with speaker placement and take notes for each position. Moving them away from the wall behind them (like 3' or more) can yield a great improvement with most speakers.

 

Oh, I have a pretty high end system but I don’t necesarily think that’s the solve for everyone.

 

Fill out your profile. Around here, we like to gawk and ah. It's also helpful whenever you ask for buying or troubleshooting advice.

 

I would urge the OP to explore (FREE) system optimisation options before buying more equipment. Get what you currently have sounding its best, learn the limitations, then upgrade if necessary: Doing Vinyl Right: An Introduction to Purchasing, Setting up, and Improving your Vinyl Rig.

 

Because I have been so completely happy with Parasound HALO everything, I would recommend the JC-3 JR or the JC-3+ phono stage, they are beautifully designed and built units. I too found myself obsessing about the sound quality every time I played vinyl, and found myself comparing everything to much of my digital collection. Unlike many people on this forum, I have limited "audiophile pressings." but rather own lots of generic recordings from the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's . I found myself playing Telarc and Reference recordings over and over, simply because they sounded great, even with a bit of vinyl crackle and pop. If I had more 180g vinyl, I'm sure I would have enjoyed my vinyl experience much more. There is no question to get an "earth moving" vinyl experience, you really need to spend a good bit of money, and most certainly always have a very decent phono stage, and there are many of them out there. I think I had two limiting factors with vinyl, my vintage Shure V-15, type V-MR magnetic cartridge, and my less than stellar vinyl from the past, all in pristine condition but NOT 180g or better. If I jump back in the vinyl parade, it will be with the following items, and hopefully what I hear will be upgraded a few notches!











There are LOTS of choices out there, but to get vinyl right, this would be a good starting point!