Set up 1st turntable tonight - 1st impressions

I was going to get the Blue stylus, and sell the Red stylus. Still considering the AT440Mla though.

 

You may want to keep the Red around for playing scratched up stuff. Once you start hitting used record shops, thrift stores, and the like and see what's out there you'll see the value in a backup stylus.

 

Not the $22 AT-92ECD for that? I feel better about buying a cart that costs as much as my TT (considering the bronze now...see the influence you guys have) if I at least get something for the Red to help pay for some of it.

 

Let's look at this logically. You already have the Red stylus and it's probably worth $40-$50 max on the used market. You can totally change cartridges to play beater records but it's certainly just easier to change styli on a body that is already aligned on an existing table. So maybe upgrade to the Blue and keep the Red stylus for beaters.

And if you feel better about buying a cartridge that costs as much as your table, you're barking up the wrong tree IMO. With a $300-$400 table and a sub $100 phono stage you're much better off upgrading the table, arm and phono stage and sticking with a high value cartridge in the $200-$250 range. So consider selling the table and phono stage for what you can get and upgrading those items and then embarking on cartridge upgrades, taking into consideration proper cartridge/tonearm matching and proper cartridge/phono preamp matching. The cartridge's performance will be limited by the capability of table, arm and phono stage.

I have a table/arm and phono stage combination that retails at approximately $4500. Would I spend $4500 on a cartridge? Not if your life depended on it. I have about $750-$800 invested in my current cartridge and will do a retip on another at $350 or look at a different cartridge in the $500 range and I'll be plenty happy. And I've owned a $1500 retail cartridge in the past and heard a number of cartridges in systems much better than mine that retail between $3k and $15K (that's price of cartridge, not total system ).

Great analog performance and overall system performance with analog is about careful matching and synergy more so than throwing huge amounts of money at the cartridge. Not to say that megabuck cartridges (or even $400-$800+ cartridges within the context of fairly budget analog front ends) aren't "better", but the law of diminishing returns is seriously at work here and the overall system must be very well matched and balanced before spending big money on cartridges makes any real sense.

Just my humble opinion.

 

Some day...some day

 

My next cart will most likely be one of the AT MC carts. I think i'm done with MM carts.

 

Well I don't think his turntable has a quick switch headshell like mine does. If you can easily swap out the headshell that's exactly what I would recommend. I use an AT-311EP and a Stanton L 737-S as interchangeable "backup" carts, while my main cart is an AT440MLa. It's easy for me to do this because all I have to do is swap headshells, it takes seconds to swap them out. If I was stuck with a table that didn't have interchangeable headshells I'd want a backup stylus I could swap in just as easily.

 

Update: Playing a new acquisition tonight: Dark Side of the Moon 30th Anniversary. It sounds phenomenal! Not sure if it's the superior mastering, iconic source material, or my cart's getting broken in (probably a bit of all 3), but this is what I hoped vinyl would sound like the first night I set up my turntable. And to think it only gets better from here with upgrades.

I got my brother into vinyl as well. He bought my AT-LP120 for $100 and a co-worker gave him a vintage JVC VR-5511. So I've got a vinyl buddy, which makes the hobby more fun. We've been crate digging a few times. We're both Floyd fans, and have been on the lookout for a 30th ann DSOTM, for a good price. I hit a yard sale this weekend where a guy was selling decent titles for $1 ea (no, I didn't get it for $1). I bought 20. He told me to come back the next day, as he had more he was going to put out. I asked if he had DSOTM, and he said he had an original and a MOFI he would let me have for $20 ea. He went in to get it, and his niece was sitting outside researching prices on eBay & Amazon on her phone. She said she saw one for $45, but it was a 30th ann. The guy comes out, and he's got a 30th ann! She mentions the $45, but the guy was cool. He said he paid $24 for it in 2003, and he'd sell it to me for the same. Told me it had never been played, and judging from the condition, I believe him.

The niece tells him to hold everything because she now sees a copy on eBay for $300. I thought, "What is this girl doing to me?!?!" He asked for more details, and she said it was an active eBay listing, for a first pressing, etc. He brushed her off. His original was a US pressing, not a Wally, but with all the inserts. I passed at $20. I took the MOFO for $20 and the 30th for $24. Was pretty excited about those. I may hit him up to see what else he has.

Oh, and I ordered an AT-92ecd. Should arrive any day. I'll put that on, and report back.

 

It's sickening how uneducated folks take a peek at ebay asking prices and suddenly put a hold on a sale. They're just not so lazy enough to get bad information, but not quite completely not so lazy enough to get good information, if you follow my triple negative.

 

And unless they are imbeciles they would note "FIRST PRESSING" in the auction details. Now, dollars to donuts he dosent just happen to accidently have a first pressing, nor accidently have ANY pressing worth $300!!

 

Since I last posted here, this hobby has consumed me, as I'm sure some of you can relate. I've acquired more vinyl than I imagined I would by this point, and I feel I'm just getting started. I upgraded the platter to an Acryl-It. Would you advise my next upgrade to be my preamp, from a TC-750 to a Project MM, or my cartridge from the Ortofon Red to a Blue? Or maybe save up for the Bronze?

 

You can do a lot if you want. If I was in your shoes I'd get the new Phono Pre from musical fidelity - It is flat like a pancake no distortions and with enough musical fidelity to make a correct undistorted signal sound amazingly fresh, exxciting, full bodied and just right. This guy really knows his job - He hates anything but neutral, not meaning it does sound boring or sterile. These retail for around 149 bucks imo.
For carts if you like the Ortofon sound save up for the Bronze. If you buy a BLUE now it will take only a couple months or a year till you swap it anyway, so best jump start to an higher level.
In the same price range I recommend the lovely SUMIKO Bluepoint EVO II a High output Moving coil. fits perfectly with the MF Phono and is way more romantic and involving than Ortofon. made for connaisseurs they say - i know this will cost you about the same as a new carbon debut, but you can use the cart up to 5 years easily and it is good enough to use on a much better table - just in case that bug bites ya.
Of ourse i can only recommend what i got and love.
The analog chain in my system sounds absolutely fabulous esp with the M3i amp (it will be replaced by the new M3Si with phono Stage and USB inputs), so they can be bought really cheap atm. 500 euros below the regular price..just sayin.
You could try some of the stuff out online and got time enough to make up your mind.