The Red should not be any more forgiving, as both are the same elliptical profile (Blue is just a nude mount, Red is bonded). I would expect you actually may find it to sound worse in the ways you have indicated not liking with your current setup.
My 500 bucks digital player sounds just as good as my vintage Pioneer TT through my humble Klipsch floorstanders. Maybe with more refined speakers digital would sound better. Happy camper with my rig anyway.
I felt the same way when I got back into Lp's again back in the early in 2000's. A friend came over a said one thing, stop listening to digital for a few weeks and let your ears adapt vinyl. Good vinyl can cost an easy two grand.
When this was happening to me, it turned out to be a filthy stylus. I took the cartridge off and looked at it under a magnifying lens and it was COVERED in crud, a few passes thru a "magic eraser" and the life was instantly restored. Maybe this and resetting up your turntable combined may yield some results. I also have a Rotel tribute, and while very hard to beat, I do prefer the sound of my vinyl. Keep at it, in the long run you will be happy!
Given that there’s been some skipping and bouncing, I wonder if the cantilever suspension might have suffered some and collapsed. Is the cart riding really close to the record surface? Maybe a long shot, I dunno.
Yes, the dirty secret of vinyl is you have to spend a considerable amount just to equal the basic advantages of a crude digital playback system. Only from this point can you start to dig into the x-factor that makes vinyl unique. To a satisfied digital-first audiophile like yourself I really only recommend going this route if you have a strong attraction to the format. If so, pursue by all means, and you will likely find it rewarding. If not maybe just keep the rig as a bit of fun, lower fidelity vinyl playback can have its charms too for the right type of music.
I stepped away from vinyl and realize now that I was only listening to it because of the process and art. I like CDs now as a balance since the price of vinyl has gotten so high.
I dunno. I feel like my $200 Technics 1300, $100 Shure, $250 phono preamp, and $40 of isolation stuff was pretty awesome. Of course I’ve gone off the rails since then. But still.
A nice, simple and cheap solution is an IKEA wooden bamboo chopping block, from the kitchen section. I forget the product name but it’s probably about only 15$ Stateside.
I got the Fluance RT85N (Nagaoka cartridge) and love it with my RP-600M's (which I bought just before they were discontinued). Vinyl sounds good to me. So does digital. Just enjoying the music and not getting all snobby with it.
Q: Is the Ortofon Blue "too good" and brings out the disappointment in most vinyl? The Blue isnt good enough. My modified Rega with AT mc cart is totally on-par with my Denafrips Terminator DAC and thats a tall order! and it should NOT be skipping so easily.
Yeah, I agree. Totally false! It took a crazy money to find a DAC to best my latest vinyl rig. DAC's have the perception of sounding better because of the sharpness, low noise floor and other qualities but mostly lack natural tone in comparison to vinyl. There is a sense of realism that is usually just not there. Your brain knows the difference. Also if you are listening to vinyl that was produced entirely in the digital domain for the digital domain then it can become moot.
How so? I’m not gatekeeping and talking about some absurd price point like $20k turntables or nonsense like that. Feel free to take a look at my profile where you should be able to see I’m just a regular dude with nothing crazy — just enjoying my frugal mid-fi purchases and scavenged vintage gear. I'm saying: - Decent Turntable with low w/f, rumble etc - Decent Cartridge with good tracking - Continued cost of styli maintenance - Decent phono stage that matches the cart's electrical specs and doesn't overload or roll-off - Cleaning Setup - Cleaning Supplies Are all going to add up to more than a basic CDP or DAC/streamer (or better, virtually free mobile device) and that's just the cost of entry. Just look at this thread, OP has already sunk over $700 into this vinyl front end and isn't satisfied compared to his $600 CPD. Every solution presented to his problem so far is to either "get over it" or spend more, a valid suggestion, but one that would send OP's sunk cost well past the price of his CDP. I'm not even factoring in the general cost of vinyl and the effort and price to track down clean well mastered copies of favorites — vs the used CD market or even better $9/mo hi-res streaming. I don't see any scenario in which vinyl is a cheaper path to high-fidelity unless you bought all your gear and pressings in the Clinton era and haven't stepped into a gear or record shop this century. I prefer vinyl playback pretty much across the board but it's hardly cheaper than digital, and in fact it takes a good portion of my disposable income. In any case back on topic I suggest the OP should ditch the 2M Blue first, many people — myself included — don't like the sound of the two lowest tiers in that series. The turntable and phono stage should be competent enough to try a few other carts to get the subjective performance upgrade that's desired.
The other day I went to my favorite record store. The owner is a good friend and he takes in a lot of old record players with collections of records people get rid of. I always try to get them set up and running again and he sells them. Well, this particular day he had a 70s Pioneer DD with no feet on it and a well used old Audio Technica MM cartridge. I removed the head shell with the cart and detail cleaned the stylus and cantilever and replaced the head shell and reset the tracking force and antiskate. Next we set the table up on top of the lid of another turntable parked next to a mid 70s Sansui receiver with four old Cerwin Vega speakers going around the shop, and hooked it up and put a mint copy of Robin Trower Live on the platter. When the needle dropped and the album started with the audience applause, it sounded crystal clear and when the music started, well we were all aghast at how good it sounded. Blew the CD wallpaper sound away completely. Them old phono stages that were built into receivers before the advent of CDs weren’t there just as a convenience! They were designed for maximum musical enjoyment if not the last word in fidelity. So start with a known killer phono stage and speakers and with even basic TT set up skills you should be thrilled with the sound IMO.
Thank you! Someone can pick up vintage equipment from various sources for very reasonable prices and put together a fine turntable based system. Check with relatives. There are often components in closets and basements that just need dusting off and minimal if any repair work.
