Bottlehead Forum
Other Gear => Phono => Topic started by: aragorn723 on May 21, 2015, 04:40:13 PM
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Hi,
I have been thinking about branching out into vinyl for a while (just got a few records a week ago-Simon and Garfunkel - Sounds of Silence, and The Very Best of Cream). They look almost new (and not warped). I don't have a turntable now, but was wondering what to look for in one besides maybe belt-drive. Someone suggested looking at uturnaudio in another thread.. What makes a turntable good?
Dave
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Ciao Dave,
if you've never set up a turntable, the "best" turntable is a new one (Project, Rega, ecc... even their entry-level models are good!).
TT performance depends on the accuracy with which you level the plate, set the tonearm, align the cartridge ecc... The older the turntable, the more difficult the set up (statistically speaking), the worst could be the sound! :(
Moreover, as it has been written several times on "TNT audio", you can consider buying a new TT only if you already have a vinyl collection (but I don't agree 100%, 20 vinyl should be enough to buy a TT ::) ;D ;D ).
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Ciao Dave,
The older the turntable, the more difficult the set up (statistically speaking), the worst could be the sound! :(
This is IMO, simply not true. Quality vintage turntables were simple. Can't get much simpler than a plinth, platter, bearing, motor and belt. You can buy far more quality in a vintage TT, than a new TT for the same money. Think Empire, Thorens, AR, even VPI HW19 Jr. Some of the early Sansui and Pioneer belt drive, manual turntables with solid wooden plinths and decent arms will give a current entry level deck a good run for half the money. It is just not possible to newly manufacture a TT to the vintage level of quality for the same price at which the vintage decks sell today.
Moreover, as it has been written several times on "TNT audio", you can consider buying a new TT only if you already have a vinyl collection (but I don't agree 100%, 20 vinyl should be enough to buy a TT ::) ;D ;D ).
You don't need anyone's blessing or permission to buy a TT. I mean really...how many folks waited to buy a CD player until they had a "collection" of CD's? Your ears...Your $$!!
Of course, YMMV!
Cheers,
Geary
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Ciao Geary,
not to create a flame, but are you sure that an used TT can be a good choice for a person who cannot say if it's in good working order or not? ::) (I'm assuming Dave is not a TT expert, but if the assumption is wrong feel free to correct me)
Speaking about Thorens, don't you think a suspended TT needs lot more care in set up than a not suspended one?
I'm not saying old platter aren't good (I own only vintage TT), but if you don't know exactly what to do you'll likely get bad sound and damage your records and the cartridge. With a new TT everything is more or less already set up and ready to use.
Speaking about my last statement, I'm not blessing anyone, I'm only saying that we invest money to listen to music: it's really a good choice to spend at least € 500 to listen to 3 records? ???
In any case: peace, love and music for anyone!
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The table's job (you asked what to look for in a table) is to spin the vinyl at 33 1/3 or 45 RPM without speed variances. It also should not introduce noise, rumble, into the cartridge.
The arm's job is to allow the cartridge to track the grooves properly. The grooves are very often not concentric with the hole in the middle of the LP. So the arm must move forward and backward easily with every revolution.
The cartridge's job is to produce the signal. It is what makes the sound you hear so don't be cheap here.
I have a Dual 1219 that does a great job as a table/arm combination. I also have a VPI HW-19 and Souther linear tracking arm.
My two cents worth of advice.
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If this is going to be your first TT the U-Turn isn't a bad choice.
http://www.klipsch.com/blog/u-turn-audio-orbit-basic-turntable-review/
Did you know the U-Turn was a Kickstarter project ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-PG737sGww
Its simple and does the job. Also when you get the TT its completely setup.....no need for adjustments).
The U-Turn Orbit Plus Turntable also has a very nice Cartridge (Grado Black 1). But you can always upgrade later if needed.
(https://forum.bottlehead.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.shopify.com%2Fs%2Ffiles%2F1%2F0339%2F2397%2Fproducts%2FRed_uTurn9553_Acrylic_Grado_no_Arm_1_F_8e4c6fa5-7271-444a-9f1a-ab1df497d96d_1024x1024.jpg%3Fv%3D1431463408&hash=43c67a233c816b6ca3703c995e07570288f821e1)
The U-Turn ,Pro-ject and such TT's are also excellent for a beginner as their prices start low and have good quality for money.
Also if you want better sound you can always go for a better sounding cartridge (as that is the part that actually produces the audio).
I own several vintage TT's and they sound fantastic. The only thing is that you need a bit of how a TT works and how to setup one.
Especially when you are going to change the cartridge or need to make repairs.
So in my opinion start with an entry level one and while listening to some great albums check out one of the many forums that deal with the wonderful world of TT's and vinyl.
Playing vinyl is so much fun ;D
I haven't bought CD's in a long time now since I started to play my vinyl collection again.
The good thing is that a lot of artists still bring out their albums on vinyl and there are loads of repressings of old albums. Not to mention the the secondhand market is really booming (at least here in the Netherlands but it mmust be the same in the US).
One thing though.....you can't hookup the TT to any amplifier. You will need a phono pre-amp ....unless you have an amplifier that does have a phono input.
Phono pre-amps can be bought cheap and very expensive.......or you can build one yourself with a Bottlehead kit 8)
Whatever you're choise is going to be I'm sure you will enjoy listening to your albums !
Have fun :)
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Here is another afordable idea: http://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-4
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I have been using a Dual 721 direct drive, fully automatic TT since the mid-'70s.
For almost 30 years I have used an Ortofon OM40 cartridge which has excellent resolution and detail charactistics.
This is obviously a "vintage" TT. After all these years it is still "dead quiet" on low and silent passages (no rumble) and the speed control is spot on (low wow and flutter).
This is a fully automatic TT (automatic tonearm pick-up and set-down, pick-up and return, and unit turn off) and everything still works like new. Given the many thousands of hours of operation (with only one complete overhaul and cleaning by me) it may be a rarity that this unit and the complex mechanisms required for automatic operation still work.
Given all that, a new TT is not a bad choice. I haven't had a new TT for 40 years but I know there are excellent ones available at just about every price point.
Good Luck and welcome to the vinyl community.
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You only have a few records, so maybe spending $50 on a used turntable isn't such a bad idea.
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Dave,
You didn't say what you were willing to pay for a table/arm/cartridge.
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Wow, thanks for all the replies! So it sounds like the cartridge is the most important part for the sound. Do they wear out? I saw some turntables on eBay, but wonder what other sources are out there? Here's the thing, I could buy a used one, but don't know how to tell if its set up right. The local high-end store could prob do a setup, but how much would that be (figure about $100 for a used tt, then setup and possibly a cartridge). Seems like that could get expensive fast, compared to a brand-new uturnaudio at $179. Is the basic cartridge good, or should I jump to the grado (big fan of them) and upgraded platter?
For the phono stage, I'll hook it up to an onkyo ht receiver temporarily (got a phono stage in there) and eventually build something like a reduction to hook it up to the main stereo.
Dave
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Here is some reading you can do, since this is a topic that has been discussed literally thousands of times on many audio websites.
http://audiojunkies.com/forum/blog/4483-turntable-basics-beginners-guide-turntables-vinyl-records.html (http://audiojunkies.com/forum/blog/4483-turntable-basics-beginners-guide-turntables-vinyl-records.html)
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Wow, thanks for all the replies! So it sounds like the cartridge is the most important part for the sound. Do they wear out? I saw some turntables on eBay, but wonder what other sources are out there? Here's the thing, I could buy a used one, but don't know how to tell if its set up right. The local high-end store could prob do a setup, but how much would that be (figure about $100 for a used tt, then setup and possibly a cartridge). Seems like that could get expensive fast, compared to a brand-new uturnaudio at $179. Is the basic cartridge good, or should I jump to the grado (big fan of them) and upgraded platter?
For the phono stage, I'll hook it up to an onkyo ht receiver temporarily (got a phono stage in there) and eventually build something like a reduction to hook it up to the main stereo.
Dave
Since you're a senior member here and are thinking about a Reduction, it's clear you won't be satisfied with a cheap new table or a 70's used "plastic fantastic". At least not after a few months.
You also express doubts about set-up.
No doubt in my mind that a Rega with an Exact cartridge that needs no mounting set-up is where you should begin. Buying a P-3 used from a "
high-end" audio site like Audiogon or Audio Asylum, you'll have a table from someone who probably took care in it's original purchase, maintenance and set-up. Right now, there are 3 P-3s on Audio Asylum in the $700 range and with patience you'll get something closer to $500.
Eventually. you will, of course, upgrade. You're a Bottlehead.
Edited to fix closure of quotation - PB
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Check out http://www.soundstagedirect.com/ (http://www.soundstagedirect.com/).
New TTs by Clearaudio, Rega, Music Hall, Thorens, VPI in all price ranges (starting around $450). Many come with supplied cartridges already setup and should be plug-n-play.
Not a bad place to look for a starter TT as well as some really fine higher end models.
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Right now i'm leaning towards a uturnaudio table. I like the idea of customizing the table and cartridge. Here is the configuration:
Green table with Grado black 1 cartridge/Cue
Would this work well with the reduction? Also, is the platter upgrade with it?
Dave
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Hi Dave,
Personally I would go for the platter upgrade as well.
I'm not really a big fan of MDF platters as I like my platters to be more solid.
The Uturn is a great way to step into the World of Vinyl without breaking the bank (it even has a unipivot arm ).
And its always possible to upgrade the Grado for another type in the future.
I would say go for it!
The reduction will work with the Uturn as its working with MM Cartridges which the Grado Black 1 happens to be.
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Hi Arno,
Yep, it looks pretty sweet! I looked at a whole bunch of other turntables (project, music hall, rega, marantz) up to around $450, and none of them had the same signal to noise ratio as the uturn (they were a lot lower). What about grounding? Is it better to have external grounding ? I think the uturn is internally grounded. Any thoughts?
Dave
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All turntables will have a ground wire from the tonearm which connects to the ground post on the phono stage.
Just be aware that Grado cartridges are well known for 'hum' because the way they are designed & is somewhat system dependent.
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Would this allow me to run a ground wire to the reduction? The uturns dont have a phono stage built in. Thanks for the heads up on the grados, gonna keep that in mind. My concern would be buying one of these and having an annoying hum :o
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Ok, I just looked. I see that it doesn't have provision for a ground wire, & as you mention they say it is 'internally grounded' I think they are connecting the tonearm ground to one of the signal grounds, so a separate wire is not needed.
A quick web search also brings a response from the makers say that a separate ground wire can be run from the 'tonearm PCB' if needed.
Anyway, it's not an issue really. I find that I don't actually need to run the ground wire to my Reduction, it makes no difference either way. Different set-ups may vary though, don't know until you try.
Same thing re the Grado cartridges. I had one in one deck that was fine, another in a different deck hummed like mad.
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thanks for the tips :) The ground makes sense, that would mean the shell of the rca would go to the ground on the phono stage, which should result in no hum. Is the grado issue a manufacturing issue (tolerance /QC issues) or could it be that the 2 grados were in different setups with different rfi/emi environments? I'm kind of curious about that one, been listening to a set of Grado headphones at work for the last couple of years, and they work perfectly still, like out of the box. The comparison isn't the same since headphones aren't microphonic, though the quality is definitely there (can't even get them to make noise when jiggling the connector). Maybe the thing to do is buy one, and if it gets annoying, send it back and let uturn deal with it 8) Was the SQ of the Grado nice when it worked?
For me, I have a somewhat crowded entertainment center (rotel cdp, onkyo ht receiver, sony blu ray, nintendo wii, senheiser wireless headphones, quickie, dac...) so fitting in a turntable may be tricky (and susceptible to noise). The only place I can think of is on the floor underneath the entertainment center (maybe on a roll-out tray or something?) Could this be an issue?
Dave
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No, it's not QC, they are nicely made. It's the design, they have a patent on their particular generator, I don't know the details off-hand. You can search 'Grado hum', you'll find lots of reading.
Anyway, not trying to put you off, just providing information for a prospective buyer.
The Orbit Plus with the cartridge & acrylic platter is a pretty sweet deal for a starter turntable.
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Grados don't hum. Motors hum and Grados (and several other cartridges) pick it up. I have no experience with the UTurn design. Search for people's experiences with the turntable and cartridge you are looking at, or contact the company.
Not all tonearms have a ground wire. Those that do not will have the body of the arm connected to the negative of one channel's RCA.
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Grados don't hum. Motors hum and Grados (and several other cartridges) pick it up.
Yes, true Joshua. My terminology was a bit loose, but Grados are known to be more susceptible to picking up that hum.
Less likely in a deck with a small DC motor & a rubber band. ;D
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one other thing to notice is that the tonearm and motor are on completely opposite ends of the table. Hopefully that results in enough isolation.
Dave
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They usually are, for that very reason. ;D
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Dave,
If you settle on a turntable without a seperate ground you can easily run a wire from the chassis of the TT to the Reduction.
As for "Grado Hum" I have listened to two Grados in the past 23 years and have never had hum. I didn't buy the $35 Grado, I bought a better one. The first one was on my Thorens TD 160 then my VPI HW-19. The new one only on the HW-19. The hum that is so famous and seldom heard is from bad motors that radiate AC hum.
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The hum that is so famous and seldom heard is from bad motors that radiate AC hum.
So how come I've heard it Grainger? Yes, I use a vintage idler drive turntable with a powerful AC motor (which is not bad), but no other cartridge including SPU, London Decca, Audio Technica, Nagaoka, Grace, Stanton, etc have the same issue?
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Hi Grainger,
I'm looking at the Grado Black 1 (~$70), maybe it's time to check out some more info on that. As far as the uturn, I watched a bunch of videos on youtube, and read a bunch of reviews on the internet, and haven't heard any mention of a hum issue. The general consensus is that it is a well-engineered table, and has some cutting edge features such as the unipivot tonearm. Of course there is always potential to pick up hum depending on the setup, but as long as there is a good ground there shouldn't be an issue. Another interesting thing though is the s/n ratio. It is stated on their website as 79db. Oddly enough, that's the highest spec I could find on a turntable (after around $450 or so there weren't any specs for the s/n ratio). Could this really be a true spec value? I wonder if sometimes manufacturers inflate specs to sell a product (like quoting peak power on an amplifier vs. RMS power).
Dave
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I wouldn't fret about signal to noise ratio on a turntable. If the record you're playing gets some dust on it, the SNR will go down accordingly.
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I wouldn't think that the folks at uturn would bundle a cartridge that hummed with their deck.
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yeah, why make yourself look bad :o
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Hi,
I have been thinking about branching out into vinyl for a while (just got a few records a week ago-Simon and Garfunkel - Sounds of Silence, and The Very Best of Cream). They look almost new (and not warped). I don't have a turntable now, but was wondering what to look for in one besides maybe belt-drive. Someone suggested looking at uturnaudio in another thread.. What makes a turntable good?
Dave
Hi Dave,
I to got the urge to get back into vinyl. I still had a dozen or so records I bought in th 1970's. About two years ago I bought a VPI table and have been buying records ever since. I'd guess I have about 150 now. Some I bought at Good Will. Some from used record shops and quite a few from Acoustic Sounds. Their Quality Record Pressings offerings are amazing. Not a single pop or click and the sound is first rate. I haven't bought a CD in two years now. I wish you good luck and I think you will be happy you jumped on board! ;D
Toby
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Used to be that TT S/N specs were not standardized. They may not be now either.
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Hi,
Just thought I would add my 2 cents. I just went through what you are contemplating. Adding a stock Reduction and a turntable to my system has made more difference than ANYTHING else I have done. More than mikes iron, more than the Elrog 300b tubes (although I must say they sound amazing), more than the EML 300b mesh. By a huge margin.
Sounds like you are doing your research and receiving sound advice. I know you are going to enjoy your journey.
Pat McSween
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So how come I've heard it Grainger? Yes, I use a vintage idler drive turntable with a powerful AC motor (which is not bad), but no other cartridge including SPU, London Decca, Audio Technica, Nagaoka, Grace, Stanton, etc have the same issue?
So we have the Grado works on VIP, Thorens belt and Dual but not on old vintage idler drive with powerful AC motors. I can only speak to my experience.
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Hi,
Just thought I would add my 2 cents. I just went through what you are contemplating. Adding a stock Reduction and a turntable to my system has made more difference than ANYTHING else I have done. More than mikes iron, more than the Elrog 300b tubes (although I must say they sound amazing), more than the EML 300b mesh. By a huge margin.
Sounds like you are doing your research and receiving sound advice. I know you are going to enjoy your journey.
Pat McSween
Hi Pat,
That's impressive the submissive can keep up with that system, it looks pretty upscale. Have you felt the need to upgrade it with the integration upgrade? What phono stage did you use before? Just realized the system i'm thinking of doing would be around $900, so i'm looking for ways to ease into it (maybe start with the basic uturn + grado, then add the platter, cue, reduction and integration later).
Dave
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one minor catch-just realized the Onkyo doesn't have a phono input (so that means disconnecting it from the stereo and hooking up the 1970's Sony receiver or buying a phono stage straight out). Luckily it can play mm and mc cartridges, so maybe this will be a good start (with a set of headphones).
Dave
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You can go into the Sony phono input and out the recording out (with the selector switch on Phono).
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Grainger,
hmm so does that mean it's possible to use the phono preamp in the Sony and then pass the signal to the Quickie? Cool! There's a monitor button on the front (tape 1 and tape 2). Is it as simple as hitting the phono button and then hitting the tape 1 monitor button (and using the record out jacks for that?) The model is TA-1055. Thanks,
Dave
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Hi Pat,
That's impressive the submissive can keep up with that system, it looks pretty upscale. Have you felt the need to upgrade it with the integration upgrade? What phono stage did you use before? Just realized the system i'm thinking of doing would be around $900, so i'm looking for ways to ease into it (maybe start with the basic uturn + grado, then add the platter, cue, reduction and integration later).
Dave
FWIW, I bought the best turntable I could afford and started with a cheap cartridge. About a year later I bought a nice low output moving coil cartridge. In the end, an expenive cartridge on a cheap table is not likely to perform at its best. Just IMHO.
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Dave,
I was selling audio gear in the '70s. All tape loops from that day work the same way.
Whatever the selector switch on the Sony is set to will "appear" at the recording output jacks. You don't even need to engage the monitor switch. The monitor allows you to compare the source with the tape playback on three head decks.
It is kind of a big phono stage, could be put just about anywhere near the turntable and left on. The output of the "tape out" jacks could run 12 feet or more to your Quickie.
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sweet! That will save me a few bucks while this system comes together. Thanks 8)
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Dave,
This is my first analog source. That's what I was saying. I had been listening to a Rega CD player. I am compleatly blown away by the difference adding an analog source has made.
I am familer with the impact that a power supply upgrade from BH can make. I did it with a Crack/speedball upgrade. It's like the stock Crack was quiet but in retrospect the Speedball added a hollowness to the quiet. I have the integration boards populated on the workbench ready to install. I know what to expect from the upgrade but I could be happy with the stock reduction.
Pat
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My response to this thread:
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I just heard Billy Joel's "Piano Man" on my dad's Rega P2 turntable and onkyo. Holy crap! That was some of the nicest sound i've heard in a long time.
Dave
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Has anyone had experience with the Pro-ject Essential II turntable? The price looks pretty good,and it uses an Ortofon cartridge. The only downside is that I can't find a local dealer that sells them so I can listen to it. How does this look for an entry-level turntable? Thanks,
Dave
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Hi,
Are there any other turntables that are similarly priced to the uturn audio ones that will give it a run for the $$? The uturn i'm looking at is the basic turntable with a Grado black1 cartridge (~$230). The project debut carbon and regas seem to be popular too, but are at a much higher price point than this. Are there any other turntables worth looking at in this price range?
Dave
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New, probably not. Used, an AR XA in good running order.
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If you are concerned about the work that might be needed in buying used, I'd consider this option.
https://www.kabusa.com/slbd20.htm
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Just got my 70' s Sony Integrated back up and running. It had dirty controls, but now is ready to play some vinyl! The phono section has an input sensitivity of 2nd, does that mean my phono cart can't exceed that?
Dave
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Guess you mean 2mV. ;D Simple answer, yes your cartridge output can exceed that & will if MM. Google 'amplifier input sensitivity' lots of info out there.
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Yep 2mv, darn autocorrect :-p. I'm looking at carts now, either the Ortofon OM5E (4mv) or Grado Black (5mv). I'm leaning towards the Grado b/c of the higher output and I'm a fan of their headphones. Anyone have experience with these?
Dave
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My two cents...the output difference is insignificant unless you're right at the edge. Much more important is matching the cartridge to your arm. Critical.
Bernie
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The turntable I'm looking at is the uturn audio. Both carts cone as options so they should be compatible with the turntable. I'm curious about the sinus of both carts, anyone have experience with them?
Dave
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Hello,
I am thinking about getting a reduction, and using it with a uturn audio turntable and Grado black cartridge. Has anyone compared the resolution of the reduction to other commercial pre-built units? It is a little bit more on the expensive end for me, and was wondering whether people think it's worth the money or not. Most likely I would eventually get the integration upgrade, but run it stock. Any thoughts?
Dave
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Dave, the Reduction was my first BH kit. It had plenty of gain for a 20W PP but the Integration became a necessity when I moved to a SET amp with 94dB speakers. While I've never used a non-BH tube phono, I found that the only times I used my SS phono, even with its +10dB, was when the Reduction was on the bench for upgraded caps, etc. It let me hear turntable upgrades easily, even with my old, abused (AC/DC, 6th row at the Long Beach Arena, etc.) ears. And, of course it's made to feed the BH amps. I'd still be loving it if Doc hadn't put the Eros on sale right when I was jonesing for the smell of solder flux.
Karl
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Karl,
Thanks for the feedback. Which caps did you upgrade? I think it would be enough gain for my system now (got a 170 w per channel amp now) but I might go to something like a seduction with 91db speakers. Would a Seduction be loud enough in that system?
Dave
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Dave, you might want to talk to Shannon Parks about your vinyl playback setup. He makes a nice phono preamp called the Parks Audio Budgie, and he runs the diytube forum.
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The budgie looks really nice, and is all tube (i'm assuming the reduction is the same) and class A. Unfortunately it is going the wrong direction of the budget for me. I was looking at phono preamps since my sony integrated from the 70s' wasn't working (tracked itt down to a dirty source selector button which works perfect now after a good cleaning). It will definitely play records (going to feed the signal into my quickie thru a tape loop) but won't be the final solution as it probably won't give the best quality sound. Plus it's 44 years old now, so it may quit on me at some point. Looking to get some ideas of what phono preamp to use, as the wife gave me the go ahead to get a turntable. In any case, I have some time to save up for a phono preamp (if the sony holds up). I tend to look for something to build myself and customize, rather than buy something off the shelf. Plus if something goes wrong, the voltmeter comes out, and you can figure out the problem.
Dave
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Dave,
I went with Clarity Caps for all the film caps in the system. I didn't change out the last electrolytic in the power supply because it is my understanding that the shunt regulator portion of the Integration negates the need. (BH gurus please chime in if I'm confused on this.)
Karl
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Consider the Schiit Mani Phono Stage. Good price, good sound and well liked. But, have a look here
https://www.analogplanet.com/content/u-turn-pluto-versus-schiit-mani-votes-are
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Hi,
I'm getting very close to pulling the trigger on a Uturn Audio turntable. Usually I like to make decisions on audio purchases after hearing them, but I haven't figured out a way to hear different cartridges, short of listening to YouTube samples.
The question is what cartridge to pick from these 3:
Ortofon OM-5E
Grado Black
Ortofon 2M Red
Anyone have experience with these?
Dave
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Your tire kicking on this is now entering its third year.
Are you ever actually going to buy something?
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I have the turntable figured out, which is the hardest part. Was hoping to get some suggestions on the cartridge before pulling the trigger next month. Right now i'm leaning towards the Ortofon 2M red, and found out that the best buy near me has a pro-ject debut carbon, which has the 2M red. Granted the Debut Carbon and Uturn are 2 different animals, but at least it will give me a good idea of what it sounds like. My only concern is it possibly being too bright.
We are buying a house at the end of next month, and then i'll have room for a turntable too, so that will come next. Got a 2 year old and 5 year old, so keeping it somewhere safe is very important. That's the main thing that's been keeping me from getting one.
Dave
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ya...keeping it safe might be important.
I thought I had my Technics SL1300MK2 from years ago what I thought was high enough...
Found one of my kids with one hand on the arm driving it like a car - zoom zoom - back and forth over the record....
Was laughing too hard to get worked up about it. Cost me a new cart. Sold it all a few years later.
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Maybe budgeting for a wall mount might help keep curious hands at a safe distance.
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ya...keeping it safe might be important.
I thought I had my Technics SL1300MK2 from years ago what I thought was high enough...
Found one of my kids with one hand on the arm driving it like a car - zoom zoom - back and forth over the record....
Was laughing too hard to get worked up about it. Cost me a new cart. Sold it all a few years later.
That's a good reason to upgrade your cart ::) I laughed when i read that and was picturing one of my kids doing that too.
Went to see the debut carbon at Magolia Hi-fi today. It looked really nice, unfortunately that, along with an Essential III, and an Expression were all out of calibration. Kind of disappointing. They did have a Mcintosh one that was really nice, it was the brand new one that just came out. Unfortunately it was out of my price range :P Going to try and find another dealer and hopefully will have more luck.
Dave
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If your after some good performing phono on a tight budget take a look at the Boozhound Jfet RIAA kit pick up the PCB's for $29 and stuff them with surplus Russian Teflon caps and for around $100-$150 you will have a cracking little phono recently I was able to compare it with the Lounge Audio LCR phono $300 (£500 here in the UK!) the Boozhound walked all over it imho. I put the Boozhound in a Bottlehead style enclosure.
Not to sure on how I managed to end up with three US phono amps at the same time. The Eros is of course in a different league alltogther.
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Thanks for the tip! For now I need to get a turntable first. Got a phono stage in my old Sony 70's integrated amp. If it doesn't sound too good, I'll definitely have to build something.
That does look really cool! Normally I lean towards tube equipment in general, but even the stock kit looks pretty good! The voltage is pretty low, looks like a good candidate for battery power 8) How are you powering yours?
Dave
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Hi Dave it will run on a 12-24VDC supply so batteries are always an option. I just use a standard cheap 19v switching laptop power supply. I built mine stock first with the paper in oil caps the same as they sell with the kit then later swapped them out for the Russian teflons for the RIAA and output stages and thought it gave a solid improvement.
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Very cool! I thought I saw someone post that they used a voltage regulator along with 2 9v batteries. Is the voltage regulator really needed? Also, does more voltage mean the phono stage will have higher output?
Dave
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Is it easy to use a record player without a cue lever? Uturn audio offers an optional cue lever for their turntable (which can be added later). Was wondering if it makes sense to try playing records without it, and save the $40 temporarily (to buy more records of course!). Eventually I think it would be nice to have.
Dave
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If you have a fairly steady hand, the cue lever is not necessary.
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I can always try without it. I'm not too old yet 8) Figured it would be better to get a few more records first, since right now I have 5. Got a pretty good list going, so maybe I can score some deals at the local record shop or garage sales.
I've read its a good idea to clean records before playing. Is a carbon fiber brush good enough to start with?
Dave
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Dave,
Buy the table and get accessories as you need them later. They are not required for you to listen to your first album. Sure some people clean every album before playing, but those people probably have a $5,000 to $15,000 cartridge on their arm. You are talking about an entry level table. Stop worrying about perfection (which no one achieves), buy the table, and have some fun!
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Last night I pulled the trigger on a Uturn orbit with the Grado Black cartridge and cue arm 8) I know this is a couple of years in the making, wanted to make sure there is a safe place to put it first (got a 5 year old and a 2 year old). Can't wait to listen to some vinyl!
Dave
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Congratulations. It's been a long time coming. Just like kids change your life, so can a turntable. GOOD LUCCK!
A
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It definitely has, thanks 8) I think it only makes sense to have a turntable since most of my music is from the 60's, 70's, and 80's. There are some really awesome Billy Joel Albums from the 70's I can't wait to listen to, and you can't forget Abbey Road from the Beatles too. There's something really awesome about vinyl playback. Of course this is the gateway to phono preamp upgrades, platter upgrades, and cartridge updates, plus lots of fun little gadgets like record weights, 45 adapters, anti-stat guns, cleaning brushes, and probably other things too. Fun times!
Dave
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Today is the big day! The orbit came very nicely packaged, and I was able to set it up without any issues whatsoever. It currently has the Grado Black installed, and the cue arm. Right now I am listening thru a set of wireless headphones, and already cannot believe how natural and amazing the sound is after only listening for a few minutes. 8) I should have done this a really long time ago. Someone on this forum suggested the orbit, so thanks are definitely in order too. Time to get back to the listening!
Dave