Finally made up my mind to get back into vinyl

[Jim R.]

Thanks, Shawn -- I'll take a look, but I want to spend some quality time with the Concept before I make any decisions if I'm going to upgrade, and what I'd upgrade -- table, cart, etc.

Truth be told, if I had had enough money I would have bought an Audio Note TT2 with the ARM2 and IQ1 cart, then upgrade the stylus on the cart to the one on the IQ3 -- all the IQ carts are the same except for stylus.  I've heard the TT2, and it is a really great table -- much better than the TT1, which is based on the systemdek II gx, which is also a really decent table for the money, but just not what I was looking for in a sonic signature.

It could turn out that the Concept really gives the TT2 a run for it's money, and that's kind of what I'm hoping for, but it's still a complete unknown at this point.

If you have the inclination, you might try 3 of the Yamamoto PB-10 ebony bases under the feet on the Concept -- they may mellow the table's edge (as I think you were describing it) and give great tone as well.  If you want to wait, I'll do this experiment for you though it's likely going to be a couple/few months as I'll still have to build the Eros and put some time on it and the table -- the cart should be almost broken in as it was bought with 100 hours on it.

The thing about all this that really scares me is that somehow, sooner or later, I'm probably going to have to find a way to setup a TT for the living room system :-).

-- Jim

[earwaxxer]

I had a Thorens TT back in college in the 70's. Wish I still had it, even though I got rid of my vinyl long ago! I can understand the re-surging interest in the black disks, although Im quite occupied in the continual pursuit of  extracting the best sound from digital. Vinyl is like tubes. Expensive with a capital E!

[Thoburn]

I had a Thorens TT back in college in the 70's. Wish I still had it, even though I got rid of my vinyl long ago! I can understand the re-surging interest in the black disks, although Im quite occupied in the continual pursuit of  extracting the best sound from digital. Vinyl is like tubes. Expensive with a capital E!

Hello EarWaxxer,
I thought my vinyl rig and modern 45 rpm albums were EXPENSIVE ($50 - $90 a wack) until I looked into reel to reel. Imagine spending $500 for one album. Ouch! My wife gets twitchy when she sees me surfing the reel to reels on EBay.

[Jim R.]

As for me, I've been chasing the best digital for quite a few years now and I think that with the latest mods to my mac mini and maybe some new usb and FW cables with the power legs removed (and some other tricks to actually still make everything function properly), that I could finally be there.  Of course the BH dac will now be on the radar as well.

And as ridiculous as it sounds, I'm not getting into vinyl with plans to buy only super records, but really more for the used, cheap vinyl one finds in all kinds of places for very cheap -- those are the things that for the most part, will never make it to digital.  Of course if some of the audiophile vinyl is of things I like, and the pressings are good, along with the mastering, then I may go for it, but a lot of the 180/200 gram vinyl, 33-1/3 and 45 rpm albums I had before were a real mixed bag -- a couple were great and some were just awful -- very much the same as the hi-res downloads from HDTracks and others.  Caveat emptor in both media types.  There are gems and turds in both -- which has always been the case with audio.

-- Jim

[Thoburn]

I know what you mean J. I've had great and a few bad CDs, but with vinyl I've had even more discrepancies. I actually have many LPs that I bought at Good Will for .99 cents. I have one that I bought at Good Will that is a gem. It has lots of pops and click thoughs. It is a 1958 issue of Jasha Heifetz with the Chicago Orchestra performing Tschaikowsky's concerto in D. It is a wonderful recording despite all the noise. And only .99 cents.

[Noskipallwd]

Hey Jim, not planning on upgrading myself anytime soon. I was pleased that they are using this design for higher end tables, usually that means some of the upgraded tech. Will trikle down to the concept. Which an engineer from Clearaudio said they had some upgrades for the concept in the works, ceramic, magnetic bearing and a few other mods. I have been using these little blocks of cork sandwiched in between rubber, they work well. Also, I have the table on a base I made using a 2 inch slab of acrylic and vibrapods.

Cheers,
Shawn P.

[Jim R.]

Shawn,

Can I ask who you talked to about all this?  The CMB would be very cool if it becomes available for the Concept.  Supposedly there is also a way to do fine adjustments of the speed, but it's not covered in the pretty sparse manual, and I have a few other questions for them about setup as I did not buy the table with the cart installed.

Thanks,

Jim

[Noskipallwd]

Jim, it has been so long I can't remember who sent me the emails. I used the contact email link on the CA site. I originally contacted them about speed control on the Concept, we have crappy power down here. After about a month I got an answer from a person in sales and someone stating he was in R&D. He never mentioned any control for the speed other than the control units for the other tables were not compatible (DC motor). He mentioned a possible CMB and better feet but that was all. Thats why I was so excited about the new tables. The Performance SEP looks like a Concept with a CMB and slightly thicker Delrin platter. The new ovation, and performance use the same basic motor as the concept, but the Ovation has OSC or optical speed control. Not exactly sure what that is. If you find out anything about the speed adjustment please let me know.

Cheers,
Shawn P.