Off Forum! Vinyl setup?

[miguelito]

....and then there are SUTs.

 

What's SUT?

[esimms86]

What do you have in mind for a phonostage preamp?

 

Also, stereo, mono or both?

 

http://oswaldsmillaudio.com/monophonic

 

Phono Stage Preamps With Our Innovative Technology

[Daudio]

What's SUT?

 

Step Up Transformer

[miguelito]

Step Up Transformer

Ah yes of course. Thx.

[miguelito]

What do you have in mind for a phonostage preamp?

 

Also, stereo, mono or both?

 

Oswalds Mill Audio - Monophonic | OMA Vinyl

 

Phono Stage Preamps With Our Innovative Technology

Good question. I think I would stick to stereo for now. To do mono properly I imagine I would need a mono cartridge.

[Jabs1542]

What do you have in mind for a phonostage preamp?

 

Also, stereo, mono or both?

 

Oswalds Mill Audio - Monophonic | OMA Vinyl

 

Phono Stage Preamps With Our Innovative Technology

 

My solid state phono pre was a Graham Slee Fanfare - very nice indeed. Do upgrade the power supply.

[Rexp]

You know you're onto something when somebody bitches about what you said.

Or the advice was sooo bad, it was ignored....

[davidbeinct]

Or the advice was sooo bad, it was ignored....

Bitching about it and ignoring it are two different things.

[Norton]

Diametrically opposed to what this forum is about I suppose...

 

I want to buy a vinyl setup and want some guidance. I find this a lot harder than digital. Can someone please recommend me some reading/forum/guidelines on vinyl gear?

 

FYI... I'm not a newbie on this... In school I had a Rega that I modified, built a phonostage, etc... But I gave all my equipment to a friend since it was inadequate for my new setup.

 

Narrowing down a vinyl setup in the $15k to $30k range is massively non-trivial I find.

 

Don't need to discuss here, just point me or PM me.

 

Thx!

 

As I'm in an analogue frame of mind at the moment, just wondered how you were getting on, what you've gone with, if anything, so far?

[miguelito]

As I'm in an analogue frame of mind at the moment, just wondered how you were getting on, what you've gone with, if anything, so far?

 

I've been extremely busy with work so no progress at all here.

[mordante]

I have mainly a vinyl person I just love it. I know digital playback is from a scientific point of view most likely the best option. But these brand are the one I would look at:

 

Turntables: dr Feickert, Reed, Pluto, Raven, Kuzma

 

Arms: Kuzma, Reed, Ikeda, Dynavector, Graham

 

Carts: Dynavector, Van den Hul, Lyra, Koestu,

 

phono pre amps: RCM, Van den Hul, Octave, Pass

 

There are many other options as well. One of the best turntable I heard was a dr Feickert turntable with Kuzma arm, van den hul cart and van den hul pre amp.

 

I'm not a fan of SME arms and I think Kuzma arms 13inch arms are great.

[miguelito]

I have mainly a vinyl person I just love it. I know digital playback is from a scientific point of view most likely the best option. But these brand are the one I would look at:

 

Turntables: dr Feickert, Reed, Pluto, Raven, Kuzma

 

Arms: Kuzma, Reed, Ikeda, Dynavector, Graham

 

Carts: Dynavector, Van den Hul, Lyra, Koestu,

 

phono pre amps: RCM, Van den Hul, Octave, Pass

 

There are many other options as well. One of the best turntable I heard was a dr Feickert turntable with Kuzma arm, van den hul cart and van den hul pre amp.

 

I'm not a fan of SME arms and I think Kuzma arms 13inch arms are great.

Cool. Any view on VPI and/or Acoustic Signature.

[Jabs1542]

Cool. Any view on VPI and/or Acoustic Signature.

 

I've been very pleased with VPI, and they aren't too far from you. I've had two and they were well supported and designed with upgrades in mind, which lets you improve performance as you can afford the upgrades. It's also cool being able to talk directly with the owner and knowing you will be taken care of.

[Norton]

I've been extremely busy with work so no progress at all here.

 

Sounds like a good excuse to reward yourself with a decent vinyl system then....

[Jud]

Cool. Any view on VPI and/or Acoustic Signature.

 

Price range?

 

Depending on that, I'd look at Pro-Ject, Clearaudio, Well Tempered (I like the last of these because Bill Firebaugh is kind of a maverick), Kuzma, Michell Gyrodec for looks (and nice sound as well)....

[mordante]

Cool. Any view on VPI and/or Acoustic Signature.

 

I think the sweet spot of VPI is the Classic and Scout. Both are good turntables but I think below the standards of the rest of you set.

 

Acoustic Signature not sure, I think that brand does not know where to go, I cannot detect any line in their product range. My dealer has a Acoustic-Signature Grande Reference. While it does sound good I never was really in awe of its sound.

[blownsi]

Beyond a certain price point in audio I find things to sound different not necessarily better. $15k is alot of turntable setup. What makes you think that amount will buy what you want? You may be able to spend significantly less or need to spend significantly more. I wouldn't spend anything until I was certain I had found what I was looking for. In vinyl, setup can be everything so a dealer you can trust is highly recommended.

[miguelito]

Price range?

 

Depending on that, I'd look at Pro-Ject, Clearaudio, Well Tempered (I like the last of these because Bill Firebaugh is kind of a maverick), Kuzma, Michell Gyrodec for looks (and nice sound as well)....

 

15k - 30k for all. I'm flexible.

[miguelito]

Beyond a certain price point in audio I find things to sound different not necessarily better. $15k is alot of turntable setup. What makes you think that amount will buy what you want? You may be able to spend significantly less or need to spend significantly more. I wouldn't spend anything until I was certain I had found what I was looking for. In vinyl, setup can be everything so a dealer you can trust is highly recommended.

 

Completely agree. That's what makes it difficult. The price range should cover a wide swath of options. Past that you get into Techdas territory and I'm not that committed to the medium (yet) to justify that.

 

I am thinking not a bad choice might be to get a VPI Classic with the JWM arm, a Kleos or Koetsu, and some 1k phono pre. That's like 10k and gets me going. If I get into it I can get serious.

 

What do you guys think?

[Rexp]

Completely agree. That's what makes it difficult. The price range should cover a wide swath of options. Past that you get into Techdas territory and I'm not that committed to the medium (yet) to justify that.

 

I am thinking not a bad choice might be to get a VPI Classic with the JWM arm, a Kleos or Koetsu, and some 1k phono pre. That's like 10k and gets me going. If I get into it I can get serious.

 

What do you guys think?

I'd spend more on the phono stage, maybe 30% of the budget. Then 50% on the table and 20% on arm/cartridge.

[kurb1980]

I like sme tonearms all the adjustments like vta and azimuth are easily adjusted without the need of tools. I also like dr feickert turntables too. He has a very good protractor jig.

[Norton]

 

I am thinking not a bad choice might be to get a VPI Classic with the JWM arm, a Kleos or Koetsu, and some 1k phono pre. That's like 10k and gets me going. If I get into it I can get serious.

 

What do you guys think?

 

Sound pretty good to me with the Kleos cartridge (but check with your dealer that the Kleos/JMW is a sympathetic match). I would budget quite a bit more for the phono stage though. I'm a bit behind the times, but something from Tom Evans or the top end of Lehmann audio might be good. Alternatively, if you already own a high end pre, are there suitable phono boards available? ( IME a more cost effective way to get top quality)

[mordante]

I'd spend more on the phono stage, maybe 30% of the budget. Then 50% on the table and 20% on arm/cartridge.

 

I agree with this. Also a 12" jeclo arm is a giant killer.

 

I like sme tonearms all the adjustments like vta and azimuth are easily adjusted without the need of tools. I also like dr feickert turntables too. He has a very good protractor jig.

 

Personally I think that SME arms are over dampened. Except the 309.

[Jabs1542]

Completely agree. That's what makes it difficult. The price range should cover a wide swath of options. Past that you get into Techdas territory and I'm not that committed to the medium (yet) to justify that.

 

I am thinking not a bad choice might be to get a VPI Classic with the JWM arm, a Kleos or Koetsu, and some 1k phono pre. That's like 10k and gets me going. If I get into it I can get serious.

 

What do you guys think?

 

You're on a good path, and I can vouch for the VPI 3D 10" arm and the Kleos or the Koetsu (you will see that I stuck with the Koetsu, though I had the Kleos for a short while). I agree that a little more $$ on the phone pre can squeeze more dynamics and soundstage out of the cartridge.