What’s your next or latest analogue source purchase?

[Norton]

What is your next planned hardware purchase for your vinyl (or tape) front end, or if nothing planned, what have you bought in the last year or so?
 

Mine -  an upcoming like for like replacement for my Lyra Delos cartridge.  

[Norton]

18 hours ago, AudioDoctor said:

 

Interesting, I am also investigating a replacement for the outstanding Delos and am having trouble finding anything near as good for anywhere near the price of it.

Exactly!  The SQ and generous trade in discount makes looking elsewhere a hard ask...I’d like to try a Decca London but I’m not brave enough (and  I’d need a MM phonostage)

[Norton]

14 hours ago, Rexp said:

Well I have a plan to get a new SOTA vinyl system, whether it works out is another matter... I used to run a Dynavector Karat in a Townshend turntable, great combo btw. 

Mine’s a Townshend Rock 7/Merlin.  What are you thinking of next (or did you mean SOTA as in the brand?)

[Norton]

20 hours ago, GUTB said:

My latest purchase...which is over a year ago now..is a Hashimoto SUT bought from eBay. They are for DIY and don't sell finished SUTs you have to either make one yourself or buy one from someone like I did. Purchased for $1k. Next analog purchase has to be to finally upgrade the phono stage which is currently a Chinese clone of an old all-tube design I forget of which brand...Marantz I think. It's MC output is really noisy, but with the SUT and MM input it's much better so I haven't been in a rush to replace it. It has a really cheap case which rings like a bell. I installed Herbie tube dampeners throughout, removed the crappy feet and just use rubber pods and loaded up the top of the case with unused Mapleshade brass heavyfooters. What's been holding me back is my desire for an all-tube design meaning tube rectification, and actually really large-bottle rectification.

 

Beyond that I want to upgrade my 9.5" Reed 2A to a longer arm, at least 12". The 9.5" actually doesn't give me enough clearance to fit my damping ring. Eventually my Triangle Art Zeus is going to wear out...I'm not sure if I'm going to upgrade or just get it re-tipped.

 

A wildcard is....reel-to-reel. After hearing them at audio shows I know I want one...it's just a matter of getting a GOOD one that doesn't cost a fortune. I by good I mean upgraded to modern standards.

Thanks - great  to see AS members investing in analogue!

[Norton]

On 12/15/2020 at 11:48 PM, Rexp said:

I really don't know whats out there currently, something with the bass foundation of the Rock combined with the musicality of my Pink Triangle PT TOO. 

I bitterly regret selling my Loricraft  Garrard 301.  Certainly had loads of bass and a “snap” I’ve not heard from belt drives.  If I was looking now I’d be considering a reworked  301 from these guys:

https://www.classichifi-shop.co.uk/product/classic-301-in-cream-20/
 

I have no experience of them, but compared with the price of “barn find” 301s  on eBay or what SME or some other boutique companies are selling Garrards for, look a real bargain to me, given you’re getting a brand new redesigned chassis, platter and bearing/housing.

[Norton]

15 hours ago, GUTB said:

In regards to these vintage Gerrards I read that it's critical for these to be refurbished to sound good. Also no matter how much you hotrod them they won't quite match the best belt-driven turntables...but that's a very high peak in terms of price. I bet with "just" a decent tonearm and cart they'll be just as good as the equivalent belt-drive unit except with actual torque unlike these belt-drives which use these super-low power motors. 

Absolutely, factor in £500+ refurbishment for EBay  “finds”.  Plus  the cost of a decent plinth as an essential.

I was very impressed with mine, really sounded different from any belt drive I’ve owned (not that I’ve heard the summit of belt drives) really pushes the music along.  Plus it just felt so right to play original 50s and 60s SXLs, SAX etc on a contemporary transcription machine they were designed for.

[Norton]

7 hours ago, JohnSwenson said:

This year I bought a London (Decca) SuperGold cartridge.

Interesting.  This is the cartridge I was considering getting rather than another Delos, but having  to get another phono stage was a barrier.   I’m told Decca Londons work best with fluid damped tonearms, which is why I guess it partners well with the WT (and should do with my Townshend Rock).  
 

How was the fitting/setup process and can you say more on why it has improved your listening so much?

 

[Norton]

8 hours ago, JohnSwenson said:

The big problem with this cartridge is that you cannot see the stylus by looking from the top. The only way to see the stylus is from the side with a flashlight or some such. After several attempts trying traditional alignment techniques, I printed out a "protractor" and used a needle to create a hole for the stylus so I knew exactly where it was, with that it was quite easy.

 

The big thing about the London (Decca) is that it is not "warm" or "smooth" it lets what is in the grooves come through without being "smoothed". This allows an incredible amount of micro-dynamics to come through that I have never heard before. Records that I thought rather boring before have this very engaging quality. I can hear all kinds of subtle details in the expression of voice and instrumentals. The "emotional transfer" from performers to me is exquisite.

 

With other cartridges I tend to listen for things like "tonal balance" , do instruments sound right, but with this one I never even bother with any of that, I am just so drawn into the music that such things don't even seem to matter. I have occasionally deliberately listened to the "the sound" and find things just sound incredibly real, just like they should.

 

The downside of this is that records really need to be clean. Anything in those grooves comes through.

 

The other issue is that if a record has been ruined by being played on poor equipment that is really obvious with this cartridge.

 

I set the tracking force according to the spec and have not had any problems with mistracking.

 

I tried VTA adjustments and have not heard much difference. Some cartridges I have used are quite sensitive to VTA changes, but I have not observed that with this cartridge. After playing around with it for awhile I have just left it alone.

 

All in all one of the best purchases I have ever made.

 

John S.

Thanks, very informative.  Your listening impressions are just the kind of thing to make me want to get one of these!  They do have a reputation of being something of a Jekyll  and Hyde  piece of equipment, but from what I understand, some of that at least was down to the build quality pre the current constructor.

[Norton]

7 hours ago, AudioDoctor said:

edit: apparently I can't link right to the product page, but it's there.

Interesting products, but a terrible  website!  

[Norton]

2 hours ago, d_elm said:

I have purchased an Eminent Technology ET-2 tangential tonearm.  My plan is to make an armboard from acrylic and mount the board/arm to a modified Michell Orbe SE, modified with Gert Pedersen kits.  My interest in the ET-2 is for the lack of needle skating with a tangential arm.  I need this because the cartridge I am using, DS Audio W2, shows shaking forces as channel imbalance.

Pictures please when you’ve finished!

[Norton]

8 hours ago, d_elm said:

Picture of Orbe SE with Gert Pedersen mods, Eminent Technology ET-2 arm, and DS-W2 cartridge.

Wow.  Any impressions so far on the sound vs conventional arm?

 

I owned a Gyrodec with Orbe platter and PSU for many years, what do the Pedersen mods do?