Hello, I have a slight dilemma and wondered if anyone could help me by throwing any light on my current situation. I have an existing LP12 turntable that has been upgraded with an Origin Live Advanced DC motor / power supply / high-end transformer. This was carried out in late 2010 at a cost of over £500. The original Valhalla board blew up so it was time to replace / upgrade. I have not turned back since. I love the look of the OL product line and the DC motor is quite an upgrade to the LP12.
However my deck (originally of 1985 origins) only has a MkI Akito tone-arm and K9 cartridge. I have recently bought an Ortofon Blue cartridge to replace the old K9, which in itself is over 20 years old - the deck has been effectively moth-balled from 1995 through 2010 though. The stylus is probably ok as it hasn't had much use but I still wanted to renew and upgrade and the Ortofon was recommended. As this won't fit easily onto the old Akito AND I do realise now that the Akito was only a budget arm I have been considering replacing the arm in order to fit the Blue and to give the deck an upgrade. Obviously I am thinking about OL arms and getting a new arm board.
My question is: would I be better to simply sell off the lordly old LP12 and start again with a brand new OL deck and arm? Advances in t/table engineering appear to have been significant since the Lp12 was designed over 40 years ago. OL make an Aurora deck for £999 which has had great reviews including from this magazine. Would it outperform my current LP12? OL arms start at £300 and then proceed to £450 and £675 and then skyrocket in prices. Would the Silver II arm at £675 fitted to my LP12 be better than a new Aurora deck with £300 OL arm. Allowing for arm boards, tweaks and everything the first option would cost me about £845. The second option about £1200 not including the re-sale value of a complete working LP12 to offset against that. Which way should I tackle this? Any ideas?
Ultimately I don't want to make a gross outlay more than about £2000. The next best OL deck could probably be permitted within budget but only with the cheapest arm option.
What are the other alternatives? Should I stick doggedly to retention of the LP12 with new arm and attach my Blue to it?
However my deck (originally of 1985 origins) only has a MkI Akito tone-arm and K9 cartridge. I have recently bought an Ortofon Blue cartridge to replace the old K9, which in itself is over 20 years old - the deck has been effectively moth-balled from 1995 through 2010 though. The stylus is probably ok as it hasn't had much use but I still wanted to renew and upgrade and the Ortofon was recommended. As this won't fit easily onto the old Akito AND I do realise now that the Akito was only a budget arm I have been considering replacing the arm in order to fit the Blue and to give the deck an upgrade. Obviously I am thinking about OL arms and getting a new arm board.
My question is: would I be better to simply sell off the lordly old LP12 and start again with a brand new OL deck and arm? Advances in t/table engineering appear to have been significant since the Lp12 was designed over 40 years ago. OL make an Aurora deck for £999 which has had great reviews including from this magazine. Would it outperform my current LP12? OL arms start at £300 and then proceed to £450 and £675 and then skyrocket in prices. Would the Silver II arm at £675 fitted to my LP12 be better than a new Aurora deck with £300 OL arm. Allowing for arm boards, tweaks and everything the first option would cost me about £845. The second option about £1200 not including the re-sale value of a complete working LP12 to offset against that. Which way should I tackle this? Any ideas?
Ultimately I don't want to make a gross outlay more than about £2000. The next best OL deck could probably be permitted within budget but only with the cheapest arm option.
What are the other alternatives? Should I stick doggedly to retention of the LP12 with new arm and attach my Blue to it?