OMG can my turntable sound this good :-)

[gbhsi1]

I have now setup my ortofon rondo red and all I can say is WOW....I never knew my turntable could sound so good. I am very impressed with MC and I'm sure I will never actually have to upgrade the cartridge because it's that good ...obviously little upgrades to the turntable will still happen of course. I am happy...I'm not happy that I don't have chance to listen to it 24/7!!

 

[Lost Angeles]

Well done, glad you're enjoying it. :bounce: :dance: :rockout:

 

[nads]

Might be time to look at the phono stage.

I will be.

 

[CnoEvil]

...I'm not happy that I don't have chance to listen to it 24/7!!

.......or even 24/192.

Enjoy. :beer:

Cno

 

[gbhsi1]

ha ha my girlfriend is the only thing that stops me from listening to my hi fi all the time...maybe ditch the girlfriend :O

 

[CnoEvil]

ha ha my girlfriend is the only thing that stops me from listening to my hi fi all the time...maybe ditch the girlfriend :O

......or the inability to get good re-issues on vinyl. :?

 

[gbhsi1]

Might be time to look at the phono stage.

I will be.

I have the Trichord Dino...its pretty up for the job but might consider adding a dino+ power supply with the cable upgrade too.

Just so I know I have the setting right on my trichord:

Cartridge Loading: Dip 1 - switch 1 and 3 on....Dip 2 is set the same as Dip 1

Gain: Dip 3 - switch 3 on...Dip 4 is set the same as Dip 3

...are these the correct settings for my rondo red?

 

[floyd droid]

I gather that you have the Dino destructions and the otrofun bumf ?. If so away ye go. Dont forget that you can play around with the settings and tweak things to suit yourself.

 

[Al ears]

Might be time to look at the phono stage.

I will be.

I have the Trichord Dino...its pretty up for the job but might consider adding a dino+ power supply with the cable upgrade too.

Just so I know I have the setting right on my trichord:

Cartridge Loading: Dip 1 - switch 1 and 3 on....Dip 2 is set the same as Dip 1

Gain: Dip 3 - switch 3 on...Dip 4 is set the same as Dip 3

...are these the correct settings for my rondo red?

If this is what the good book says then as Floyd Droid suggests 'do not stick with them, feel free to experiment' you may find a slightly different gain level sounds better. Keep looking for those good quality original LPs , and never say thats the end of upgaradeitis!

PS Forget the upgrade to Dino bit as it can only be carried so far with little actual improvement as far as I could tell when I did exactly the same thing. Go for a Tom Evans' Microgroove' or dare I mention some of the better known valve phono-stages.

 

[gbhsi1]

Might be time to look at the phono stage.

I will be.

I have the Trichord Dino...its pretty up for the job but might consider adding a dino+ power supply with the cable upgrade too.

Just so I know I have the setting right on my trichord:

Cartridge Loading: Dip 1 - switch 1 and 3 on....Dip 2 is set the same as Dip 1

Gain: Dip 3 - switch 3 on...Dip 4 is set the same as Dip 3

...are these the correct settings for my rondo red?

If this is what the good book says then as Floyd Droid suggests 'do not stick with them, feel free to experiment' you may find a slightly different gain level sounds better. Keep looking for those good quality original LPs , and never say thats the end of upgaradeitis!

PS Forget the upgrade to Dino bit as it can only be carried so far with little actual improvement as far as I could tell when I did exactly the same thing. Go for a Tom Evans' Microgroove' or dare I mention some of the better known valve phono-stages.

Ok so I can mess about with the cartridge and gain settings, as the the rondo is a high output MC should it best to stay put with settings at high output for the gain and then either 100ohm or 1k cartridge loading settings?

 

[Al ears]

I would start off with the MC Normal setting (0.4-0.6 microvolts)gain setting and the 47k or 1k loading resistance and see what you think.

 

[gbhsi1]

I have it on the normal setting for gain and cartridge loading is set at 100ohm...sounds just right to me on this setting thanks guys.

 

[gbhsi1]

so I am currently having a session tonight listening to my vinyls and decided to mess about with the Trichord Dino settings some more and finally settled at a cartridge loading of 1.1nf/47ohms and a gain of Low O/P 70db 0.25 - 0.4mV...i'm not doing any damage right?

It sounds great and the bass is just amazing Has anyone messed around with their phono stages settings and found better results using different settings than recommended? ....and my cartridge is not anywhere near burnt in :rockout:

 

[gbhsi1]

so I am currently having a session tonight listening to my vinyls and decided to mess about with the Trichord Dino settings some more and finally settled at a cartridge loading of 1.1nf/47ohms and a gain of Low O/P 70db 0.25 - 0.4mV...i'm not doing any damage right?

It sounds great and the bass is just amazing Has anyone messed around with their phono stages settings and found better results using different settings than recommended? ....and my cartridge is not anywhere near burnt in :rockout:

 

[gbhsi1]

Right....I've nailed it now. Settled for cartridge loading of 100ohm and 70db gain! Now it's perfect for me....not that anyone is interested oh by the way the sibilance I complained when using the 2m red, little less on the blue a while back whilst playing Pink Floyd DSOTM...is well...gone!

 

[Sabby]

Interesting that you mentioned the sibilance you had with the 2M Red has now disappeared. I'm also having the same problem with my 2M Red but I put it down to poorly pressed vinyl. I seem to recall that another forum member also had the same problem. Would you say that the Rondo Red is a vast improvement over the 2M Red?

 

[gbhsi1]

Hi Sabby,

Yes it is a vast improvement and it shows in the price difference too. The 2M Blue which is an upgrade to your red is a much better cartridge - definitely worth the little extra outlay. I agree, the red was good for the money and the sibilance only happened on very few vinyls

The Rondo Red is highly recommended

 

[Sabby]

Ortofon also have a Vivo Red moving coil which has received some very good reviews. This cartridge is around half the price of the Rondo Red. Has anyone here tried this cartridge?

 

[gbhsi1]

I've not heard the vivo red or blue but suspect it would be an improvement on your current 2m red. Also both being MC you would need a phon stage that can handle low output MC. Do you have a local hi fi shop that can audition these for you?

 

[Sabby]

Unfortunately auditioning cartridges is just not possible. I simply have to go by reviews and opinions of forum members. Not the best way of choosing a cartridge I know. HI-Fi Choice give the Vivo a 5 star rating and it won the group test as well. TNT Audio also rated it very highly, so it seems that it is indeed a very good cartridge. The only question really is whether it would be worth spending twice as much for the Rondo?

 

[gbhsi1]

What phono stage are you using?

 

[Sabby]

I am using a locally built phonostage which sounded every bit as good as a Lehmann Audio Black Cube and a Trichord Dino when I compared them. I am quite happy with it and I can have it upgraded to accept a mc cartridge as well.

 

[gbhsi1]

Then a Ortofon Rondo Red is a great choice and should get the most out of your phonostage...you could go for the vivo blue or red too as I think they would be very good cartridges

I bought the Rondo Red based on reviews so exactly in the same boat as you and I am not disappointed in my choice.

 

[Sabby]

I'll have a chat with my local Ortofon dealer and get his thoughts on the Rondo and Vivo. He should have a pretty good insight on these two cartridges based on customer feedback and I will base my decision on his recommendation.

Thanks gbhsi1 for all your valuable input, much appreciated.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Benz or Dynavector are good choices for that arm, too, especially as the CA amps can be a bit cold.