please may I have help in choosing the right turntable

[Dav1d]

Hi there everyone,

After countless years of saving I'm now ready to buy a new turntable, I've been looking at the Michell black gyro se and I must say its a beautiful peace of work. My problem is is my already eqipment going to do it justice.

Marantz PM8005 amp

Marantz NA8005 streamer

tannoy XT 8F

It would be great if you guys could help me choose the right turntable maybe advise me on my mission.

Many thanks in advance

David

 

[ifor]

I don't know any of the kit you have, but to my way of thinking it's irrelevant whether or not it would the TT justice. Buy up to your budget and if there's room for improvement by upgrading other stuff later sobeit. Others will disagree.

 

[Al ears]

I believe the better the source the better the system.

The Michell is a brilliant turntable but which arm / cartridge combination you add to it is the crux. Your amplifier will only accept a Moving Magnet cartridge. These, therefore have to be factored into your budget.

You don't say what that is and the Michell normally comes as turntable only.

 

[Freddy58]

I believe the better the source the better the system.

The Michell is a brilliant turntable but which arm / cartridge combination you add to it is the crux. Your amplifier will only accept a Moving Magnet cartridge. These, therefore have to be factored into your budget.

You don't say what that is and the Michell normally comes as turntable only.

If I could just butt-in here. Al, what arm/cartridge combos would you be looking at for the Michell? Let's assume the Technoarm as a baseline (in terms of price) and up to £500 for the cartridge. I'd be interested to know, and it might also be a guide for the OP

 

[Al ears]

I believe the better the source the better the system.

The Michell is a brilliant turntable but which arm / cartridge combination you add to it is the crux. Your amplifier will only accept a Moving Magnet cartridge. These, therefore have to be factored into your budget.

You don't say what that is and the Michell normally comes as turntable only.

If I could just butt-in here. Al, what arm/cartridge combos would you be looking at for the Michell? Let's assume the Technoarm as a baseline (in terms of price) and up to £500 for the cartridge. I'd be interested to know, and it might also be a guide for the OP

No real point in making suggestions until we know the OP's budget. Just wondered if he was aware it normally comes armless.

 

[Dav1d]

Hi there guys

Im very new to turntables and had no idea the michell never came with the arm I guess the answer to your question is "how much should I spend on a arm with my said equipment" ? I'm just starting out and don't want to have to upgrade the actual turntable after years. So this is just a starting thing for me. (I could upgrade cartridge and arm in time). I've read posts on here and you guys all know your stuff so I wonder if you could help me choose the right combination with the michell as a starter package.

Many thanks.

David

 

[Freddy58]

Hi there guys

Im very new to turntables and had no idea the michell never came with the arm I guess the answer to your question is "how much should I spend on a arm with my said equipment" ? I'm just starting out and don't want to have to upgrade the actual turntable after years. So this is just a starting thing for me. (I could upgrade cartridge and arm in time). I've read posts on here and you guys all know your stuff so I wonder if you could help me choose the right combination with the michell as a starter package.

Many thanks.

David

The Michell is a very capable turntable, so no need to be worrying about upgrading it further down the line, imo. It all boils down to how much you want to spend on the tonearm and cartridge. To get you started, you could spend as little as £200-300 on a tonearm, and maybe £100 on a cartridge. But to me they would be wasted on the Michell. At the other end of the scale, you could easily spend £000's on a tonearm, so you really need to indicate how much you can/want to spend.

 

[bigfish786]

The michell turntable is a wonderful piece of kit, timeless design, and will last you a lifetime.

Personally, o would put an SME arm on there, rather than the rega, or the reworked michell (rega) arm.

I think the SME 309 can be had for around a grand. And again, would last a lifetime.

You can have your pick of any cart at any price with that. (iMO)

 

[Dav1d]

Hi freddy

Thank you for taking the time to help me and from what you are saying about cheep tonearm on a michell makes perfect sense. I have £2000 all together to spend now, and the cheapest michell I can find is £1300 so I guess that leaves me £700 left for the arm and Cartridge. Do you think this will be enough for a starter combo for now? If so could you recommend a combo for me.

Many thanks

David

 

[Dav1d]

Thank you for your help, I guess I need to save more money before I purchase my turntable.

Youve been a great help.

Regards David.

 

[AntAxon]

Hello Dav1d, I'm not an expert like some people om this forum, just a HiFi enthusiast. I have a very similar specification system to yours. I have recently upgraded my turntable from a Project Debut Carbon to a Project 2Xtreme SB DC with the help and advice of Al Ears. My budget was up to £1500, I got a good deal with my turntable but it retails at £1050 including arm and cartridge.

In my opinion the system is perfectly matched now. If you were to buy a Michell turntable for around £2000 it would probably be the strongest part of your system and you may in time want to upgrade the other components to match it.

As I say I'm no expert but that is probably the route I would follow.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

I'm no expert but it looks like your system would be unbalanced with the addition of a turntable with a calibre such as the michell.unless you plan on phono stage and amplifier upgrade of exceptional quality in the future,I doubt you'd get the full benefit of the michell with the current components of your system.As mentioned before I reckon you'd be best buying something with a decent arm already fitted,get a good cart and quality external phono stage,although I know what it is to really want something in particular and that gyrodec is stunning.

 

[Al ears]

Ideally you could mount a Michell tonearm designed for this turntable but these retail at about £635.

Other than that the next best option would be one of the Origin Live arms like the Onyx that retails at about £450 leaving plenty for the cartridge.

You might also like to think at looking second-hand from reputable dealer.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

If you don't mind going second hand.....there's one on the well known auction site with origin live silver arm and ortofon quintet bronze for £1500.I believe the quintet is a mc cart,but you'd be left with £500 for decent phono stage with correct gain for mc cartridges.worth a look maybe.ps the arm retails at over £600 and the retailer claims it to be new.

 

[Freddy58]

Ideally you could mount a Michell tonearm designed for this turntable but these retail at about £635.

Other than that the next best option would be one of the Origin Live arms like the Onyx that retails at about £450 leaving plenty for the cartridge.

You might also like to think at looking second-hand from reputable dealer.

What he said *biggrin* One thing though Al, I was always under the impression that the Rega arms punched above their weight, might it not be worth considering a 303?

 

[Al ears]

If you don't mind going second hand.....there's one on the well known auction site with origin live silver arm and ortofon quintet bronze for £1500.I believe the quintet is a mc cart,but you'd be left with £500 for decent phono stage with correct gain for mc cartridges.worth a look maybe.ps the arm retails at over £600 and the retailer claims it to be new.

That is not a bad deal depends on the version of OL Silver. The cartridge would require a phono preamp.

 

[Al ears]

Ideally you could mount a Michell tonearm designed for this turntable but these retail at about £635.

Other than that the next best option would be one of the Origin Live arms like the Onyx that retails at about £450 leaving plenty for the cartridge.

You might also like to think at looking second-hand from reputable dealer.

What he said *biggrin* One thing though Al, I was always under the impression that the Rega arms punched above their weight, might it not be worth considering a 303?

Rega arms do have a name for themselves but I feel that putting a £350 arm on this deck would be doing the deck an injustice.

 

[Freddy58]

Ideally you could mount a Michell tonearm designed for this turntable but these retail at about £635.

Other than that the next best option would be one of the Origin Live arms like the Onyx that retails at about £450 leaving plenty for the cartridge.

You might also like to think at looking second-hand from reputable dealer.

What he said *biggrin* One thing though Al, I was always under the impression that the Rega arms punched above their weight, might it not be worth considering a 303?

Rega arms do have a name for themselves but I feel that putting a £350 arm on this deck would be doing the deck an injustice.

Yes, I appreciate that. It's just that you suggested an arm costing £450, and thought that maybe the Rega would be an equal. Just a thought *smile*

 

[Al ears]

Ideally you could mount a Michell tonearm designed for this turntable but these retail at about £635.

Other than that the next best option would be one of the Origin Live arms like the Onyx that retails at about £450 leaving plenty for the cartridge.

You might also like to think at looking second-hand from reputable dealer.

What he said *biggrin* One thing though Al, I was always under the impression that the Rega arms punched above their weight, might it not be worth considering a 303?

Rega arms do have a name for themselves but I feel that putting a £350 arm on this deck would be doing the deck an injustice.

Yes, I appreciate that. It's just that you suggested an arm costing £450, and thought that maybe the Rega would be an equal. Just a thought *smile*

Only trying to fit in to the OPs budget, personal I wouldn't fit that one either but it is a starting point, and yes, I consider it a lot better than your average Rega.

 

[Freddy58]

Ideally you could mount a Michell tonearm designed for this turntable but these retail at about £635.

Other than that the next best option would be one of the Origin Live arms like the Onyx that retails at about £450 leaving plenty for the cartridge.

You might also like to think at looking second-hand from reputable dealer.

What he said *biggrin* One thing though Al, I was always under the impression that the Rega arms punched above their weight, might it not be worth considering a 303?

Rega arms do have a name for themselves but I feel that putting a £350 arm on this deck would be doing the deck an injustice.

Yes, I appreciate that. It's just that you suggested an arm costing £450, and thought that maybe the Rega would be an equal. Just a thought *smile*

Only trying to fit in to the OPs budget, personal I wouldn't fit that one either but it is a starting point, and yes, I consider it a lot better than your average Rega.

Fair enough Al, I bow to your superior knowledge. No, not being sarcastic

As an aside, I find this interesting, as I'll be possibly in the market for a turntable etc upgrade myself next year.

 

[iceman16]

I have used Technoarm and Denon 103r(mc) with my previous Gyro-se with great results

 

[Dav1d]

Hi there everyone,

firstly I wanted to say thank you for all your help, I actually went ahead and purchased the michell gyro se today for £1238 (without tonearm) and hopefully will be able to pick it up at around end of Jan. This gives me time to save for a mid range tonearm and my next big buy an individual soundstage that I can add to my existing amp. And then be able to go for the better cartridge in time. Like you said al ears the source is important to get right. My passion has always been with michell so I followed my heart and your advice.

Thank you all very much once again.

David.

 

[Al ears]

I have used Technoarm and Denon 103r(mc) with my previous Gyro-se with great results

Excellent combo in my opinion.

 

[Al ears]

Ideally you could mount a Michell tonearm designed for this turntable but these retail at about £635.

Other than that the next best option would be one of the Origin Live arms like the Onyx that retails at about £450 leaving plenty for the cartridge.

You might also like to think at looking second-hand from reputable dealer.

What he said *biggrin* One thing though Al, I was always under the impression that the Rega arms punched above their weight, might it not be worth considering a 303?

Rega arms do have a name for themselves but I feel that putting a £350 arm on this deck would be doing the deck an injustice.

Yes, I appreciate that. It's just that you suggested an arm costing £450, and thought that maybe the Rega would be an equal. Just a thought *smile*

Only trying to fit in to the OPs budget, personal I wouldn't fit that one either but it is a starting point, and yes, I consider it a lot better than your average Rega.

Fair enough Al, I bow to your superior knowledge. No, not being sarcastic As an aside, I find this interesting, as I'll be possibly in the market for a turntable etc upgrade myself next year.

Didn't take it as sarcasm Freddy, you have a point.

My point was although the rega arms are good for what they cost when it comes to turntables you need to spend as much as you can in the following order :- cartridge, tonearm, turntable. There's not much point in buying an expensive deck if you are then going to throw on a cheap tonearm and cheaper cartridge. The cartridge is essentially the source, and it is here that most money must be spent.

 

[Jim_W]

There are those who would dispute the notion that the cartridge is the single most important component in the chain; Linn has long promoted the primacy of the turntable, followed by the tonearm and finally the cartridge...not forgeting the power supply which seems to rank highly in their way of thinking. It does make sense: an excellent cartridge will amplify any distortions/ vibrations from a poorly-constructed table, rendering the expensive cartridge, effectively, a waste of money. It's a view worth considering when buying a turntable, especially a second-hand one.