possible turntable upgrade...is it worth it

audioaddict

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Hi guys, got a birthday coming up and my wifes asked me what i fancy. I have posted on the hifi forum as an enquiry about possible speaker upgrade but thought along the line of a major turntable upgrade. love my technics so will be hard to part with it so looking to spend around 1k maybe a bit more for something bit special ( hopefully with cartridge supplied) the clear audio concept jumps out as being a classy package but would the roksan radius be a better match. ?
 
audioaddict said:
Hi guys, got a birthday coming up and my wifes asked me what i fancy. I have posted on the hifi forum as an enquiry about possible speaker upgrade but thought along the line of a major turntable upgrade. love my technics so will be hard to part with it so looking to spend around 1k maybe a bit more for something bit special ( hopefully with cartridge supplied) the clear audio concept jumps out as being a classy package but would the roksan radius be a better match. ?

If your Technics is in reasonable nick I would simply upgrade it. Look at the website below, their Evo turntable is something else.

A simple tonearm / cartridge upgrade might do it.

http://www.soundhifi.com/sl1200/evo.html
 

luckylion100

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[/quote]

If mint keep it and get a good cartridge and second hand SME arm would be my suggestion, it will be a vast improvement.

[/quote]

Al,

If Audioaddict already has a decent enough cartridge and was thinking about upgrading his 1210, how would you suggest he spend his £1K budget? Obviously the arm but then what else, power supply, bearings, plater or other?
 

marb67

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Remember though, (see other post here) vinyl will never be as good quality (even with the best turntable in the world) as cd so is it really worth investing that much ? Like suggested, upgrade the cartridge like I did for a fraction of the coast.
 
D

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marb67 said:
Remember though, (see other post here) vinyl will never be as good quality (even with the best turntable in the world) as cd so is it really worth investing that much ? Like suggested, upgrade the cartridge like I did for a fraction of the coast.

He already has a decent cartridge so no need to upgrade, but a better tonearm would make a lot of difference and open the door to more exotic carts if required.

If you would care to look around at some of the signatures of forum members you will see that many vinyl lovers on here have spent a great deal of cash perfecting their system of choice. Music playback is a very personal thing, whether that be spends in the £hundreds or £thousands it's a personal choice. Some of the cartridges fitted to decks on here are far in excess of the total cost of the LP5 you were considering purchasing, so I guess that must say something regarding the playback medium...
 

luckylion100

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DougK said:
Al ears said:
If your Technics is in reasonable nick I would simply upgrade it. Look at the website below, their Evo turntable is something else.

A simple tonearm / cartridge upgrade might do it.

http://www.soundhifi.com/sl1200/evo.html

Blimey Al, £2900 for the fully pimped version *shok*

You'd perhaps be wise to conside the new version.... HIfi News have just given it the once over and it's got a glowing review!
 

If mint keep it and get a good cartridge and second hand SME arm would be my suggestion, it will be a vast improvement.

[/quote]

Al,

If Audioaddict already has a decent enough cartridge and was thinking about upgrading his 1210, how would you suggest he spend his £1K budget? Obviously the arm but then what else, power supply, bearings, plater or other?

[/quote]

If it's mint and he has had it from new I wouldn't bother unless there is a known problem.

The bearing could be updated and the Timestep power supply is a known good one but neither of these will give the same sonic benefits of a cartridge or tonearm upgrade.
 

luckylion100

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and I understand your stance to a degree but with all due respect you are not making anywhere near the best of what you have. You can't balance a turntable upon a cassette deck with a pane of glass between the two and expect good results. You've stated that the condition of many of your records is very poor to say the least. Maybe your expectations were unrealistic given these facts...

I have a full digital setup, have hundreds upon hundreds of hi-res files and yet this morning I've spent 2 hours searching various websites for copies in the vinyl format of music I already own digitally. I'm not into throwing my money away, I consider the outlay on vinyl money well spent.

Nobody has ever suggested that vinyl is 'better' quality than digital sources but many would argue it's far more enjoyable. You need to allow your system the chance to prove that much to you.

I've just taken my Technics SL1210 of a project turntable wall mount (I was concerned about the weight and whether my wall will support the load) it's now currently on top of a fully fledged hifi rack and the sound quality has dipped. Set up is key...

Edit: Reply to post 7 by Marb67
 
DougK said:
Al ears said:
If your Technics is in reasonable nick I would simply upgrade it. Look at the website below, their Evo turntable is something else.

A simple tonearm / cartridge upgrade might do it.

http://www.soundhifi.com/sl1200/evo.html

Blimey Al, £2900 for the fully pimped version *shok*

And worth every penny apparently. No more than a fully fitted Michell Orbe.

You pays your money and ........... ;-)
 
D

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luckylion100 said:
DougK said:
Al ears said:
If your Technics is in reasonable nick I would simply upgrade it. Look at the website below, their Evo turntable is something else.

A simple tonearm / cartridge upgrade might do it.

http://www.soundhifi.com/sl1200/evo.html

Blimey Al, £2900 for the fully pimped version *shok*

You'd perhaps be wise to conside the new version.... HIfi News have just given it the once over and it's got a glowing review!

No it's not me luckylion, it's for audioaddict *smile*

When I saw the price for the pimped version the new Technics immediately came into my head as being the same price. However, that pimped SME arm would probably murder the Technics arm with ease.
 

luckylion100

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about that SME arm. I love the look of them but quality like that doesn't come cheap!

I'm toying with some minor upgrades/tweeks myself, new mat, record weight and have installed some new Isonoe feet but it's a slippery and potentially expensive slope...

Oh well back to topic after that hijacking... I will be interested in hearing how Audioaddict is going to spend his birthday money! ;-)
 

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