Question Pre Phono for Clearaudio Concept turntable

[Bom7996]

Hi all, first time here, also newbie to hi-fi - hi-end world!
I have a big question about Pre Phono since I'm paring my Clearaudio Concept with the Clearaudio Basic V2, which my dad commented that the sound is just clear, pun intended, and there's not much going on rather than the sound being clear and detailed. So I'm hoping to find some suggestion to get the best sound from my LPs.
Thanks all!

 

[Al ears]

Welcome to the forum.
it is not clear to me what exactly you are after. The Basic V2 is a phono preamp.
What is the rest of your set-up?
Not sure what your pre phono means and whether or not you want an upgrade to the Basic V2.
Is your Concept the MM or MC version?
Can you clarify.

 

[Bom7996]

Welcome to the forum.
it is not clear to me what exactly you are after. The Basic V2 is a phono preamp.
what is the rest of your set-up?
not sure what your pre phono means and whether or not you want an upgrade to the Basic V2.
Can you clarify.

Of course. We want to upgrade our phono preamp since my dad is not liking the sound of the basic V2.
The rest of the setup is pretty wacky, we have a pair of Focal bookshelf active speaker (entry level one which I don't remember the name), clearaudio V2 cartridge, Clearaudio Concept turntable, Basic V2 phono preamp, and we ran it through an Yamaha DAC since the Basic V2 and the speakers don't have volume control.

 

[Al ears]

Of course. We want to upgrade our phono preamp since my dad is not liking the sound of the basic V2.
The rest of the setup is pretty wacky, we have a pair of Focal bookshelf active speaker (entry level one which I don't remember the name), clearaudio V2 cartridge, Clearaudio Concept turntable, Basic V2 phono preamp, and we ran it through an Yamaha DAC since the Basic V2 and the speakers don't have volume control.

Thanks for the clarification. I have not heard the Basic V2 myself and believe the V2 cartridge is a moving magnet type. So, unless you ever forsee yourself using a moving coil cartridge, I would concentrate on a purely moving magnet phono preamp although these are becoming thin on the ground these days with most manufacturers producing preamps that will cope with both types of cartridges.
Do you have some idea as to your budget for the new phono preamp?
sometimes a cartidge upgrade is a better move rather than the preamp as it is only amplifying what the cartridge is producing, and this is what I would suggest you do.

 

[Bom7996]

Thanks for the clarification. I have not heard the Basic V2 myself and believe the V2 cartridge is a moving magnet type. So, unless you ever forsee yourself using a moving coil cartridge, I would concentrate on a purely moving magnet phono preamp although these are becoming thin on the ground these days with most manufacturers producing preamps that will cope with both types of cartridges.
Do you have some idea as to your budget for the new phono preamp?
sometimes a cartidge upgrade is a better move rather than the preamp as it is only amplifying what the cartridge is producing, and this is what I would suggest you do.

Well first of all, any suggestion in upgrading the sound is well accepted here, not just upgrading the phono preamp. If switching from MM to MC can make significant upgrade, we are open! Our budget let's say a total of 3000$.

 

[Al ears]

Well first of all, any suggestion in upgrading the sound is well accepted here, not just upgrading the phono preamp. If switching from MM to MC can make significant upgrade, we are open! Our budget let's say a total of 3000$.

Ok, that's a good budget but I would tend to ignore the MC cartridges and stick with a better moving magnet type.
You mention dollars, can I assume you are in the States?
basically, if you were in the UK you would have a good £949 phono preamp amplifying a £200 cartridge so you can see the price inbalance.
I would upgrade to a better Clearaudio cartridge and keep the phono preamp.
Something like the Clearaudio Maestro V2 or something along those lines.
I don't believe spending that much on a new phono preamp will get any better sound out of the cartridge you already have.
You could of course replace both your cartridge and preamp of they are not giving you the sound you require.
If you got something like the EAR Phonobox you would have a volume control built in so would not have to route your turntable through the DAC, which could be seen as an added complication. You could potentially get this and a better cartridge for your budget.
Oh, and do tell your dad he is listening more to the cartridge rather than the phono preamp.....

 

[Bom7996]

Ok, that's a good budget but I would tend to ignore the MC cartridges and stick with a better moving magnet type.
You mention dollars, can I assume you are in the States?
basically, if you were in the UK you would have a good £949 phono preamp amplifying a £200 cartridge so you can see the price inbalance.
I would upgrade to a better Clearaudio cartridge and keep the phono preamp.
Something like the Clearaudio Maestro V2 or something along those lines.
I don't believe spending that much on a new phono preamp will get any better sound out of the cartridge you already have.
You could of course replace both your cartridge and preamp of they are not giving you the sound you require.
If you got something like the EAR Phonobox you would have a volume control built in so would not have to route your turntable through the DAC, which could be seen as an added complication. You could potentially get this and a better cartridge for your budget.
Oh, and do tell your dad he is listening more to the cartridge rather than the phono preamp.....

So you would suggest upgrading to a better MM (Clearaudio Maestro V2) rather than upgrading the phono preamp? My dad said something about the whole setup sounding more digital rather than analog, like he doesn't feel like listening to LP. Is there anything that I should know about that matter? Like what kind of preamp/amp/brand leans toward which kind of sound? Problem is that I'm new to the game and I don't really know what I am looking for but I'm trying to have the best LP experience.
Sorry in advance if I'm not making any sense!

 

[Al ears]

So you would suggest upgrading to a better MM (Clearaudio Maestro V2) rather than upgrading the phono preamp? My dad said something about the whole setup sounding more digital rather than analog, like he doesn't feel like listening to LP. Is there anything that I should know about that matter? Like what kind of preamp/amp/brand leans toward which kind of sound? Problem is that I'm new to the game and I don't really know what I am looking for but I'm trying to have the best LP experience.
Sorry in advance if I'm not making any sense!

Unfortunately the whole world of vinyl reply is down to personal preference and as you cannot audition many cartridges it becomes very tricky. As I said the main thing he is listening to is the cartridge itself not the preamp. You can go to the extreme of buying a completely different cartridge and even a valve based phono preamp but this can lead to expensive mistakes. I would suggest you speak to a dealer wherever in the world you are and move away from Clearaudio cartridges .The EAR phono preamp I mentioned will help but you have to concentrate on the cartridge itself. My suggestion would be some thing from Nagaoka or a Goldring 1042

 

[Bom7996]

Unfortunately the whole world of vinyl reply is down to personal preference and as you cannot audition many cartridges it becomes very tricky. As I said the main thing he is listening to is the cartridge itself not the preamp. You can go to the extreme of buying a completely different cartridge and even a valve based phono preamp but this can lead to expensive mistakes. I would suggest you speak to a dealer wherever in the world you are and move away from Clearaudio cartridges .The EAR phono preamp I mentioned will help but you have to concentrate on the cartridge itself. My suggestion would be some thing from Nagaoka or a Goldring 1042

Exactly, not being able to tryout different things really is a pain in the a. I'll research more about Nagaoka and Goldring, plus the EAR phono preamp. Thanks so much for your time!!

 

[Al ears]

Exactly, not being able to tryout different things really is a pain in the a. I'll research more about Nagaoka and Goldring, plus the EAR phono preamp. Thanks so much for your time!!

no problem, we aim to please, however your set-up is alien to me and you might be better off running your whole vinyl side of things through a proper pre amplifier rather than that DAC. Keep it completely separate.