Turntable upgrade advice.

[AntAxon]

Hello folks, I’m thinking of upgrading my turntable. At present have a Project Debut Carbon, a Marantz PM8005, Marantz SA8005 and Tannoy 6.2 Precision speakers. I assume that the weakest part of the system is the turntable. I was considering the Clearaudio Concept as WHF gives it a really good review. However looking at the MM cartridge specification it does not seem that much different to the Ortofon 2M Red. I appreciate that the build quality is superior to the Debut Carbon but will it actually sound any better? Perhaps there would be less rumble?

I notice that some cartridges give a much better frequency response range but bearing in mind the human hearing range of 20Hz to 20KHz is there any point in investing in them?

I must admit I don’t really know much about turntables!

I was thinking of spending around £1000 to £1500 on a deck including cartridge.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

As was advised to me just a few weeks ago,try a new cartridge first before a new tt. If you've already got the 2m red,I'm not sure a blue would be such a leap as myself going from om10 to 2m blue,but the bronze or black would be exceptional (i think),although the black might be considered a bit ott for the tt, Also the nagaoka carts are well regarded on whf also ,mp300 maybe,but in my recent xperience suggests that the cart brings more to the table,no pun intended.than the turntable itself regards upgrades,possibly with the proper highend turntables the difference will be more plain to hear.but around and below the 1k mark I believe it's the cart that makes the difference.

 

[Al ears]

As was advised to me just a few weeks ago,try a new cartridge first before a new tt. If you've already got the 2m red,I'm not sure a blue would be such a leap as myself going from om10 to 2m blue,but the bronze or black would be exceptional (i think),although the black might be considered a bit ott for the tt, Also the nagaoka carts are well regarded on whf also ,mp300 maybe,but in my recent xperience suggests that the cart brings more to the table,no pun intended.than the turntable itself regards upgrades,possibly with the proper highend turntables the difference will be more plain to hear.but around and below the 1k mark I believe it's the cart that makes the difference.

I'd agree. The Project is pretty good and will take a much better cartridge. Try this first.

 

[AntAxon]

I think you are probably right, its just a case of getting the right cartridge. I notice that Ortofon make a 2M Mono SE, I'm particularly interested as I have the Beatles in Mono boxed set and would obviously like to hear it at its best. I don't seem to be able to find any information though if this cartridge works well with stereo recordings as well.

Perhaps the bronze or black would be a better compromise?

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

The mono carts are just that,no use for stereo use.check out miyajima zero mono,it's meant to be a revalation.but pricey.

 

[Al ears]

If you're really having to hear mono recordings at their best then you'd have to by that cartridge as a second cartridge as no good for stereo. If you want to hear improvements on your current I'd move away from Ortofon.

 

[AntAxon]

Hi Mark, I thought that the mono cartridge may not be suitable for stereo. Its a real shame but as I don't have that many mono recordings compared to stereo its probably not worth it. The miyajima zero mono is interesting but I think as its MC I would probably need a phono stage as well and as you say it is quite pricey. I think I will go for the Ortofon Bronze.

I really appreciate your help and Al Ears for taking the trouble to reply.

 

[AntAxon]

Hi Al ears, what alternative would you suggest from Ortofon? I was thinking the bronze might be a good upgrade. But I really don't know much about cartridges as I'm sure you have gathered!

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Hay Ant,i didn't mean for you to go out and buy the mujiyema,just check it out and have a look see what kind of stuff is available.check out originlive.com and select cartridges for some info on them.

 

[ifor]

, but if I were in the market for a £1K TT, including arm and cartridge, I'd go for the Analogue Works TurntableZero.

 

[AntAxon]

My brother has an old Acoustic Research turntable which just needs a service perhaps it might be worth buying that off him and fitting the Ortofon mono cartridge. It looks a really nice turntable, quite a classic. I imagine its better than the Project Debut Carbon. That way I could listen to stereo and mono without swapping cartridges.

 

[Al ears]

My brother has an old Acoustic Research turntable which just needs a service perhaps it might be worth buying that off him and fitting the Ortofon mono cartridge. It looks a really nice turntable, quite a classic. I imagine its better than the Project Debut Carbon. That way I could listen to stereo and mono without swapping cartridges.

You could go down that route. Two turntables is a bit extreme but why not if you can get it cheaply enough. The best route to upgrading apart from cartridge is the ability to change tonearm or sometimes just headshells. The AR may give you the chance to do that.

The Ortofon 2M bronze is quite good giving a lot more, I feel, than the basic Red.

Other makes give a different presentation that some find better across the board.

If the AR is the EB101 it will allow you to fit any old-style Rega fit tonearm. If the cAR turntable is fitted with an arm that has a detachable headshell then that's your problem sorted.