Which Phono for lp12 adikt, Arcam Sa30

[TFM]

New to this and struggling to understand
System Arcam SA30, Linn LP12 with adikt cartridge, Dali rubicon2 speaker.
I have recently been streaming tidal music and love it, so purchased LP12, doesn’t seem to be as expected, and reading I may need a phono stage? to improve, thought the Arcam would do - so advise if adding a separate phono would improve.
Confused by £100, £500, £1000 ones
Please could anyone advise
I think it’s MM cartridge. Which is set on the Amp. Thankyou

 

[WayneKerr]

Where do you consider the Arcam is lacking? Is this your first venture into LPs? The internal phono on the Arcam should be good enough for your needs. Think you may have been expecting too much from vinyl replay.

 

[plastic penguin]

New to this and struggling to understand
System Arcam SA30, Linn LP12 with adikt cartridge, Dali rubicon2 speaker.
I have recently been streaming tidal music and love it, so purchased LP12, doesn’t seem to be as expected, and reading I may need a phono stage? to improve, thought the Arcam would do - so advise if adding a separate phono would improve.
Confused by £100, £500, £1000 ones
Please could anyone advise
I think it’s MM cartridge. Which is set on the Amp. Thankyou

No, your Arcam has a switchable built-in phono stage, which means it'll accept Moving Magnet and Moving Coil cartridges.

Reading about your Linn Adikt cartridge it's Moving Magnet. This Arcam seems to have most analogue & digital inputs covered.

Your speakers are the same as mine & my amp has a switchable phono stage. On my amp it has a physical switch by the phono inputs , click to the right for MM (Moving Magnet) or MC (Moving Coil). Switch it to MM and the sound should improve.

 

[WayneKerr]

No, your Arcam has a switchable built-in phono stage, which means it'll accept Moving Magnet and Moving Coil cartridges.

Reading about your Linn Adikt cartridge it's Moving Magnet. This Arcam seems to have most analogue & digital inputs covered.

Your speakers are the same as mine & my amp has a switchable phono stage. On my amp it has a physical switch by the phono inputs , click to the right for MM (Moving Magnet) or MC (Moving Coil). Switch it to MM and the sound should improve.

His Arcam appears to have different inputs for MM and MC, PP, no switch.

 

[plastic penguin]

His Arcam appears to have different inputs for MM and MC, PP, no switch.

S'okay, but it should be easy to change it from MC to MM. My money is on it being set to MC.

 

[Al ears]

New to this and struggling to understand
System Arcam SA30, Linn LP12 with adikt cartridge, Dali rubicon2 speaker.
I have recently been streaming tidal music and love it, so purchased LP12, doesn’t seem to be as expected, and reading I may need a phono stage? to improve, thought the Arcam would do - so advise if adding a separate phono would improve.
Confused by £100, £500, £1000 ones
Please could anyone advise
I think it’s MM cartridge. Which is set on the Amp. Thankyou

What do you mean when you say 'doesn't seem to be as expected?'
The Arcam phono stage is pretty good so you would need to spend a fair bit to better it.

 

[plastic penguin]

His Arcam appears to have different inputs for MM and MC, PP, no switch.

It's actually simpler than the Leema. Just two inputs, whereas the Leema has two inputs and a switch.

 

[plastic penguin]

What do you mean when you say 'doesn't seem to be as expected?'
The Arcam phono stage is pretty good so you would need to spend a fair bit to better it.

Absolutely. Arcams stages are usually excellent.

Oddly, though, I've just read some comments on the internet, there seems to be a few people dissatisfied with the SA30 phono stage

 

[plastic penguin]

His Arcam appears to have different inputs for MM and MC, PP, no switch.

Here's what mine look like.

 

[nopiano]

New to this and struggling to understand
System Arcam SA30, Linn LP12 with adikt cartridge, Dali rubicon2 speaker.
I have recently been streaming tidal music and love it, so purchased LP12, doesn’t seem to be as expected, and reading I may need a phono stage? to improve, thought the Arcam would do - so advise if adding a separate phono would improve.
Confused by £100, £500, £1000 ones
Please could anyone advise
I think it’s MM cartridge. Which is set on the Amp. Thankyou

Can you update us on exactly how you’ve connected your Linn to your Arcam? Is the Linn new, because if so your dealer should install it to your satisfaction.

 

[TFM]

Hi there never had any vinyl, but compared with streaming volume needs turning up quite a bit, it seems smoother in sound, it’s set to MM and inputs into MM on back but will check. I’ll sit and listen to try and adjust to the sound this weekend. I’ll put same albums on streaming and then vinyl and see whats, what. I’ve only played vinyl for 15mins
was told upgrade would be improvement but didn’t want to waste money and not sure what upgrade. Guy I bought LP12 from said to get Park Puffin phono ? Maybe as I’ve not heard vinyl before It maybe just me,
really appreciate your shared experience and advice. Thankyou

 

[WayneKerr]

Hi there never had any vinyl, but compared with streaming volume needs turning up quite a bit, it seems smoother in sound, it’s set to MM and inputs into MM on back but will check. I’ll sit and listen to try and adjust to the sound this weekend. I’ll put same albums on streaming and then vinyl and see whats, what. I’ve only played vinyl for 15mins
was told upgrade would be improvement but didn’t want to waste money and not sure what upgrade. Guy I bought LP12 from said to get Park Puffin phono ? Maybe as I’ve not heard vinyl before It maybe just me,
really appreciate your shared experience and advice. Thankyou

A volume difference between digital and analogue sources is quite normal, possibly requiring another circa 20% turn on the volume dial to match a digital source. Coming from purely digital to vinyl playback can be disappointing dependant on what your ear is accustomed to.

 

[Gray]

1) compared with streaming volume needs turning up quite a bit
2) it seems smoother in sound

1) Is not specific to you, it's quite common.
2) That's the reason that many people give for preferring the vinyl sound.

 

[plastic penguin]

Hi there never had any vinyl, but compared with streaming volume needs turning up quite a bit, it seems smoother in sound, it’s set to MM and inputs into MM on back but will check. I’ll sit and listen to try and adjust to the sound this weekend. I’ll put same albums on streaming and then vinyl and see whats, what. I’ve only played vinyl for 15mins
was told upgrade would be improvement but didn’t want to waste money and not sure what upgrade. Guy I bought LP12 from said to get Park Puffin phono ? Maybe as I’ve not heard vinyl before It maybe just me,
really appreciate your shared experience and advice. Thankyou

As the other poster said, there's often a volume difference between vinyl and digital. Thats mainly due to the MVs or Millivolts, the efficiency of a cartridge -- it varies so much between brands and whether it's a MM or MC.

 

[plastic penguin]

Just looked at the specs of the Adikt cartridge. The MVs is higher than my Clearaudio Concept cart. Mine doesn't reach 4 MV while the Adikt is around 6.5.