Analogue front end upgrade priorities
RichTeer -- Thu, 03/05/2009 - 10:46
Hi all,
I posted this question in the turntable forum but didn't receive an answer, so I'm trying here instead. Here goes:
My current system consists of a Forsell Air Reference Turntable/arm, Lyra Parnassus cartridge, an ARC SP-9 Mk 2 preamp, a pair of PrimaLuna Prologue 7 monoblocks, and my most recent acqusition, a pair of MartinLogan Spires. My turntable and cartridge are about 15 years old (although for about 5 of those years they didn't get much use), and my SP-9 was bought used a couple of years ago (I have since had it serviced and retubed by ARC).
To take my system to the next level, I'd like to replace the cartridge with something like the Air Tight PC-1 Supreme, and the SP-9 with the Phono 7 and a Reference 3. The Parnassus sounds fine, but I can't help but wonder how much longer the suspension will last. If/when I buy the Reference 3 or Phono 7 my SP-9 will be performing the duties of the other box. That is, if I get the Phono 7 first I'll use the SP-9 as a line stage, and if I get the Reference 3 first I'll use the SP-9 as a phonostage.
In round numbers each of those components will cost about $10k, and I can't afford to buy more than say one per year. My question is: in which order should I perform these upgrades?
If I were in your position, I'd first replace the cartridge, and then the linestage, and then the phonostage.
I understand why you'd replace the cartridge first (and I'm inclined to agree), but I'm not sure why one would then replace the linestage rather than the phonostage. No matter how good it is, no linestage will be able to put back what is lost in the phonostage, so I would think that that would be the next priority. Is the SP-9's phonostage really that good?!
I didn't mention this in my original post so perhaps I should do so now: CD and other line-level sources are not a priority for me; I listen to vinyl about 99% of the time, and CD is only used for the occassional background music.
BTW, a belated thanks for your previous upgrade advice. I asked a few months ago about upgrading cables or speakers, and you advised the latter. I saved up my cash and bought myself a pair of MartinLogan Spires--a significant upgrade from my Spendor SP1s! Of course that means that I still have two crappy sets of cable to replace: between my preamp and power amps, and my speaker cables. I'll attend to those one day sooner or later...!
Rich,
The Air Tight PC-1 Supreme is a superb cartridge--one of the three best currently on the market, IMO. However, it is relatively low in output at 0.4mV. I am sure that the ARC PH7 has enough gain to handle this (barely), but I don't remember whether the SP-9 Mk II does. I'm not trying to talk you out of the PC-1 Supreme; I'm just suggesting that you double-check the gain of the phonostage in the SP-9 MkII.
Jon
Many thanks for your words of wisdom, Jon. The output of my current Parnassus is a mere 0.2mV, which means that I do have to crank up the volume on my SP-9 Mk 2 (I'd call its gain barely adequate). So anything more than 0.2mV has got to be good! (If I understand these things correctly, going from 0.2mV to 0.4mV should be equivelent to a 3dB increase in gain in the phonostage.)
You've listed both the PC-1 Supreme and the PH7 in your associated gear list in several reviews; have you tried them together, and if so, what are your experiences (specifically, did you feel that there was enough gain provided)? Hopefully ARC's rumoured new flagship phonostage (which I've dubbed the Reference Phono 2) will provide a few more dBs of gain. I guess time will tell...
The PH7 is adequate for the PC-1 Supreme and plum happy with a Goldfinger v2. Just don't try it with a 0.17mV DaVinci Reference Grandezza.
Thanks for the info.
BTW, do you (or anyone else reading) have any experience of the Lyra Titan i? I see that I can get a decent trade in from at least one online supplier (lowering the price by a couple of grand), though of course I'd always wonder about the Olympos...
Rich,
I used the Lyra Titan i for 3 months and found it the least involving and emotionally bereft cartridge I had listened to in my system. Of course it may just have been a mismatch with my low mass Hadcock GH228 arm at the time, but that same arm had handled well many other cartridges including the Lyra Helikon.
You should seriously consider the ZYX Universe (which I don't believe Jon has heard in his system) as it is easily the greatest cartridge I have ever heard, trumping the Dynavector DV1s with a disappearing act and lucidity that is hard to describe.
The Universe is the only cartridge I have experinced, to convincingly remove itself AND the turntable from the reproduction chain resulting in the magical illusion of master-tape quality in your listening room.
As far as great cartridges go might I suggest the Van den Hul Black Beauty Special X. It outputs about 0.5mv and in my system it does a wonderful balancing act between great low level detail and an emotional presence that gives you goose bumps. Though not as lush sounding as my previous Benz LP it is far superior all round. Dont be put off by earlier VDVs reputation for detail above all else as this is not the case in this model. My phono stage (Herron VTPH-2) has 69db of gain and is very quiet but you do not need that much gain unless you were to use a very low output cartridge (you can go down to under 0.1mv). There are lots of great cartridges out there and they just seem to get better as the years go by. Long may they flourish!
I had not realized that 99% of your listening was to vinyl. In that case, it makes more sense to put your upgrade money into the phonostage.
Ah, I now understand! Next time I'll be sure to include important little details like that!
Thanks again for everyone's input. Now the tough bit: saving up for said gear and (potentially more difficult) auditioning the short-listed candidates...
I had a thought for Rich
Why not a Manley Steelhead? It is a great phonostage but also has a line level input for cd and can drive an amp directly? I have been thinking about this for myself.
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