$800 Cartridge Shootout and Upgrade Path

Me too on the "mediocre equalizers"! But how can Raul hear the music with his head so far up his ***

I think if you start with a Denon 103r, you might not upgrade for a long time. What you save on a cartridge can go to much better use elsewhere.

But, we basically have no information other than what you are looking at. What do you listen to? Associated electronics & equipment? Room? Why start with a cartridge in the first place?

Without any more info, it’s virtually impossible to offer any informed opinion.

Doug,

Nice to see you remember the sale page!

Artar1,

I have to agree with Tom, but I think there are other cartridges you would like better. But, if you go with the Moerch, with it's interchangable tubes, the you open yourself to almost any cartridge on the planet. Doug is the classical music afficianado, and I would take any advice he gives you with great weight. I don't know what Tom listens to regularly, but his advice (and Doug's and a few others here) have helped countless people here, myself included.

Where are you located? I have an open door policy if someone wants to hear my Teres. And I'm not the only one. If it will help you in your quest, come on down & take a listen.

I have to agree with Tom here. I had a budget (that I blew all to hell) and wanted to get the best bang for the buck. By being able to build my own plinth for the Teres, I saved a considerable amount of money. And I am extremely happy with the end result. I also believe in the "rules of analog" as Tom states them: TT, then arm, then cartridge. I understand why you wanted to do the cartridge first, but I went the opposite direction. That's all a matter of opinion. But, so is everything else here.

So I started with the Teres, 2 different Rega based arms, and the 103r. The more I listen to other setups with high dollar arms and cartridges, the more I am amazed by how good this low-dollar rig sounds. I've got a buddy with a full-blown LP12 setup. He can't believe how much better my rig sounds, considering I spent about 25% of what he did. And our electronics are very similar, both of us being of the tube school. I think his next purchase will be a mass-loaded table, after he takes a beating on the Linn. He has finally seen the light!

I know people who spend shitloads of money on their analog rigs. I'm trying not to. In fact, the best "analog" purchase I made was my Supratek. More so than the RCM, which I also believe is essential. As much as I hate to say it, that may be the only thing I agree with Romy, I mean Raul about, the phono stage being critical. It has made more difference than other single change so far.

While I will one day have a Schroeder arm, the only other thing I may change is my platter. And only if I build one myself. The 103r stays, not because it's only $250, but because I like the way it sounds. If it's good enough for Frank Schroeder (one of these days I'm going to get a keyboard with an umlat), it's good enough for me! I think I value Frank's opinion a little more than Romy's, I mean Raul's. I'm not an idiot, I know there are better cartridges out there, but the important thing is, once again, I like the way it SOUNDS, and it is a great VALUE. Of course, if the right deal comes along, well, this could all be changed!

Like Dave said, it's a great time to be in the market for a new turntable. There are some great choices out there for relatively small money. And for various reasons we have definite TT "camps" here on the Gon who champion what we like and think others will too. Without this advice here, I probably would not have what equiptment I do, and spent more time and money finding what I like. And dealing with people like CB & TM makes it even easier and more enjoyable. Do you think any of the "big" TT companies care about your opinion? VPI excluded, as I know they go out of their way for their customers. The nice thing is, they let us have a lot of money left over to spend on vinyl. After all, without the black plastic, what's the point?

Very well said, again. Too bad there are those that can't see it.

Once again, someone explains things properly, in a clear, concise, and cogent manner, while someone else babbles some crap that nobody understands trying to support his point of view.

This is getting old.

Thanks for trying Tom.

Artar,

I guess I'll give you the quick rundown on my TT. Since wood is my business, and one of my favorite hobbies it was a fairly (ha!) straightforward affair. Selecting the woods for the look I wanted was actually harder than everything but the veneering of the radii on the plinth.

The quality level I was shooting for is probably a little less than what Chris sends out. I knew I'd never sell it, so there was one thing I really didn't care to get too anal about. To look at the pictures it looks like an heirloom piece. But there are a couple of slight flaws in the veneer that I didn't feel like fixing. Since I had a vacuum clamp/veneer bagging system on order at the time, I knew if I wanted to fix it it would be easy. I used cauls and clamps, and while I could have made it perfect, I wanted to get it done. If I would have waited for the bag, it would be perfect.

The process itself was simple, if you have access to the tools and knowledge:

Select grain you want to show, lay out wood, cut wood.



Joint wood, plane wood, cut wood again, lay up wood, glue wood, clamp wood, sand.



Layout holes, drill holes, fill holes with lead, plug holes, making sure that the curly end grain on each of the teak plugs lines up exactly, then sand.



Sand some more, prep for veneer, veneer, sand, sand some more, sand even more!



Many coats of shellac, using steel wool in between each coat.

Final polish with pumice suspended in paraffin oil using a felt pad.



Easy, eh?

One thing I did was make it a little bigger all around than a “stock” Teres. I just wanted some more heft. The other thing I did was to make sure the top and bottom surfaces were parallel. I mean parallel within .005” using a surface plate and dial indicators. I about crapped when we tested that, because on top of the sanding, I used a scraper for a better finish. I did use a machine sander to do the first rough sanding, but only down to 220 grit. I ended up with 800 grit & the scraper. Watching that needle not move was one of the most satisfying moments of the build.

Now I have steel templates to use for the next ones I build. There are a couple going now, out of various materials. I also bought 2 acrylic plinths from Chris. Why, I don’t know, but they were only $150 shipped. I may make some cool stands out of them!

If I ever get time to revise my site, I’m going to include a quite lengthy Word document that details what I did, complete with sarcasms and my bombastic wit!

P.S Now that I found out how to do pics, I'm going to have fun 'till the mods put an end to it!

Yep, you sure did make the right choice on the table. I don't think you'll be doing any complaining, except for going over budget, which seems to be inevitable!

And yes. Doug can be very persuasive. I can't wait to hear Raul tell you how bad your choices are!

Enjoy, & keep us posted.