advice for my clear audio analogue upgrade path

@dhpeck - I have to ask....

What do you think you are missing out on?
- or do you just have the upgrade bug :-)

What do you think the  Clear audio Balance + phono will enhance

What do you think the  Clear Audio Ovation table will enhance

The upgrades above look like they would be "incremental" so I am not sure how much benefit they would provide

RE: the cartridge....

I have a Soundsmith modified Denon 103 with their O.C. Contact line stylus. It required VERY precise setup using a Best Mint protractor and a powerful loupe - and a much younger pair of eyes. We also used a digital camera to verify the setup was precise.

If you have not completed setup to the highest precision I would recommend starting there with the existing cartridge - it really paid off in my case.

Otherwise - the upgrade I would complete first is the cartridge.

BTW - nice choices :-)

Hope that makes sense - Steve

@dhpeck RE:

I’ll have to ask how my guy at the dealer sets up the carts

That would be good to know

The Boheme comes with the contact-line shaped stylus, so setup of either cartridge would also be critical.

The soundsmith cartridges do sound very good using a standard paper protractor, but they sound amazing as the precision of the setup is perfected

Have a read of http://mintlp.com/best.htm

Once I saw just how far out my initial setup was and heard the resulting improvements it made me a believer.

Why does it seem that as the audio world advances - life gets more difficult? :-)

RE:

I’m looking for my last table and feel the level of the Ovation would accomplish that and not leave me wondering

You’d better scratch that itch then :-)

@joey54 give it the thumbs up - can’t get better feedback than that

Good luck with whatever upgrade you choose.

Cheers - Steve