I just got back into vinyl playback about a month ago. Here's what I acquired for a total of about $1,200 US:
- ProJect RPM-5 turntable with 9c tonearm (carbon fibre tube), comes with phono cable;
- Clearaudio Aurum Classic Wood moving magnet cartridge;
- ProJect PhonoBox preamp;
- Dust cover for turntable;
- LP cleaning solution (home brew of Stereophile formula made by the store where I purchased the rig) and record brush;
- LAST record preservative and stylus cleaner solutions.
I already had an extra pair of interconnect cable to hook up the phono preamp to my line preamp, a 0.5m length of Zu Cable Gede (about $150). The rest of my audiobsession is described on my system page on Audiogon.
Since I don't really have a point of reference for vinyl, not having listened to any for the last 15 to 16 years, my comments about sound quality should be read with that in mind. However, I have been really impressed with the intimacy, presence, three-dimensionality and organic nature of the music played on this analog set-up. Even though this hardware might be considered to be at the lower end of high-end audio, everything that I've read about analog playback versus CD has been more or less confirmed. In a word, better!
All the best,
Max
PS Marco may be silly, but in a funny ha-ha way. ;-)
- ProJect RPM-5 turntable with 9c tonearm (carbon fibre tube), comes with phono cable;
- Clearaudio Aurum Classic Wood moving magnet cartridge;
- ProJect PhonoBox preamp;
- Dust cover for turntable;
- LP cleaning solution (home brew of Stereophile formula made by the store where I purchased the rig) and record brush;
- LAST record preservative and stylus cleaner solutions.
I already had an extra pair of interconnect cable to hook up the phono preamp to my line preamp, a 0.5m length of Zu Cable Gede (about $150). The rest of my audiobsession is described on my system page on Audiogon.
Since I don't really have a point of reference for vinyl, not having listened to any for the last 15 to 16 years, my comments about sound quality should be read with that in mind. However, I have been really impressed with the intimacy, presence, three-dimensionality and organic nature of the music played on this analog set-up. Even though this hardware might be considered to be at the lower end of high-end audio, everything that I've read about analog playback versus CD has been more or less confirmed. In a word, better!
All the best,
Max
PS Marco may be silly, but in a funny ha-ha way. ;-)