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In over my head

Howdy.

I went all in on a couple pieces, and am now realizing I'm in over my head. I don't know (yet) the technicalities of matching cartridge to tonearm. Much less proper setup. Reading a few ads, reviews, some work better together than others.

I've got 2 turntable setups slowly coming together. No cartridges at the moment. Amps and speakers are future works.

47 Labs Shikagura phono stage
Denon AVR 3000 and/or
Onkyo A 9555
80's era Advent 2 ways, Infinity oversized bookshelf speakers.

The turntable setups:
Michell Gyro with SME 309 tonearm.
AR XA in walnut plinth. Heavily modded Rega 250 tonearm.
The AR will probably go in my office, The Michell Gyro at home.

Here's the deal: I need to move in the "Econophile" realm.
I've got a couple grand to finish with at the moment. More in the future, but the budget is tight at the moment.
I know new amps, speakers are requiered to touch the hem of great sound, but this is what I've got to work with at the moment.

I need some cartridge recommendations for the above. Figure less than 500.00 for the AR/XA Rega 250 set up, and 1500.00 for the Gyro/SME setup. The money may seem a bit silly given the supporting components. Feel free to offer Econophile solutions where needed.

In Music, I'm a rock head that easily goes to accoustic. I love the timbre, resonance of guitar, piano. I love vocals, but tend to pay more attention to instrumental passages. Figure Enya to Black Flag. Pre Rollins.

Ancilories are Nakamichi cassete, Phillips DCC. Wish that would have panned out.

Any cartridge reccomendations for the above systems?

Mark
benchrat

Showing 1 response by benchrat

benchrat OP
4 posts
 
I've got an Ipod. Tivoli system in bedroom, stereo with sub. Use the Ipod as source some evenings. Have a cheap Chinese copy of Tivoli in office at the moment. Hook the Ipod to it occaisionally. I honestly don't know squat about decent computer hookups. Kind of sad, as I have some M-Audio near feild monitors (BX 5A) sitting on a shelf somewhere, as I was getting too much noise through the wire, hooked up to Ipod direct, or computer.

I'll admit, a Turntable at work is an affection unbased in anything other than I've got one to put there, and probably some ancillary gear to support it. And the unique factor. I work In Human Services. It could be a source of connection with a few folks. It could keep me sane with a few other folks. Totally worth it there.

You do remind me of the BX5a's. I should look into getting them running, regardless. Had planned to use them with computer. The BX 5A's are self powered, bi-amped near field monitors. So far sound like crap hooked to computer, or using Ipod as direct source. Cheap wires could be the culprit. Who Knows? I've put off investigating the problem for a while. Got frustrated, put them away.

On the anolog front, I think I'm doing OK.
I got smoking deals on all the stuff listed. I don't know how to use any of it properly, but I'll learn

Also, I'm "The boss" at work, so fostering an eccentricity or 2 is acceptable. Maybe mandatory,
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