J-Wall
This is a hobby and we do what we want or think is best to improve our listening enjoyment. I’d like to offer another route to consider.
I looked at your setup and you have a turntable. Is analog your main source of enjoyment? It’s certainly mine! I stream from my phone to a 1987 DAC. It sounds good but can’t touch my analog particularly if I’m listening to a killer pressing! It’s night and day! When I sit down for a serious listening session, my analog system takes me on a journey.
So may I suggest this: In an analog system, two of the most important components in the chain are at opposite ends of the system. The cartridge and the speakers. The cartridge turns mechanical energy into electronic energy; the speakers turn the electronic energy into mechanical energy. That’s probably an oversimplification but those two ends are a good place to start. But alas, the 936’s are already part of your system (I also own a set). You could put 20k worth of components in your system, but without a decent cartridge, you’ll never begin to reap their benefit.
I have the PrimaLuna Dialogue. Cost slightly less than your EVO. To put things into perspective- I have about 12k into my turntable, tone arm, cartridge, and phono preamp. The first time I played a killer pressing (white-hot stamper), I got teary-eyed. I couldn’t believe what my ears were hearing! And that’s before I upgraded all of my power cords, interconnects, and power conditioner.
Lastly, don’t underestimate a decent album cleaner. That’s another story. Couldn’t live without one. Night and day in most cases. I have a friend who is a picker and has an antique shop. He lets me go through his albums; I’ll take 30 or so and clean them before playing them. I’ll cherry-pick the ones I want to keep and return the rest. I kept about 15 of them. the criteria I use to decide is: 1. Does the music speak to me and would I want to listen to it again. 2. Condition of the album. Scratches, ticks, pops, etc 3. Quality of the pressing (sonic quality) Not often, but some albums I’ll keep just because they are killer pressings.
The third batch I got from him I figured I’d save some time and listen to a couple of tracks or even an entire side before cleaning it. Sadly, the first three albums went into the "return pile". Even though they were in perfect condition and were albums I would certainly want to listen to again, the sonic quality of the pressings was very poor. After placing the 4th album in the return pile, I figured I’d immediately clean it and give it another listening to see if it made any difference. Again, after cleaning it, I couldn’t believe what my ears were hearing! Night and day.
Sorry for the ramble.
