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Help my analog sound as good as my streaming

Hi all - total newcomer here, really enjoying the forum and looking for some advice.

Relevant details: Pro-ject Debut Carbon EVO w/ stock Sumiko Rainer cartridge, into a Hegel H95 via a Parasound Zphono XRM. It sounds great-ish, but doesn’t blow me away like Qobuz via Bluesound Node 2i into the Hegel DAC. I’ll acknowledge that this entire system has a lot of room to improve in the eyes of many here - while I suppose I’ll eventually want to upgrade, I am absolutely thrilled with the streaming sound for now. 
Question: is the cartridge the weak link here, or am I expecting too much out of the PDC EVO? If the former, does the Ortofon Bronze seem a good option?

Many thanks for any suggestions/thoughts!
coys21
coys21 OP
62 posts
 
Ack - apologies all. I recently added the pre-amp, and had some “help” from my teenage son hooking it up. After some further digging on the forum, I found a thread that reminded me to check the cabling. Sure enough, one of the directional rca’s from Zphono to Hegel was reversed. I haven’t had time to listen, but don’t doubt that could mess with the soundstage. Thanks again for the replies and sorry to waste your time on such silliness, assuming that’s the issue. 
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,066 posts
 
@coys21,

Glad you were able to sort out the issue. As others have pointed out, stepping up to better cart (first) and then phono would yield an uptick SQ. Until then, enjoy your beautiful digital setup :-)
aewarren
576 posts
 
MC is right, your ears have been 'digitalized'. Your analog rig as is should sound as good as streaming at the very least. I don't think that reversed cable will make much difference, you may just need to learn how to be a better listener, but do check your set-up. 
raysmtb1's avatar
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raysmtb1
792 posts
 
I love digital. I love the convenience of it. I’ve heard more new things in old recordings because of digital than I ever heard with analog. I’ll never go back, it’s an old technology Dragging a rock across a piece of plastic.
thebrokenrecord
36 posts
 
"If you play records manufactured recently, very few of them will blow you away because most of them would sound not much different from streaming"

I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. I'd also echo millercarbon on letting analog be your reference. First though, you need to get some great sounding records. Then you can start to see the way forward in analog.

I'm no Tom Port, but I have had some success tracking down some great sounding copies of a handful of titles. If you're interested feel free to contact me.

You can also learn more on this subject on my website:

http://www.thebrokenrecord.net
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