2. analog
  3. 182671-11588

Do I buy an upscale TT?

I recently heard a $50K TT at a friend’s and was floored by the performance.


It was a sound from a system I have never heard.

I have a very nice Woodsong Garrard 301, Tri-Planar arm and Grado Epoch 3 cartridge. Going into an Atma-Sphere MP-1 pre wt phono.

Discovered an affordable TT based on the Legendary Commonwealth idler drive TT (said to be among the best). One is $8500 and the other more elaborate one is $15K.

And there is another highly modified brass Garrard 401 for $10K. (said to be as good as the Commonwealth)

The big question is whether or not I am going to be pleased with the improvement in sound? There will certainly be a lot of hassle to change TTs!

mglik
fatdaddy2
367 posts
 

Dude, you've already got a high end TT.  Save your money.

dodgealum
1,398 posts
 

Once you get to a certain level of vinyl playback equipment it becomes more about flavor nuances and aesthetic appearance. Maybe better to ask yourself whether you are looking for a different flavor rather than “better performance”.

sandthemall
543 posts
 

Number one question I thought about when I read this post is: 'what did the room look like'? From my own experience components seem to be a noticeable but minor actor in the equation. When changing the components, you will be ’tweaking’ the quality of the sound. The main protagonists are the room structure and speaker relationship. I would spend that 50k tearing out drywall and lifting ceiling heights and buying nice Persian/Turkish rugs.

Puting a rug in the right place does more to sound than going from one high end component to another.

 

 

boothroyd
365 posts
 

@lewm 

Evidently the OP finds us as boring as I do. 

😂 

grislybutter
2,234 posts
 

@ghdprentice 

"Especially around the turn of the century there was a huge advancement in turntables"

I thought vinyl was dying/in coma around that time  

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