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Turntable advice / opinion on setup / sound.

Hello all you analog experts. I am seeking some advice, opinions and direction to try, based on my tastes and setup. 

I’m not loving my current TT sound but there are variables that could cause this. For reference, my favorite TT I ever owned was the ClearAudio Champion Level 2 (wish I never sold it) because it was warm and had a huge stage. 

  1. I listen to every style of music, smooth jazz to hard metal. 
  2. I have to turn the volume way up to get the get the level I like which at times has hiss and a tiny bit of hum. Compared to digital sources which have none of these issues. 
  3. I find this setup to lack huge stage and warmth. 

My current system is:

  1. Rega Planar 8 w/ Alpheta 2 MC cart.  
  2. Cambridge Audio -> Alva Duo Phono Pre amp
  3. Mark Levinson -> No 585 Amp. 
  4. Martin Logan 15a Renaissance -> 8FT apart/ 3ft off the front wall and 3 FT from each side wall. I sit 9FT away from the speakers.  

The turntables I am considering are:

1) Musical Fidelity -> M8XTT

What cart would you use?

2) Michell Audio -> Gyro SE Turntable

3) Clear Audio Champion Level 2

Thank you all in advance for any guidance and opinions you can offer. 

necrosuit
billstevenson
1,184 posts
 

This is just me ruminating on this whole thought process at bit.  Take this for what it is worth, probably not much.  Anyway, after giving this more thought than it deserves, it is my opinion that the whole Rega concept is short circuited if a non-Rega cartridge is mounted.  As I indicated in a previous post, I am interested maybe, in acquiring a Rega TT, if I find the right deal.  I am cheap so it has to be the right deal.  Anyway, were I to buy one it would definitely have to include Rega's top cartridge.  It is the package that is intriguing to me.  If I intended to use a different brand of cartridge, I think there are other more versatile turntables that would be considered.  But again, nothing on the market matches Rega's unique proposition if turntable and cartridge are considered together.  

necrosuit OP
17 posts
 

Morning folks,

been working on the setup and got my first listen. Let me just say…..Holy Sh**!!! What an incredible difference! It’s like a whole new system. The stage, warmth and detail is unreal. I’m hearing guitar tones / notes never heard on some records and the realism on drum strokes is Beyond excellent . I used the print out protractor from Arc and all is aligned (at least to my eyes). I also used a digital scale and the weight set to 1.79G. Anti skate is 1.75(ish). So far I am beyond pleased with all your recommendations and help. 😎💯

elliottbnewcombjr
7,741 posts
 

Congrats, I'd like to hear it!

lewm
14,669 posts
 

Bill, for me the great Rega unknown is not only about the cartridge but also does the underlying hypothesis about low mass uber alles hold up in practice.

billstevenson
1,184 posts
 

Lewm, it seems that it does.  I only have experienced one P8, which was positive.  Mikey Fremer has much to say all positive if you go to Analog Planet.  All the reviews for all models for a long time have been positive.  I would like to experience a P10 or a Naia and if the right deal comes along, I would definitely consider buying one to replace my HW19.  But I am not going to pay retail for the privilege so who knows?

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