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Surprised at how turntable sounds

Hi,

I'm new here and I hope this, my first post, is in the right spot.

I'm hoping for some feedback and help about what happened with a turntable I've just got.  My system has two Dynakit Mk 3 60w monoblocks, a Sonos Port, two B&W 702 S3 speakers, a nas with my music saved as flac files, and a new Denon DP-25F turntable.  

I've only recently set this up.  I've had the monoblocks for quite a while and have been impressed with how they sound.  The B&W speakers are pretty new, and are probably the stars of the system.  To me they're amazing.  The nas is nothing new; I've been using it for years as my music source.

Other than the new turntable, I've been blown away with how great everything sounds.  Even my wife is impressed.

I've just set the Denon up.  I've been wanting to get a turntable again for years, obviously not for the convenience, but because of what I've heard about analogue audio.  I was really surprised when I heard it.  What I expected was lush, full sound.  I thought it might even sound better than music with nas files as the source.  I hoped it would.

It didn't sound better.  It was - what I can best think of to describe it - "thin" sounding.  Switching from the LP to the nas and back was quite a difference.  The nas music sounded great - rich, full, and deep smooth bass.  The music from the turntable was better with "loudness" turned on in the Sonos app, but still sounded mostly acceptable for a party.  Something I wouldn't listen to all that closely.

The cartridge is a DSN-82 stylus.  Should that be adequate, or better than adequate, for my system?  Would I do well to get a new cartridge?

Should I get a new turntable?  

Anything else?

Thanks much in advance for reading, and any suggestions that will help me understand what's going on.

martinlb
jwillox
215 posts
 

I suspect the cart is running thru a built-in phono-pre.

These can range from TT pr-eamps onboard, poor phono sections in your amp.

Invariably an external phono-pre will knock you out.

macg19
1,449 posts
 

Welcome to AG. 

You have been given lot’s of mostly good advice. I’ll try and add something a little different and hopefully a little helpful.

My primary source for serious listening sessions is vinyl and the investment is 6 X Digital, but I listen to digital more and enjoy both very much. Details in my virtual system for reference if interested.

  1. The amount of fidelity you can get from vinyl has a lot to do with the original recording, the quality of the mastering / pressing and genre. For example there are some amazing old jazz and blues recordings that sound fantastic yet some classic rock recorded decades later that sounds like crap.
  2. Clean records matter a lot (this has been said already but it’s worth repeating). I clean every brand new record with an ultrasonic cleaner before it ever gets played.
  3. You will need to spend more on an analogue rig than digital to get comparable sound quality. You will need to spend exponentially more to get your analogue rig to surpass digital.
  4. Everything matters: TT, PS, CART. 
  5. Streaming sources like Tidal, Qobuz and even SXM Radio provide unbelievable access to high-quality content for a ridiculously low price, with SXM being free (sort of) if you already have it in your car. 

All of the above IMHO and YMMV.  

Good luck and enjoy! Let’s know where you end up and how it sounds.

ghedger42's avatar
ghedger42
12 posts
 

@macg19 +1 on all counts

kevemaher's avatar
kevemaher
433 posts
 

One needs to spend as much on LP playing gear as you've spent on the digital side in order to make a valid comparison.

The table and cartridge you picked are bottom of the line. There's no way you'll get sound comparable to digital with this rig. It may have been advertised as plug and play, but there is no such thing on LP land.

Did you personally align the cartridge? Most likely it came ready to play. Cartridge alignment must be done precisely in order to get great sound. Before I knew better, I swore off LPs because they began to sound thin and screechy. A friend suggested I realign the cartridge. It took me a while to figure out how to do that, but I was rewarded with great sound, even that first time, With improving skills, my rig began to sound better and better.

If you're very serious about dipping your toes in LP land, I suggest you obtain a better table and cartridge and have an experienced person perform the cartridge alignment. .

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