2. analog
  3. 1151458982

My digital front end outdoes my analog.....

For the first time ever my analog setup is being outdone by my digital front end. The equipment: digital-MF Trivista SACD
analog-Thorens TD-125 w/Rabco SL8E linear tracking arm/Grado Master reference (4.0mv) YS Audio Concerto plus with Telefunken smooth plate 12AX7's. The sound: Overall fairly similar with that usual superior analog HF response. The image and seperation are way better on the CDP, this is my biggest issue. Better, but less so, are bass response and dynamics on the CDP as well. I love vinyl and always have and will. The tonearm is set up great and the thing tracks perfect. VTA perfect. I have it only two feet from the left speaker and it doesn't even think of feeding back. I can jump on the floor and the woofers don't move so it is so well isolated. The table/arm seem fine. Here are problems I see:
1)Lower end phono pre (so what do I need to spend)
2)Rewire TT from cart to interconnect as the tonearm is 30 years old
3)As a passive line stage user I need a very low Z ballsier phono stage. The current unit is 54db gain with an output impedence of 1000 ohms. The Trivista CDP's output impedence is 50 ohms (this could be the bass issue since I use a passive linestage)

Vinyl will never have the place for me it once did since so few new releases are on LP. I have most of the vinyl and out of print vinyl not on or never released on CD that I desire to own (based on what I like)
I do love playing with vinyl and shopping and finding it as well. Thoughts welcome-thanks in advance

ET
electroid
4yanx
1,576 posts
 
It takes so much more investment to get great Analog then it does to get a great digital, ....

That may very well be your opinion, but it is not a fact.
sstark
63 posts
 
If you have a significant investment in vinyl, both emotionally and financially, you should upgrade your analog set-up. The TT, cartridge and pre is inadequate. I can see why you feel your analog is laggging behind your digital playback.
electroid OP
283 posts
 
Thanks everyone. I need to reclearify some points: I didn't use good grammer but MC is where I want to be, I prefer it to MM. With a passive linestage I need 2.5v out of the phono pre and couldn't find one with enough gain to give me that. My current 4.0mv + 54db gain gets me close. Still looking for recs on how to achieve my needed output(esp w/MC). I got my Trivista new for $2682 as an accomodation while in the biz otherwise I couldn't afford it.

ET
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,524 posts
 
ET, according to cartridgedb.com, your Grado puts out 5.0mV which means you would only need around 22dB of gain to blow the roof off. So your figures are off somewhere. As I said above, 54-62 dB gain is for low-to-medium output MC cartidges (0.25 to 0.85 mV)

If you really are running your Grado through 54dB of gain, my guess is that you are overdriving your Concerto (to clipping!) which may be why you find the sound less than thrilling.

I think your Concerto would be perfect for a MC cartridge just as it is (with proper input loading installed to match your MC cartridge.)

.
shadorne's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shadorne
7,467 posts
 
I gather from this thread that if Digital sounds as good as Analog, then the Analog system must have a problem. (Analog inherently should sound better...only a lot more expensive right?)

Perhaps my analog system in 1985 was not very good when I made the switch (Thorens, grado MM, belt drive etc. no more than $500 for the source)....although the Walkman D-50 CDP (1984 model) I compared it to was not exactly the cats whiskers either....but the difference, although subtle, was enough to give CD the edge (S/N and LF response seemed slightly better with the CD to me even if the ultra HF had a harshness that I was not used to hearing on vinyl. Not bad, IMHO, considering the recording industry and equipment designs of that period were all intended to make Analog sound optimum) I used the Jackson Thriller and Dire Straits Brother in Arms vinyl/CD to compare and that was enough for me to make the switch. ( I deliberately chose to compare recent recordings as I did not think the conversion of old mix/masters made specifically to sound great on Vinyl would necessarily do justice to a new medium like CD. )

Over the last 20 years I believe the recording industry has improved a lot on how to get good sound from CD's to play on systems that give optimum sound for CD's....much as the industry had already learnt (in the 70's) how to make vinyl sound optimum. Frankly, I could live with either but CD is significantly more convenient and robust...no more brushes, fluids, isolation pads, pre-preamps, clicks and pops etc.
More to discover