Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

[Joe Mac]

but i dunno if i want to change turntables one year later because there is so much better or just try to upgrade it slightly (dunno whether to go red or gold for grado)

Honestly, I’d not be upgrading the tt yet if I was you, the gold and the blue 3 would both be big upgrades to the black 1 and you’d notice it on the u-turn, unless you have things you actively dislike about the table. You’ve spoken about other chain upgrades that you want. Do you want to spend your money on a new table or do you want all the other bits you’ve spoken about. I’d be going for them first and putting replacing the u-turn on the long finger for now.

What I’d say about the fluance, and the pro-ject I have, is that they are a step above the u-turn for a few reasons BUT I’d not upgrade from a working u-turn with all the options for them, I’d consider them also starter options for someone with a little higher initial budget.

 

[HiFi Guy]

Let me put it this way. If my stylus of choice worked fine on my orbit I wouldn’t have started looking. I can’t speak to other carts as I’m new and only used 2.

Also depends on how set up you are with phono, amp and speakers. my Biggest leaps have been phono and cartridge. I wonder if others with more experience could put a percentage on what effects sound improvements most.
0-100% all the stages portioned in there

I don’t really think you can put a percentage on what’s most important, but I think you are on the right track.

What I found to make the biggest differences:

Record Vacuum
Phono Stage
Turntable
Cartridge

 

[VMPKJ]

I don’t really think you can put a percentage on what’s most important, but I think you are on the right track.

What I found to make the biggest differences:

Record Vacuum
Phono Stage
Turntable
Cartridge

I meant all other things being equal in your set up (they never are)which items when changed will give the greatest noticeable changes in sound?

Is this in any order?
I have to imagine amp And speakers make a bigger sound change than vac early on. It depends on what you start with I guess.

 

[HiFi Guy]

I meant all other things being equal in your set up (they never are)which items when changed will give the greatest noticeable changes in sound?

Is this in any order?
I have to imagine amp And speakers make a bigger sound change than vac early on. It depends on what you start with I guess.

I’m a big proponent of very clean records. I’d rather listen to a lower end system with clean records than a nicer system with dirty records.

 

[kvetcha]

The guys at Schiit say the most immediate, palpable differences are found in transducers: cartridges, speakers, and tubes (if you’re using tubes). That said, a quality turntable and phono stage are necessary to get the most out of any cartridge, so ultimately your goal is to find harmony across the whole chain.

And I agree with @HiFi Guy that a record cleaner makes an enormous difference for vinyl.

 

[VMPKJ]

The guys at Schiit say the most immediate, palpable differences are found in transducers: cartridges, speakers, and tubes (if you’re using tubes). That said, a quality turntable and phono stage are necessary to get the most out of any cartridge, so ultimately your goal is to find harmony across the whole chain.

And I agree with @HiFi Guy that a record cleaner makes an enormous difference for vinyl.

How often are you guys putting records through the vac? I try to keep stuff super clean as I go already.

I’d ask @HiFi Guy but he seems like the Adrian Monk of vinyl so far. ;-).

Totally agree that building any sound product of any kind the sum is more important than the parts. wierd cheap parts can sometimes sound great in the right chain, room or scenario.

 

[HiFi Guy]

How often are you guys putting records through the vac? I try to keep stuff super clean as I go already.

I’d ask @HiFi Guy but he seems like the Adrian Monk of vinyl so far. ;-).

Totally agree that building any sound product of any kind the sum is more important than the parts. wierd cheap parts can sometimes sound great in the right chain, room or scenario.

I run everything through the vac before I play it. Then again, I don’t use a carbon fiber brush.

 

[Joe Mac]

How often are you guys putting records through the vac? I try to keep stuff super clean as I go already.

I’d ask @HiFi Guy but he seems like the Adrian Monk of vinyl so far. ;-).

Totally agree that building any sound product of any kind the sum is more important than the parts. wierd cheap parts can sometimes sound great in the right chain, room or scenario.

I have a spin clean rather than a vac. Because it lends itself to batch cleaning I tend to wash everything new and give it a new sleeve. I give used records double the amount of spins. A vac will eventually make its way into my system some way down the line.

 

[kvetcha]

How often are you guys putting records through the vac? I try to keep stuff super clean as I go already.

I’d ask @HiFi Guy but he seems like the Adrian Monk of vinyl so far. ;-).

Totally agree that building any sound product of any kind the sum is more important than the parts. wierd cheap parts can sometimes sound great in the right chain, room or scenario.

Personally, I vacuum wash every record when I first acquire it, and stick it in a nice MoFi inner. Then I zap it with an anti-static gun and brush it before playing. I’m way too impatient to do the full wash regimen every time.

I’ve rewashed a handful of records over the years, but for most of my collection the initial wash is sufficient.

 

[VMPKJ]

Personally, I vacuum wash every record when I first acquire it, and stick it in a nice MoFi inner. Then I zap it with an anti-static gun and brush it before playing. I’m way too impatient to do the full wash regimen every time.

I’ve rewashed a handful of records over the years, but for most of my collection the initial wash is sufficient.

Now that’s doable. Vac may have moved up he list.

i carbon brush and onzow sp? The needle every record played.

 

[kvetcha]

Now that’s doable. Vac may have moved up he list.

i carbon brush and onzow sp? The needle every record played.

I use a ZeroDust every few days, but ZeroStat every side.

 

[kvetcha]

I should note that if I had an automated RCM I would not be opposed to washing each listen. But mine is a whole thing that involves setup and teardown and storage.

 

[debianlinux]

I used to use a ZeroDust (equivalent drum gel pads, actually) and then I started cleaning my records (I also only clean once and then just keep it clean). I occasionally use the ZeroDust for fun but it never comes away with anything because thye stylus isn't picking anything up anymore.

 

[duke86fan]

Honestly, I’d not be upgrading the tt yet if I was you, the gold and the blue 3 would both be big upgrades to the black 1 and you’d notice it on the u-turn, unless you have things you actively dislike about the table. You’ve spoken about other chain upgrades that you want. Do you want to spend your money on a new table or do you want all the other bits you’ve spoken about. I’d be going for them first and putting replacing the u-turn on the long finger for now.

What I’d say about the fluance, and the pro-ject I have, is that they are a step above the u-turn for a few reasons BUT I’d not upgrade from a working u-turn with all the options for them, I’d consider them also starter options for someone with a little higher initial budget.

Thanks

My brain gets very OCD and kinda wanting as good as I can

 

[kvetcha]

Thanks

My brain gets very OCD and kinda wanting as good as I can

There's always going to be something better, or different. Learn to appreciate what you can about what you have so that you can make considered choices down the line. There's no rush.

 

[HiFi Guy]

Thanks

My brain gets very OCD and kinda wanting as good as I can

For someone starting fresh, I’d recommend the Fluance RT-84/85 over the UTurn. I’d not recommend a UTurn owner trade for a Fluance.

Incremental jumps for the most part aren’t worth it. Component wise, a worthwhile jump usually costs double from where one starts. Once someone reaches a certain level, one my not experience an improvement in sound quality but rather just a difference.

 

[duke86fan]

For someone starting fresh, I’d recommend the Fluance RT-84/85 over the UTurn. I’d not recommend a UTurn owner trade for a Fluance.

Incremental jumps for the most part aren’t worth it. Component wise, a worthwhile jump usually costs double from where one starts. Once someone reaches a certain level, one my not experience an improvement in sound quality but rather just a difference.

so basically just upgrade the cartridge and stuff

 

[VMPKJ]

so basically just upgrade the cartridge and stuff

According to the general consensus in this thread cartridge, phono, speakers unless yours are already good to go and then look at turntable.

 

[duke86fan]

cartridge, phono, speakers

good with the speakers

grado gold or red coming one day but i dunno which to do next

phono.. a schiit mani is pretty good from what i know.. dunno what else would be better

 

[apholden]

so basically just upgrade the cartridge and stuff

Based on what I remember of your setup, an 8mz stylus should be an excellent upgrade. I know, I know. It seems weird to spend as much on a stylus as two whole cartridges, but trust us. 8mz on black is awesome!

If you have a bit more budget, consider a gold cartridge. Don't worry about the 8mz just yet. The gold's stock stylus is great. Play that into the ground, and then get an 8mz.

Once you've listened to that for a while, then decide whether you want to upgrade the phono preamp or your headphones and/or speakers. My own experience, going directly from my Orbit's built-in amp to a Sutherland, is that a better preamp reduces noise (surface noise, dirt, pops, etc) without doing too much to the overall sound. Consider one if you find that your digital stuff sounds cleaner than records. Speakers and headphones have a massive effect on the sound, about as much as the stylus. It's hard for us to recommend stuff, because this is so subjective, it's ridiculous. We can at least say what is quality, and what is crap. But just because @HiFi Guy likes a speaker, doesn't mean you will!

As for the rest, let's not worry too much about that until we get there! By the way, you don't have to go for ludicrous like I did. I'm told that a Vincent Pho8 is a lovely upgrade from the UTurn's built-in. You also don't need to break the bank with Zu speakers like I did. There are plenty of more reasonably-priced options.