Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

Anybody have recs for USB audio cables that aren’t crazy expensive? Looking for something to go from my Aries mini into an external DAC (USB-A to USB-B). Can be really short as they will likely be stacked or right next to each other. Looking to spend under $50. I’m also assuming USB is better to use than an optical audio cable?
 
Kyuuji said:
@Joe Mac @kvetcha @Bsdmr2

Have done a fair bit of reading up and looking around since reading the recent posts and right now it looks like the X1 is leading the pack. The Rega's need for an additional box (and price of said box) if changing belts gets tedious have helped to cross it out for now. Partner is only aware of the turntable, records and amp – not the possible phono stage down the line – and groaned at the idea of a further box with the Planar. So probably keep that ace up my sleeve for a later date than burn it now. Though the glass platter of Rega is a thing of beauty I can't deny.

The Fluance drop-in was a definite cat among the pigeons @Joe Mac so cheers for that 😂 it's a lovely thing and the inclusion of the 2M Blue is still kind of messing with me. I'll be looking at black because it'll be sat on different wood and honestly, kind of love the minimal black turntables, so wouldn't be taking advantage of the veneer but it certainly looks nice. I see there's no 78 option which I wouldn't see being an issue in the short term (?) though amusingly a shellac record was what kicked me into finally getting started with all of this.

So it really comes down to a final knowledge fill on the X1:
  • Can the 2M Blue stylus be used in place of the Pick it S2 MM or would it need to be the cartridge replacement?
  • If in a distant future I eventually wish to go for the Bronze/Black cartridge then am I right in believing I could because the supported weight is 5-8g and the Ortofon ones (including the one included) are 7.2g?
and then with the following choices:
  • Fluance RT85 w/ included 2M Blue - £500
  • Pro-Ject X1 w/ purchased 2M Blue Stylus - £800
..with the question being around whether the difference between the tables, in looking for a TT that sounds great and will last me a good length and have accessible upgrade paths, is justified in the price difference? The full depth of some of the elements will likely escape me now but the idea of having things to grow into or upgrade as my knowledge and experience fills out appeals greatly. More about asking the people that know than concern over the price itself.

Oh also, one final ultimate dealbreaker..

Can the X1 work with the metal Clamp-IT that Joe has?

Thanks all for the continued patience and assistance, really is very useful and getting back to that excitement again now a lot of the mud has cleared!
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If you are comfortable with the extra money the X1 is a clearly better table so go there. The s2mm is a re voiced 2m so the blue stylus will fit and work, as to whether that’s the best idea I just can’t find enough information online.

if you’re not comfortable with the extra money and are pushing because you feel you have to don’t. The fluance is a really good table that loads of people have on here and love, it is more than good enough in its price range and I’m sure it will accept better cartridges and having the removable head shell makes experimenting there much easier. As for 78s beyond them being at a higher speed and needing their own stylus/cartridge I just don’t know enough about them, never really interested me.

the 2m bronze/black cartridge weighs the same so the counterweight isn’t an issue. But project sell ranges of counterweights and they’re less than £20 a shot. If you ever want a new, heavier, counterweight you just need to ring their uk distributor, Henley Designs and talk it through with them and they’ll sell you the right extra counterweight.

My 2 cents, and I know @kvetcha completely disagrees with this, is avoid the bronze/black like the plague. The only profile I like in the 2m series is the blue. If I wanted to upgrade past it I’d move to a different manufacturer (I went Grado). I find their sound too bright and detailed and that’s not the reason I moved from digital to analogue. The bronze/black are definitely “better” but that better is not something that I, personally, prefer the sound of.
 
Joe Mac said:
If you are comfortable with the extra money the X1 is a clearly better table so go there. The s2mm is a re voiced 2m so the blue stylus will fit and work, as to whether that’s the best idea I just can’t find enough information online.

if you’re not comfortable with the extra money and are pushing because you feel you have to don’t. The fluance is a really good table that loads of people have on here and love, it is more than good enough in its price range and I’m sure it will accept better cartridges and having the removable head shell makes experimenting there much easier. As for 78s beyond them being at a higher speed and needing their own stylus/cartridge I just don’t know enough about them, never really interested me.

the 2m bronze/black cartridge weighs the same so the counterweight isn’t an issue. But project sell ranges of counterweights and they’re less than £20 a shot. If you ever want a new, heavier, counterweight you just need to ring their uk distributor, Henley Designs and talk it through with them and they’ll sell you the right extra counterweight.

My 2 cents, and I know @kvetcha completely disagrees with this, is avoid the bronze/black like the plague. The only profile I like in the 2m series is the blue. If I wanted to upgrade past it I’d move to a different manufacturer (I went Grado). I find their sound too bright and detailed and that’s not the reason I moved from digital to analogue. The bronze/black are definitely “better” but that better is not something that I, personally, prefer the sound of.
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Good 2 cents @Joe Mac
 
MikeH said:
Anybody have recs for USB audio cables that aren’t crazy expensive? Looking for something to go from my Aries mini into an external DAC (USB-A to USB-B). Can be really short as they will likely be stacked or right next to each other. Looking to spend under $50. I’m also assuming USB is better to use than an optical audio cable?
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I'm tempted to recommend AmazonBasics USB 2.0 Printer Type Cable - A-Male to B-Male - 16 Feet (4.8 Meters). USB has a pretty solid standard, so anything compliant should be fine.
As for comparing USB and optical audio, that depends strongly on the implementation of the sending and receiving devices.
 
Joe Mac said:
the 2m bronze/black cartridge weighs the same so the counterweight isn’t an issue. But project sell ranges of counterweights and they’re less than £20 a shot. If you ever want a new, heavier, counterweight you just need to ring their uk distributor, Henley Designs and talk it through with them and they’ll sell you the right extra counterweight.

My 2 cents, and I know @kvetcha completely disagrees with this, is avoid the bronze/black like the plague. The only profile I like in the 2m series is the blue. If I wanted to upgrade past it I’d move to a different manufacturer (I went Grado). I find their sound too bright and detailed and that’s not the reason I moved from digital to analogue. The bronze/black are definitely “better” but that better is not something that I, personally, prefer the sound of.
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I would say listen for yourself to all if you can. For me, I LOVED my blue but wouldn’t go back and much prefer the detail from the black. I don’t think the better detail lacks analog sound quality at all personally. Switching from 2m black to a cd brings home the difference for me pretty easily. To each their own though.
 
VMPKJ said:
I would say listen for yourself to all if you can. For me, I LOVED my blue but wouldn’t go back and much prefer the detail from the black. I don’t think the better detail lacks analog sound quality at all personally. Switching from 2m black to a cd brings home the difference for me pretty easily. To each their own though.
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No I wouldn’t compare it to a cd or file digital directly. As far as analogue is concerned it is undoubtedly bright and detailed. That isn’t why I got into analogue. I prefer the warm sound of my grado and my tube amps, that is why I got into analogue. I’ll be looking for better Grado carts, or other similar manufacturers, Ortofon are permanently off my shopping list.
 
Joe Mac said:
No I wouldn’t compare it to a cd or file digital directly. As far as analogue is concerned it is undoubtedly bright and detailed. That isn’t why I got into analogue. I prefer the warm sound of my grado and my tube amps, that is why I got into analogue. I’ll be looking for better Grado carts, or other similar manufacturers, Ortofon are permanently off my shopping list.
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I’d also probably stay away from Ortofon. I have the Bronze and it’s fine but I don’t really LOVE it. Will probably go for a Grado next. The guy who sold me my turntable said he refuses to carry anything below the Bronze (which is a bit dramatic but point was taken haha).
 
MikeH said:
I’d also probably stay away from Ortofon. I have the Bronze and it’s fine but I don’t really LOVE it. Will probably go for a Grado next. The guy who sold me my turntable said he refuses to carry anything below the Bronze (which is a bit dramatic but point was taken haha).
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In its price range, and as an upgrade to the red, the blue is a really solid option. That’s the only Ortofon I’d personally consider and in those particular circumstances. When you go above it I think there are so many options that better serve my needs.
 
Joe Mac said:
No I wouldn’t compare it to a cd or file digital directly. As far as analogue is concerned it is undoubtedly bright and detailed. That isn’t why I got into analogue. I prefer the warm sound of my grado and my tube amps, that is why I got into analogue. I’ll be looking for better Grado carts, or other similar manufacturers, Ortofon are permanently off my shopping list.
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Sure. The point was analog warmth vs digital. It think it’s fair to compare them given that. Just saying taste will differ - set ups too, but it doesn’t lack that sound to me. There is more Detail and high frequency info for sure. I like the point where where those two meet. Just giving a different perspective.
 
MikeH said:
I think USB is probably the way to go vs optical. I’m going from an Aries Mini to a Singxer SDA-2 DAC.
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Out of the digital connections the best sound I’ve got is out of a digital coax output. That said my source that does coax/optical is a different one to my usb source. USB does allow for rates above 24/192 and for DSD also
 
Joe Mac said:
Out of the digital connections the best sound I’ve got is out of a digital coax output. That said my source that does coax/optical is a different one to my usb source. USB does allow for rates above 24/192 and for DSD also
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Thanks! I’ll investigate more. From what I’ve seen, most reviews of DACs seem to favor using USB in as the source but I’ll look into mine more and see!
 
VMPKJ said:
Sure. The point was analog warmth vs digital. It think it’s fair to compare them given that. Just saying taste will differ - set ups too, but it doesn’t lack that sound to me. There is more Detail and high frequency info for sure. I like the point where where those two meet. Just giving a different perspective.
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That’s fair enough. I’ve heard the bronze and black in dealer demo set ups and didn’t like either, I completely thought they were detail at the expense of warmth, it wasn’t there for me. I had a red and a blue on my system. The red is muddy. The blue was good, it was very good when I improved my phono stage, but when I got a much better amp I thought it sounded shrill. The grado’s provide a much more natural, warm sound for me.
 
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I liked my Bronze very much and it still tracked better than any other cart I've used, but it is very much an issue of personal preference. I am a bit of a detail fiend. 😬

There is something to be said about a smooth, warm delivery, though, even at the expense of some detail. The hunt for More never ends.
 
kvetcha said:
re: X1

- I do not know if the 2M stylus will fit the Pick-It cartridge. I would probably recommend giving it a listen as-is and possibly saving for a replacement down the line versus immediately jumping to a 2M Blue. While the Pick-It 2S MM is manufactuered by Ortofon, it is voiced by Pro-Ject, and is likely to sound different than a standard 2M Red.

- I see the manual states the included counterweight can support cartridges up to 10g. You should be fine.

- Most of the record weights are interchangeable (except those for Regas, as they of course have their own special spindle). The Pro-ject Clamp-IT should work great.

excerpt from Michael Fremer's review at Analog Planet:
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Joe Mac said:
If you are comfortable with the extra money the X1 is a clearly better table so go there. The s2mm is a re voiced 2m so the blue stylus will fit and work, as to whether that’s the best idea I just can’t find enough information online.

if you’re not comfortable with the extra money and are pushing because you feel you have to don’t. The fluance is a really good table that loads of people have on here and love, it is more than good enough in its price range and I’m sure it will accept better cartridges and having the removable head shell makes experimenting there much easier. As for 78s beyond them being at a higher speed and needing their own stylus/cartridge I just don’t know enough about them, never really interested me.

the 2m bronze/black cartridge weighs the same so the counterweight isn’t an issue. But project sell ranges of counterweights and they’re less than £20 a shot. If you ever want a new, heavier, counterweight you just need to ring their uk distributor, Henley Designs and talk it through with them and they’ll sell you the right extra counterweight.

My 2 cents, and I know @kvetcha completely disagrees with this, is avoid the bronze/black like the plague. The only profile I like in the 2m series is the blue. If I wanted to upgrade past it I’d move to a different manufacturer (I went Grado). I find their sound too bright and detailed and that’s not the reason I moved from digital to analogue. The bronze/black are definitely “better” but that better is not something that I, personally, prefer the sound of.
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Brilliant, thank you both so much again. I'm going to run with X1 🎉. Was less a feeling of pressure and more just wanting to be certain from people with experience that I'm putting money where it will count. Appreciate you coming at it from that angle though and for the time once again, it affords me the ability to get excited without the anxiety.

I reached out to Analogue Secution around the 2M Blue and if they had any experience of the stylus on the X1 and they came back with "I am told (but not yet confirmed) that it is not just a case of changing the stylus. There is a difference in the coils of the 2M Blue. So you would upgrade the whole cartridge.". I'm considering whether it would be wise to ask them whether they could fit it one now rather than attempt to do so myself down the line or whether it would be best to see if the Pick It is fine as is.

Interesting on the Bronze/Black note and can see it's well into the territory of preference. Will be far enough down the road to where I'll no doubt be able to go out and demo a number of the higher end ones. Not with an intention to spring now but for awareness what would you say was the equivalent bracket for the 2M Blue with Grado? It might be nice at some point to move a little laterally to explore the nuances between things too, before progressing up the scale.

Other than the question marks around the Blue it looks like it's back to being full steam ahead! 🚂🔥🔥🔥
So exciting!! Especially as it's no wider and only a fraction deeper than the Esprit so can give the final thumbs up for the stand to be made.
 
debianlinux said:
At some point someone linked a non-US outlet for the 2M blue that beats the price even with shipping of any outlets stateside. It wasn't Thakker. Any help?
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For just the stylus? I think that was me and it was because we got a 100th anniversary edition in Europe that was discounted to encourage upgrading the red cartridge. If there’s still stock of that version the dealer was www.analogueseduction.net and they take the 20% VAT off the listed price at checkout once you choose shipping to the US because you don’t pay UK VAT as a US customer.
 
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Kyuuji said:
Brilliant, thank you both so much again. I'm going to run with X1 🎉. Was less a feeling of pressure and more just wanting to be certain from people with experience that I'm putting money where it will count. Appreciate you coming at it from that angle though and for the time once again, it affords me the ability to get excited without the anxiety.

I reached out to Analogue Secution around the 2M Blue and if they had any experience of the stylus on the X1 and they came back with "I am told (but not yet confirmed) that it is not just a case of changing the stylus. There is a difference in the coils of the 2M Blue. So you would upgrade the whole cartridge.". I'm considering whether it would be wise to ask them whether they could fit it one now rather than attempt to do so myself down the line or whether it would be best to see if the Pick It is fine as is.

Interesting on the Bronze/Black note and can see it's well into the territory of preference. Will be far enough down the road to where I'll no doubt be able to go out and demo a number of the higher end ones. Not with an intention to spring now but for awareness what would you say was the equivalent bracket for the 2M Blue with Grado? It might be nice at some point to move a little laterally to explore the nuances between things too, before progressing up the scale.

Other than the question marks around the Blue it looks like it's back to being full steam ahead! 🚂🔥🔥🔥
So exciting!! Especially as it's no wider and only a fraction deeper than the Esprit so can give the final thumbs up for the stand to be made.
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The Prestige Gold3 is the same bracket in terms of price. It’s currently only available directly from the US but can be bought off amazon.com and they’ll pre-charge for customs so no nasty surprise. I have the older gold2. It’s slightly less detailed but it’s tonally much nicer to my ear. the upgrade path for that is the 8mz stylus. I’ve just done that and it’s brilliant, all the detail you’d get from the blue but still keeping the warmer tone that I much prefer.
 
Joe Mac said:
For just the stylus? I think that was me and it was because we got a 100th anniversary edition in Europe that was discounted to encourage upgrading the red cartridge. If there’s still stock of that version the dealer was www.analogueseduction.net and they take the 20% VAT off the listed price at checkout once you choose shipping to the US because you don’t pay UK VAT as a US customer.
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Yes. They will ship the 2M Blue stylus for $145. It's closer to $180 around here. Thanks, though, I was actually wanting to check their other stock.
 
debianlinux said:
Yes. They will ship the 2M Blue stylus for $145. It's closer to $180 around here. Thanks, though, I was actually wanting to check their other stock.
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That's where I just ordered my attenuators from, super cheap shipping and they went out the next day. Cheaper than buying from the states by far. Hell cheaper than buying in Canada too.
 
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