Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

displayname said:
The Project X2 fixes virtually all the issues I had from a design stand point on the Debut series, mainly being the 9" arm and speedbox. But the SL1500C also offers a lot of the best parts of the 1200's, with very reasonable compromises being made for the price point. I haven't handled either, but I get the feeling the 1500 might just be lower maintenance and easier to work with.

Honestly, if you can't get ears on both I think you have to just make some choices on the deign elements, and maybe factor in some wants/potential use cases. Does he want to mess with changing belts over time? Will he be changing carts here and there? Looks might be a fair tie breaker if neither of those things rock the boat one way or the other.

Personally, I'd lean a little toward Technics for the headshell swapping and the general zero upkeep, bulletproof nature. But I could think of just as many good reasons to justify the X2.
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I mean it’s a whole different model and price structure so they’re not hugely comparable. It’d want to offer more. It is much more the replacement for the older 2Xperience that @Mather has himself. There are a few debut models with speed boxes too. I agree that the X2 and the Technics are both good choices though, but at a push I’d probably go X2 to avoid a table with a built in phono stage.
 
Mather said:
Okay, comparables to a Lehman Black Cube, taking into account that's it's almost impossible to get a Schiit Mani or Vincent Pho 8 in Canada...
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No experience yet- they are shipping me their MM-6 for evaluation. They will ship to Canada. Prices start at $99 with a money back guarantee.

Products - Phono Preamps — Darlington Labs

Compare our products against Parasound JC3 and JC3 Jr, Sutherland 20/20, PS Audio Stellar, Hagerman Cornet 3, Cambridge Audio, Schiit, Lounge Audio, Parks Puffin, K&K, Ortofon, physical Step Up Transformers, and so many others. We offer unique no-feedback high-voltage J-FET RIAA phono equalizer
www.darlingtonlabs.com www.darlingtonlabs.com
 
displayname said:
The Project X2 fixes virtually all the issues I had from a design stand point on the Debut series, mainly being the 9" arm and speedbox. But the SL1500C also offers a lot of the best parts of the 1200's, with very reasonable compromises being made for the price point. I haven't handled either, but I get the feeling the 1500 might just be lower maintenance and easier to work with.

Honestly, if you can't get ears on both I think you have to just make some choices on the deign elements, and maybe factor in some wants/potential use cases. Does he want to mess with changing belts over time? Will he be changing carts here and there? Looks might be a fair tie breaker if neither of those things rock the boat one way or the other.

Personally, I'd lean a little toward Technics for the headshell swapping and the general zero upkeep, bulletproof nature. But I could think of just as many good reasons to justify the X2.
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Having the X2 myself can I vouch for it.
 
Joe Mac said:
I mean it’s a whole different model and price structure so they’re not hugely comparable. It’d want to offer more. It is much more the replacement for the older 2Xperience that @Mather has himself. There are a few debut models with speed boxes too. I agree that the X2 and the Technics are both good choices though, but at a push I’d probably go X2 to avoid a table with a built in phono stage.
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Didn't know about the built in phono on the Technics. Can you bypass it?
 
Mather said:
Didn't know about the built in phono on the Technics. Can you bypass it?
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Joe Mac said:
Yeah you can. To be fair considering it’s a built in on a table the reviews of it haven’t actually been horrendous.
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You can, but it sounds shockingly good for a built-in, despite the low gain.

Of those options I’d do the Technics, it’s built like a tank.
 
Yeah, I would absolutely look at the Moon 110 LP. It fits that price range (even a little less than that, mine was under $600 CDN), and it is a great little unit. I have no real experience hearing higher end phonos to compare it to, mind you, but it would definitely be an upgrade from the Project they are working with currently.
 
Okay guys, another question for ya. This is a speaker question... Is there any reason, impedances or whatnot that Totem Signature One speakers might not sound particular good being driven by either a Cambridge Audio CX60 or a Yamaha RX A1020? My buddy has these and says that his cheapo Paradigms actually sound better than the Totems through both of these amps which makes no sense to me...
 
Mather said:
Okay guys, another question for ya. This is a speaker question... Is there any reason, impedances or whatnot that Totem Signature One speakers might not sound particular good being driven by either a Cambridge Audio CX60 or a Yamaha RX A1020? My buddy has these and says that his cheapo Paradigms actually sound better than the Totems through both of these amps which makes no sense to me...
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The Totems look good. Nothing jumps out specs wise except for a little low of sensitivity. They’ll need a bit more power than average.

Your friend may just prefer (or be very used to) the way the Paradigms sound.
 
HiFi Guy said:
The Totems look good. Nothing jumps out specs wise except for a little low of sensitivity. They’ll need a bit more power than average.

Your friend may just prefer (or be very used to) the way the Paradigms sound.
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Thanks yeah, that's kinda what I figured. He's had the Totems for a while but says the Paras just have a better sound to them.

Side note, any thoughts about cleaning a 2M Black stylus? Got some crud on it, carbon stylus brush won't get it off, Ort specs say not to wet clean. Don't have an onzow... Any other options?
 
Mather said:
Thanks yeah, that's kinda what I figured. He's had the Totems for a while but says the Paras just have a better sound to them.

Side note, any thoughts about cleaning a 2M Black stylus? Got some crud on it, carbon stylus brush won't get it off, Ort specs say not to wet clean. Don't have an onzow... Any other options?
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Blue Tak. Flatten to the size of a quarter. Put it on your platter and use your curing lever to lower the stylus into it 2-3 times. Change the location do the stylus gets a new spot each time.
 
HiFi Guy said:
Blue Tak. Flatten to the size of a quarter. Put it on your platter and use your curing lever to lower the stylus into it 2-3 times. Change the location do the stylus gets a new spot each time.
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Cool, will do thanks. Has Magic eraser fallen out of favor? Or just not particularly effective?
 
Many thanks again to everyone in this thread who has been supporting me over the last month. I've been breaking the system this weekend and so far quite happy with the upgrades (amp & speakers).

My entire system is now:
- Dual 505 Turntable with an Ortofon OM20 cart
- Sutherland PH3D Phono Stage
- NAD C 315 bee integrated Amp
- Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary Loudspeakers

I feel like what I've got now is really something I'm going to be very happy with for the foreseeable future based on my space and listening habits. Probably only major expense coming up would be replacing the stylus and maybe I'll go with the OM 30 or 40 in which case. I might consider buying an Okki Noki RCM but don't how feasible that is in my current space.

I should do a proper write up on my thoughts of the Denton 80s and NAD which are the two new additions but in the meantime here are some pics of everything.

The NAD will actually go into the rack but I realize my interconnect isn't long enough so I'll need to put something on order.

IMG_20210109_104612.jpg
IMG_20210109_104554.jpg

Night time with focused listenting after tidying up.

IMG_20210110_202727.jpg
 
uvwxVinyl said:
The NAD will actually go into the rack but I realize my interconnect isn't long enough so I'll need to put something on order.
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Hey so on that note, any recommendations? I know Blue Jeans is the go to but with shipping (from the UK site) it works out to 75 pounds for 1m which I think is wayyy over priced for my system. 45 pounds is shipping + duty alone only which i think is ridiculous for a 1m cable.

If there's anything around that would make a difference for 30€ I would go for it at the upper end, otherwise I would just pick something standard like this up:
Amazon product ASIN B00FQK311O
I'm assuming the length shouldn't make a massive impact on sound, for example if I get 2m instead of 1m. I would just like to get a longer cable this time so it's forward compatible in case I move stuff around in the future.
 
uvwxVinyl said:
Many thanks again to everyone in this thread who has been supporting me over the last month. I've been breaking the system this weekend and so far quite happy with the upgrades (amp & speakers).

My entire system is now:
- Dual 505 Turntable with an Ortofon OM20 cart
- Sutherland PH3D Phono Stage
- NAD C 315 bee integrated Amp
- Wharfedale Denton 80th Anniversary Loudspeakers

I feel like what I've got now is really something I'm going to be very happy with for the foreseeable future based on my space and listening habits. Probably only major expense coming up would be replacing the stylus and maybe I'll go with the OM 30 or 40 in which case. I might consider buying an Okki Noki RCM but don't how feasible that is in my current space.

I should do a proper write up on my thoughts of the Denton 80s and NAD which are the two new additions but in the meantime here are some pics of everything.

The NAD will actually go into the rack but I realize my interconnect isn't long enough so I'll need to put something on order.

View attachment 83258
View attachment 83259

Night time with focused listenting after tidying up.

View attachment 83261
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Do you have albums in the doors too? Was curious if that worked with the kallax door on them? I'm assuming they only take up the sides making a little less room but they would still fit height wise? I'm going to Ikea tonight I think.
 
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