Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

AnthonyI said:
There was nothing I disliked about the MP-7 at all, it performed well with both MM and MC carts, aside from having to bring the volume up a bit on MC carts
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Were you running your Quintet Bronze straight through the MP-7 without a separate SUT?

I tried ran my LOMC through the MP-7 and, while it technically came came through with the volume cranked up, it was somewhat flat and the bass response was not very punch. I inserted an headamp in the chain and the MC cartridge came out of its shell.
 
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wmeugene said:
I know I've asked this before, but I am getting close to upgrade time on the turntable. Last upgrade for a while other than playing with carts and other accessories.

I'll be moving from a uTurn. I've maxed out its performance in my opinion with the below and a Grado Gold 3 cart.

I currently have this as the rest of my chain:
Sutherland Insight > Leak Stereo 130 > Wharfedale Lintons.

Aesthetically, I have a nice Silver/Walnut thing going on which looks great. Mostly listen to rock/jazz and love the inherent warmth that my system has. Would perhaps love just a tad more analytical/clarity to it, but great records sound great.

So from what I've looked at, my endgame forever table would be something like the Feickert Volare or a VPI Prime/Prime Scout (the Frankenstein one at Upsacle has my eye), but I finally got my wife's (limited) okay with an upgrade and I don't think one for $4k is in the cards. If I can convince her of that (other than buying lottery tickets due to my luck) anyone have opinions on those tables?

More realistically, I'm going to be in the $1500-2500 range. The Mofi UltraDeck is at the top of that and while I like the idea of it, aesthetically it doesn't do a lot for me. My least favorite thing about the uTurn is the belt, I want switching between 33 and 45 to be as easy as possible and not have to deal with the belt falling off a lot like it does switching on the uturn. The Technics 1210 would be great, but I don't know when I last saw the silver in stock (and 4OE sold out of the black). I've looked at the Project X2, Marantz TT15S1, and the VPI Scout. They all look nice, but none really distinguish themselves at least from what I've read. Also, I live 2 hours from an audio dealer, so trying these in person is not likely. I have a lead on an UltraDeck at the old price, with cart fwiw that may or may not be there when I'm officially ready. Not looking at Regas as they seem fussy, are pricey in the US, and I like Grados (so avoiding hum is important).

I have a Grado Gold3 as I said and have no issue getting an 8mz stylus and moving it over, so no cart needed. I eventually want to try the upper series with them. I don't want an onboard preamp, so that knocks out the Technics 1500.

Thoughts? Opinions? Unreasonable hatred for one of my choices? I'd be curious in everyone's opinion as this is my trusted spot on the internet as y'all are closer to me than anywhere else on the internet when it comes to these sort of things. I haven't been directed wrong when it comes to the Insight and Lintons, which I love. I also love the Leak too. Most importantly, I want a turntable that I'll love.
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Might be worth reaching out to Dave at Vinyl Nirvana. He rebuilds Thorens tables and they are beautiful. Prices may have gone up a ton since I got mine though a few years ago. But they used to be under $2000. Great mix of vintage look but fully rebuilt to not need much maintenance

Edit: here’s one TT he recently made which seems up your alley

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DJSpinner said:
Were you running your Quintet Bronze straight through the MP-7 without a separate SUT?

I tried ran my LOMC through the MP-7 and, while it technically came came through with the volume cranked up, it was somewhat flat and the bass response was not very punch. I inserted an headamp in the chain and the MC cartridge came out of its shell.
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I didn't have a SUT for any of this, but I didn't use the Quintet Bronze this time around. I used a Denon DL-103R, Quintet Mono, Goldring 1042 and the Opus3. More or less what I used with the MM-6, and no, I didn't experience the flatness or lower bass response. It just needed to be turned up, but not "cranked up". That being said, I would definitely add the SUT if your going to run LOMC carts regularly, but that also changes the whole "bang for your buck" theory as well as explains my flexibility comment.
 
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MikeH said:
Might be worth reaching out to Dave at Vinyl Nirvana. He rebuilds Thorens tables and they are beautiful. Prices may have gone up a ton since I got mine though a few years ago. But they used to be under $2000. Great mix of vintage look but fully rebuilt to not need much maintenance

Edit: here’s one TT he recently made which seems up your alley

View attachment 131448
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I had hoped to have Dave restore my Thorens, but now he is semi-retired and only restores TD 125's, These days his tables for sale are around $2k+, and they sure are beautiful.
 
91X said:
I had hoped to have Dave restore my Thorens, but now he is semi-retired and only restores TD 125's, These days his tables for sale are around $2k+, and they sure are beautiful.
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Ah didn't realize he was semi-retired! I bought a turntable from him a few years ago and love it. I think mine was around $1,400 without a cart. He does beautiful work. Ended up doing a somewhat custom TT for me--I had wanted a specific wood for the plinth. It's my home office turntable now since I got an Ultradeck for my living room.
 
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AnthonyI said:
Here goes nothing.............
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I’ve gathered my thoughts on the Darlington MP-7, this took a little time post demo process and prewriting this, I sat here pondering for a few days exactly how to present my thoughts in a fair and honest way.

I had commented on the MM-6 that I put it in my top 5 for pre-amps, which has not changed. But I know the inevitable question and comparison will be to the MP-7, so this is going to be a little different than usual, it’s not going to be an overly in-depth breakdown of the MP-7, it’s going to be a comparison.

To start with, Darlington makes great products, no discussion needed there. When it comes to the MP-7, it did a better job of bringing well loved albums to their best potential, it expanded the soundstage and “space”, it’s a bit more transparent, and the mid-range and bass flexed its muscle a bit more when compared to the MM-6.

But this is where I had to take pause as I went from album to album, genre to genre and MM to MC, the MP-7 is a really, really good pre, but again, the question that was looming was the comparison, and let’s not beat around the bush, the price difference. There was nothing I disliked about the MP-7 at all, it performed well with both MM and MC carts, aside from having to bring the volume up a bit on MC carts, I’ll still maintain that compared to the Insight I still lean towards the Insight, it's a bit more refined and it’s much more flexible than both the MM-6 and MP-7. I think were the MP-7 ends up landing, where the “is it worth the difference” is going to be, will be heavily based on where you are in your analog journey and budget.

If you’re in the market for a top tier pre-amp with the absolute most bang for your buck under $1k and you’re not planning to look beyond this purchase, grab the MP-7, easy recommendation and you will never be wanting (…. yes, famous last words) for anything. If you’re still in the “experimental” stages, or you want something a little (a lot) better than a Pluto for instance, the MM-6 will be the best $330 you ever spent. The thing the MP-7 does really well honestly, is position itself at the top of the bang for your buck under $1k, as I mentioned, and why I still lean towards the Insight, you will need to jump into the $1500+ category to start to chip away at what the MP-7 is bringing to the table, this is why I’m going about this in the way I am, this particular piece of equipment just nails the price point, but it in no way should be considered “entry level”.

Most of you know I have been through quite a few pre-amps, it was a great learning process and a lot of fun, but it does boil down to these buckets, baring any type of sale, open box, or end of life pricing. The “starting” point being $300-500, then $1k+ and ending with $2k+, beyond that isn’t my territory, but this is where I would put audible differences if I had to assign a price to it. So going with that breakdown, the MP-7 punches above its price point landing in that space just below $1k, and can be a long-term addition/solution for most. For those of you keeping track, I’d put the MP-7 right next to the MM-6, tied, in my top 5 based on all of the above comments.

I’ve said this before, and at times I feel like it may come across as a cop out, but it truly isn’t. There is a lot of good out there in our hobby, if not great, the difference is budget and personal preference, this is no different, if you’re in the market I hope this will at least help you hammer down a path, if not a choice that works for YOU.

As always, just my opinion.
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Thanks for the thoughtful review. I have decided to get a DL phono stage, as I am in the category of under $1k, and am trying to decide which one. You seemed to make a good case for the MP-7, but threw me at the end where you said that it and the MM-6 were tied in your view. ? (I'm debating whether the $200 difference would be better spent on the improvement sound wise, or on more records)
 
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MikeH said:
Ah didn't realize he was semi-retired! I bought a turntable from him a few years ago and love it. I think mine was around $1,400 without a cart. He does beautiful work. Ended up doing a somewhat custom TT for me--I had wanted a specific wood for the plinth. It's my home office turntable now since I got an Ultradeck for my living room.
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Being unable to get mine restored led to me getting the StudioDeck, which admittedly sounds better. I do enjoy looking at my Thorens though. 😊
 
91X said:
Being unable to get mine restored led to me getting the StudioDeck, which admittedly sounds better. I do enjoy looking at my Thorens however. 😊
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Yea--hard for me to say which sounds better because every other part in the chain is different on my two setups. Different cart, different amp, different phono stage, different speakers. Both sound very good to me though! And like you said, the Thorens are lookers haha
 
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MikeH said:
Yea--hard for me to say which sounds better because every other part in the chain is different on my two setups. Different cart, different amp, different phono stage, different speakers. Both sound very good to me though! And like you said, the Thorens are lookers haha
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The main improvement for me is isolation. My Thorens is much more sensitive to external vibrations than the MoFi in my room. Those HRS feet really seem to be effective.
 
91X said:
The main improvement for me is isolation. My Thorens is much more sensitive to external vibrations than the MoFi in my room. Those HRS feet really seem to be effective.
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I haven't noticed any isolation issues in mine. Dave added a bunch of enhancements to it for better isolation. The armboard is acrylic which he said is better for isolating the tonearm and cart. It's also damped.

it's really a shame that he's retiring/not doing as much anymore. he was super helpful when i bought my turntable.

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MikeH said:
I haven't noticed any isolation issues in mine. Dave added a bunch of enhancements to it for better isolation. The armboard is acrylic which he said is better for isolating the tonearm and cart. It's also damped.

it's really a shame that he's retiring/not doing as much anymore. he was super helpful when i bought my turntable.

View attachment 131475
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Damn, that's a beautiful table. Good for him on retiring, but I was hoping to grab one of those in the next couple years for my theoretical end-game table!
 
MikeH said:
I haven't noticed any isolation issues in mine. Dave added a bunch of enhancements to it for better isolation. The armboard is acrylic which he said is better for isolating the tonearm and cart. It's also damped.

it's really a shame that he's retiring/not doing as much anymore. he was super helpful when i bought my turntable.

View attachment 131475
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Mine may have been in need for some restoration (I have had it since the 80's!). I was disappointed that Dave had cut back. Beautiful table!
 
Is anyone here familiar with World Wide Stereo out of Pennsylvania? They have an item I am interested in ordering in stock that I haven't seen elsewhere recently and was interested in any feedback.
 
wmeugene said:
Is anyone here familiar with World Wide Stereo out of Pennsylvania? They have an item I am interested in ordering in stock that I haven't seen elsewhere recently and was interested in any feedback.
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my audiolab 6000-A open box was from their ebay store i believe. so was the DC blocker i got. no issues!

Security Measure

www.ebay.com www.ebay.com

assuming thats the same place? i've only ordered from their ebay shop though...both were pretty significantly under MSRP but both were open box.
 
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