Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

duke86fan said:
My parents actually said they'd get me some open back headphones for my birthday in 2 and a half weeks and my only debate is the sennheiser 58X (because no amp yet) or the grado SR80e... i hear the grado are amazing for mids and rock music but the 58X seem like better all arounder headphones that i can use on my record player and my laptop (the grados would be turntable only.. i dunno how youtube videos would sound on grados... but this also leads to a problem since half of my records are based on electronic instrumentation like rap and dance music so i dunno how grados work with that)
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Music Direct carries the Grado SR80e headphones and you can return them within 60 days "if you do not like the sound/performance." Try them and decide for yourself. If you don't like them, return them and get the drop sennheisers. What have you got to lose, other than return shipping?

And, unsure why you couldn't use the Grados with your laptop. I have the SR60e and use them with my macbook. They sound terrific, clear and detailed, maybe a little light in the bass, but the 80e would fix that.
 
dansomeone said:
And, unsure why you couldn't use the Grados with your laptop. I have the SR60e and use them with my macbook. They sound terrific, clear and detailed, maybe a little light in the bass, but the 80e would fix that.
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they are super leaky and might be too warm for voices and digital stuff like how i listen to almost every genre
 
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HiFi Guy said:
If you need isolation as opposed to “super leaky” the Sennheisers aren’t got you either.
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oh i know that.. i just wanted didn't want to be hearable from 10 feet away

in retrospect its probably fine.. i just expected the 58x to be leaky but lesss like minispeakers than grado

if they both leak the same then i'll go with grado and shit
 
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So it's upgrade time.

1. Looking for a cart and deciding between staying with MM or going MC? For background I replaced a 2m blue with another after it was damaged (stylus only) and it's never been the same.

2. As I was discussing with Joe he had a great point; I will soon outclass my table with an expensive cart. So now what's a step up from the AT LP-120 that's a mid range (5-8 hundred) that either comes with a better cart than the 2m blue or is cheap enough for me to get a better cart right away?

3. Then this brings up belt or direct drive? My experience tells me direct drive is better but some people swear by belt drive.

I'm analytical to a point and want to understand what the pros and cons are since I'll live with this setup for a while.

Any help is appreciated.
 
Ethos99 said:
So it's upgrade time.

1. Looking for a cart and deciding between staying with MM or going MC? For background I replaced a 2m blue with another after it was damaged (stylus only) and it's never been the same.

2. As I was discussing with Joe he had a great point; I will soon outclass my table with an expensive cart. So now what's a step up from the AT LP-120 that's a mid range (5-8 hundred) that either comes with a better cart than the 2m blue or is cheap enough for me to get a better cart right away?

3. Then this brings up belt or direct drive? My experience tells me direct drive is better but some people swear by belt drive.

I'm analytical to a point and want to understand what the pros and cons are since I'll live with this setup for a while.

Any help is appreciated.
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MC requires dedication. You’ll either trade it in for another at a reduced cost (usually 20% off) or send yours off to be retipped. If sending it off, you’ll want a backup so you don’t have any down time. And of course, you’ll need a MC capable phono stage. Given most of us here are heavy spinners, I usually don’t recommend MCs.

Turntable wise, I’d look at either a Fluance RT85 or a Pioneer PLX-1000. The Pioneer is a really solid table. That and a Grado Blue3 would come in under budget- The Pioneer can be had at a discount. Don’t let the price of the Grado fool you- they sound better generally than the Ortofon 2m series. Another good cartridge choice would be Audio Technica VM95ML.

Belt vs. direct drive is an ongoing argument with no answer. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Either can offer stellar performance.
 
Ethos99 said:
So it's upgrade time.

1. Looking for a cart and deciding between staying with MM or going MC? For background I replaced a 2m blue with another after it was damaged (stylus only) and it's never been the same.

2. As I was discussing with Joe he had a great point; I will soon outclass my table with an expensive cart. So now what's a step up from the AT LP-120 that's a mid range (5-8 hundred) that either comes with a better cart than the 2m blue or is cheap enough for me to get a better cart right away?

3. Then this brings up belt or direct drive? My experience tells me direct drive is better but some people swear by belt drive.

I'm analytical to a point and want to understand what the pros and cons are since I'll live with this setup for a while.

Any help is appreciated.
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Yeah I tend to agree with what’s been said above. I think in your shoes coming from the AT I’d probably go for the pioneer as it’ll feel so similar but perform so much better. Guys are there any of those 15-20% discount codes still knocking about if he decides to go that way?

I don’t think you’ll be surprised at the cartridge recommendations given the convo we had yesterday 😂. I love the grado prestige series, I have the gold, and much prefer them to the Ortofon 2m as well. If you like them enough and keep with the upgrade bug you could think about the next move being towards the wood body Statement/Reference lines. That’s my thinking for next year (with the 8mz stylus ordered to upgrade the gold for this year). New gear is fun!

just one last question. Does your amp have a phono stage or are you using a standalone one? Just because you’ll need either. Neither the fluance nor the pioneer has one built in, unlike the AT.
 
Joe Mac said:
Yeah I tend to agree with what’s been said above. I think in your shoes coming from the AT I’d probably go for the pioneer as it’ll feel so similar but perform so much better. Guys are there any of those 15-20% discount codes still knocking about if he decides to go that way?

I don’t think you’ll be surprised at the cartridge recommendations given the convo we had yesterday 😂. I love the grado prestige series, I have the gold, and much prefer them to the Ortofon 2m as well. If you like them enough and keep with the upgrade bug you could think about the next move being towards the wood body Statement/Reference lines. That’s my thinking for next year (with the 8mz stylus ordered to upgrade the gold for this year). New gear is fun!

just one last question. Does your amp have a phono stage or are you using a standalone one? Just because you’ll need either. Neither the fluance nor the pioneer has one built in, unlike the AT.
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@Ethos99 One thing to point out- Grado just upgraded the Prestige series- now called the 3. All initial reports are that this is a big upgrade over the 2. I’ll have a Gold3 here tomorrow. I’m currently running a wood body Grado, but really want a user replaceable stylus.

Regardless of which Grado you choose, you still have an upgrade path- the 8MZ stylus, which has also just been revised. Even a lower end body is reported to be better than the stock top of the line once the stylus is upgraded to the 8MZ.

They have 3 different groups of cartridges within the Prestige series- the second model is the top measuring within the group- so a Green3 will be the best measuring of the Black3 cartridges.

Here’s the grouping:

Black/Green
Blue/Red
Silver/Gold
 
HiFi Guy said:
@Ethos99 One thing to point out- Grado just upgraded the Prestige series- now called the 3. All initial reports are that this is a big upgrade over the 2. I’ll have a Gold3 here tomorrow. I’m currently running a wood body Grado, but really want a user replaceable stylus.

Regardless of which Grado you choose, you still have an upgrade path- the 8MZ stylus, which has also just been revised. Even a lower end body is reported to be better than the stock top of the line once the stylus is upgraded to the 8MZ.

They have 3 different groups of cartridges within the Prestige series- the second model is the top measuring within the group- so a Green3 will be the best measuring of the Black3 cartridges.

Here’s the grouping:

Black/Green
Blue/Red
Silver/Gold
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I'll be interested to see what you think. Did we hear anything back from Grado about the changes?

The 8mz stylus has been upgraded too? That's interesting too. There has been a weeks delay without shipping since I ordered my 8mz so maybe waiting for new stock? I usually give vendors a fortnight before I get onto them, so we will see. Hopefully this is the case if its a big improvement!

I had been tentatively looking at either the Statement/Reference Sonata for next year (the prices seem very similar and my understanding is that the difference is that the references have a higher output voltage?). My thoughts were if it was good enough that it was just about as far as I'd go up the range with the table I have and I could just swap it every year with the 20% discount. Either way I'm sure I'll be happy with the 8mz on the Gold 2 for the year ahead and I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts on the improvements on the Gold 3 and how it compares to the wood bodies.
 
Joe Mac said:
I'll be interested to see what you think. Did we hear anything back from Grado about the changes?

The 8mz stylus has been upgraded too? That's interesting too. There has been a weeks delay without shipping since I ordered my 8mz so maybe waiting for new stock? I usually give vendors a fortnight before I get onto them. Hopefully this is the case if its a big improvement!

I had been tentatively looking at either the Statement/Reference Sonata for next year (the prices seem very similar and my understanding is that the difference is that the references have a higher output voltage?). My thoughts were if it was good enough that it was just about as far as I'd go up the range with the table I have and I could just swap it every year with the 20% discount. Either way I'm sure I'll be happy with the 8mz on the Gold 2 for the year ahead and I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts on the improvements on the Gold 3 and how it compares to the wood bodies.
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I do know that the 8MZ has gone from a .0003 x .0007 bonded elliptical to a .0002 x .0006- assuming still bonded elliptical on the upgraded 8MZ. Sounds like you are getting the upgrade.

Regarding bonded vs nude mounting. I’ve rethought its importance. It’s not like the bonded area comes in contact with anything, although nude mounting should have reduced moving mass, all things being equal.

Reference has higher output due to more windings in the coil. It’s around a mile of copper in the Rederence vs 7 feet of thicker wire in the Statement. I really enjoy the Statement Platinum, but since Needle Doctor closed, I can’t find a dealer to do an upfront exchange to eliminate down time like Needle Doctor used to.
 
HiFi Guy said:
I do know that the 8MZ has gone from a .0003 x .0007 bonded elliptical to a .0002 x .0006- assuming still bonded elliptical on the upgraded 8MZ. Sounds like you are getting the upgrade.

Regarding bonded vs nude mounting. I’ve rethought its importance. It’s not like the bonded area comes in contact with anything, although nude mounting should have reduced moving mass, all things being equal.

Reference has higher output due to more windings in the coil. It’s around a mile of copper in the Rederence vs 7 feet of thicker wire in the Statement. I really enjoy the Statement Platinum, but since Needle Doctor closed, I can’t find a dealer to do an upfront exchange to eliminate down time like Needle Doctor used to.
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Yeah that’s a pain there is no dealer in Ireland that carries Grado carts at all, but there is one In Scotland that I mail order from and they offer the 20%. I figure that if I go that way and they want the old one back before sending out the new one for the discount that I can keep the gold with a clean stylus to use for a couple of weeks of the year. This is all very hypothetical and far of though, for now it’s all about the gold and 8mz when it arrives!
 
kvetcha said:
My problem is I don't want to have to track sides played to figure out how much life I've got left, and I also don't fancy having to replace such an expensive part so far in advance.

Why you gotta make me paranoid, @HiFi Guy?
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It’s not paranoia- it’s math. Given a 40 minute album, you’ve reached 1000 hours in a year if you play 4.8 albums a week.

Microline styli give zero warning when they are worn. Better safe than sorry.
 
HiFi Guy said:
It’s not paranoia- it’s math. Given a 40 minute album, you’ve reached 1000 hours in a year if you play 4.8 albums a week.

Microline styli give zero warning when they are worn. Better safe than sorry.
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It’s more than that surely? 1000/52 is approx 20. That’s more like 28 40 minute albums a week
 
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