Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice
- Thread starter Joe Mac
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Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
Odd. All their other balanced tables have both balanced and unbalanced outs and will run both balanced and unbalanced cartridges though both. Not to mention that tonearm wiring is fundamentally balanced by nature.
OMC
Well-Known Member
My Aries was the first iteration and, if I’m not mistaken, VPI came out with two updated versions. Seems they were dissatisfied with the first version, too. No experience with other VPI ‘tables other than the earlier HW-19 so no slamming of the company's other products by me.
That said, the Rega P10 was and is a revelation in comparison to the original Aries.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
Looking at this there is nothing that would suggest to me you can’t run a standard MM. it uses a 5 pin din output from the tonearm which means you can basically chose DiN to either RCAs or XLRs or a mini XLR to connect to your phono. The balanced MM lets you run everything in balanced without an MC but it will just as happily run a standard MC from what I can see.
ZiggsMBK
New Member
Am I the only one who had issues with the tonearm lift on the RB330 losing its hydraulic grease on the regular? Had to replace the stupid thing three times over four years. Despite that—and the annoyance of VTA shims—I would still probably go with the Planar 3. Played well, especially once you jump down the rabbit hole of aftermarket upgrades. That’s tweaking fun for years yet, if it’s your buddy’s thing.
Angsty
Well-Known Member
This is one of the references I saw that suggests that the True Balanced design does not support typical MM cartridge designs. I saw a better reference than this one earlier and will amend the post with an edit if I find it.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
I see absolutely nothing in that suggesting what you are saying. It’s also blurb on the cartridge not the table at hand.
I mean it won’t be balanced like this or an MC would but tonearm wire is intrinsically balanced and how you terminate it makes the difference.
So like any other table giving a din output you just pick and chose the flavour of cable and termination that suits your needs.
Angsty
Well-Known Member
Better reference from Turntable Lab:
Pro-Ject: Pick It Pro Balanced Cartridge
Buy Pro-Ject: Pick It Pro Balanced Cartridge at TurntableLab.com, a Better Music Store Experience since 1999.
www.turntablelab.com
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
Better reference from Turntable Lab:
Pro-Ject: Pick It Pro Balanced Cartridge
Buy Pro-Ject: Pick It Pro Balanced Cartridge at TurntableLab.com, a Better Music Store Experience since 1999.
View attachment 228124
Where does that even remotely state that a table that isn’t referred to can’t take a standard MM? It absolutely won’t be balanced anymore but why would it not work like every other table with a DIN output from the tonearm?
There’s some serious overthinking going on in here right now
Angsty
Well-Known Member
“True Balanced Audio requires a moving coil cartridge (MC) or the Pro-Ject Pick it Pro Balanced MM Cartridge”
Mather
Unknown Member
It appears the connection is a balanced DIN connector on the bottom of the tonearm that is connected to a DIN to RCA cables directly to a stage or amp. There's not another option that I can see. It's a weird setup.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
Yes but you can run the table unbalanced. The same any other table with a DIN output. That’s a concept project are pushing hard but it doesn’t stop you using a standard MM and a din to RCA cable and an unbalanced phono stage.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
It’s not. DIN outputs are really common. Especially in higher end tonearms for modular designs. I’ve done a bit of research around that with my pining for an technics SP10. All tonearm wiring is intrinsically balanced by nature given it has a positive and negative for each channel and a ground. It’s just that it’s often then split into RCAs with the ground out, rather than XLRs, and used in unbalanced phono stages.
Mather
Unknown Member
Sorry I meant it's weird that you connect it through the bottom of the table directly into the tonearm. Seems like a unstable way of connection a pretty fragile connector.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
Funnily enough any tonearm with a DIN connecter is actually done like that. It’s a pretty sturdy connection that clips in tightly and satisfyingly like an XLR rather than an rca that plugs in a bit more loosely.
Angsty
Well-Known Member
Just like you can buy adapters that allow you to connect balanced outputs to RCA inputs, it’s possible you can find a DIN cable that does this same function. However, the turntable is not designed for that.
I’m sure that it is possible to make it work, but it may require a different cable that that associates the MM generator shield with the right channel ground.
I’m not going to run through cable pinouts to prove it one way or the other, but it is notable that the manufacturer and its distributors say that the system is intended to be used with this special MM cart design or MC carts.
For a $1650 turntable, that just feels like a headache to me, especially to only use a bonded elliptical stylus on a MM cart.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
Yeah mate you’re just wrong. Every tonearm wire is intrinsically balanced up to its termination Ifs design is no different to any tonearm ending wiith a DIN connector, project are just trying to push and sell balanced as a preferable concept right now.
DIN to RCA cables are not some kind of strange adapter, they’re standard, in fact this table is bundled with one and you actually have to go back to project or a third party company to buy a DIN to XLRs or DIN to mini XLR to even use it “true balanced”.
Angsty
Well-Known Member
Ok - I’ve got no dog in this fight. Just sharing info that has been published elsewhere.
True Balanced – Pro-Ject Audio Systems
www.project-audio.com
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