best way to improve sound of my records?

S

staf

Active Member
Hey folks!

I am now at that place where i feel like upgrading my stereo and i would like some input and information regarding my record player please. Now to start off, i have a Project Debut Carbon TT, Ortofon OM 20 stylus, and a Rotel RC-972 with a Rotel phono card.

So to improve the sound quality of my records, what area should I concentrate on to get the best improvement?, phono preamp, stylus, or even a better TT?

Well to be honest im hesitant to buy a better TT because with this one i cant hear any bad WAF or inner groove distortion so thats good but as you guys probably have heard, at high volumes you can hear the motor in the speakers softly between tracks. Hahah it has taking me over a year to accept this flaw in this TT.

So I have about $300 to spend. I could buy the OM 30 for about that much or im thinking of buying the Rega Phono Pre which is about that much too.

So what do you guys think?

Thanks!
 
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Record Cleaning Machine - that utilizes a vacuum

You will be surprised at how much better your LPs will sound
 
^^^ what Frank sez...

For me it was truly one of those "why the heck did I wait so long to do this?" moments when I bought one.
 
Cleaning will make for better listening results, but I doubt it will have much (if any) effect on "motor hum".
 
It would be very hard to find a VPI, 16.5 RCM for $300 but maybe not impossible. I bought mine used 3 years ago for $350 but you have to look everywhere, Ebay, amazon, audiogon and I mean search everyday a couple times a day. I missed out on a few from AGon and one was at $300. But I gotta tell ya, best $350 I ever spent!!
 
Frank Sol said:
Record Cleaning Machine - that utilizes a vacuum

You will be surprised at how much better your LPs will sound
Click to expand...

Frank is absolutely correct on this! You can get a Record Doctor from Audio Advisor for $200 and have $100 left over to buy some more vinyl! An RCM will change your listening life. So be good to your records and in doing so you are being good to yourself!
 
Just a few suggestions but not in order of importance...
----get a vpi 16.5 for 350 in Seattle craigslist...NOT MINE.
----get a Dynavector 10x5 ($450, save- it's worth it!) and you'll not need to worry if you need to upgrade the cart anymore until you spend MUCH more on a new TT
---Check with all your phono pre settings and play with them if you can...if not, get pre you can change.
---Play with the height of your arm....higher in back=more highs, lower in back=more bass
---make sure your TT is really isolated - research using raquet balls and butcher block for isolation along with lots of other tweaks like that
---make sure LP's are very clean, dust free and stylus is kept CLEAN ! Always...
 
You can get a Record Doctor RCM from Audio Advisor for $199. It's manual in that you have to rotate the record by hand and turn it over to do the other side. For $159 you can also get a manual KAB EV1 from KAB electro acoustics. You must provide your own vacuum cleaner to use it.
 
staf said:
Hey folks!

I am now at that place where i feel like upgrading my stereo and i would like some input and information regarding my record player please. Now to start off, i have a Project Debut Carbon TT, Ortofon OM 20 stylus, and a Rotel RC-972 with a Rotel phono card.

So to improve the sound quality of my records, what area should I concentrate on to get the best improvement?, phono preamp, stylus, or even a better TT?

Well to be honest im hesitant to buy a better TT because with this one i cant hear any bad WAF or inner groove distortion so thats good but as you guys probably have heard, at high volumes you can hear the motor in the speakers softly between tracks. Hahah it has taking me over a year to accept this flaw in this TT.

So I have about $300 to spend. I could buy the OM 30 for about that much or im thinking of buying the Rega Phono Pre which is about that much too.

So what do you guys think?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

+1 on RCM.. KAB is less than that, I haveit, it works great.. clean vinyl is a must.

Or.. Moving Coil cartridge.. I had the Super OM40, got a Denon 103r (similar price)... Night and day difference between the two.
 
^^^^
I agree with the LOMC Cartridge as making the largest individual difference in SQ. I've tried HOMC and they aren't much difference from MM.

Make sure your phono stage is compatible with LOMC carts, if so that's where I'd spend my 300 bucks!
 
To the OP, the items mentioned above are ok for your records, but to really hear what you've been missing you need to buy a pair of Western Electric 111c line matching transformers. You will need a phono pre. Absolutely the best thing you can do to your system.
 
Trying not sound like a broken record (I'll be here all week. Try the veal.), but is the room set up properly?

Sometimes, for little to no money, changes can be made to the room and equipment interaction with the room that will pay back much more than a multi-thousand dollar change in equipment...
 
+1 on the RCM, clean records go a long way to better sound.
If you have a record player and phono stage already an RCM is the next purchase you should make if you want to protect your stylus from unnecessary wear.
 
I too would be looking into the room set up, try some of these, especially the stereo imaging tests.

http://www.audiocheck.net/soundtestsaudiotesttones_index.php

I used them to help set my room up, Im still working on it, but basically I had phantom speakers in the far corner of my room really playing havoc with the room acoustics.
You can spend tens of thousands on gear, if your room isn't tuned it will sound like crap.
I would then think about a record cleaner, you have to start with the basics, even a clean record will sound crap in an acoustically challenged room.
A dirty record will sound crap in a tuned room.
 
I would without spending much or any money figure out how I could isolate that motor from the deck. Even if I had to strip the motor out and put it out side of the plinth and get a longer belt. And if all that failed I would get a different table, the last thing I want to listen to is the sound of some motor being broadcasted over my sound system.
 
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