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Looking to Upgrade my Turntable Set-up (Newbie)

K

KyleKersey

New Member
Hi y'all

This is my first time posting to AudioKarma so please let me know if I'm doing anything wrong.

I'm thinking of upgrading my turntable set-up and don't really know where to start. Here's my current set-up:

Turntable: Technics SL-1200 mk3
Cartridge: Nagaoka MP-110
Phono Pre-Amp: U-Turn Pluto II
Powered Speakers: Kanto YU-6
Powered Subwoofer: JBL 550p

What I want to know is, what upgrades will affect the audio quality the most for the price and what components should be lower on my priority list (i.e. running into diminishing returns)? Being relatively new to both turntables and stereo systems in general (early 20s with limited experience), any advice or information would be greatly appreciated!
 
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KyleKersey said:
what upgrades will affect the audio quality the most for the price and what components should be lower on my priority list
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Welcome! Nice first post. Get ready for a thousand suggestions - some of which may contradict one another! Here's my $.02:

Best bang for the buck by far is speaker positioning. I include subwoofer integration in that broad category. If that's not a thing you've looked into, I'd start there.

Once the speakers are placed, take some time to note what you like or don't like about the sound you're hearing. That will help point at the next logical upgrade.

From what I can tell, your system looks to be nicely balanced and good quality. The one addition I'd suggest is to invest in some kind of record cleaning machine. Clean vinyl makes a huge difference in the sound!
 
Hello and welcome to AK.

First off you are way ahead of the game with the Technics SL-1200 MKIII. Thats a keeper for sure. I have no personal experience with that cartridge, but it has great reviews across the web, so its probably fine too.

The rest depends on your budget and how much space you have. The sky is the limit and audio in general is a deep deep rabbit hole to go down.

In order to upgrade from where you are, you will be spending quite a bit of money, since that will involve buying an integrated amp at the very least and different speakers. It also depends on what you like. Some younger people (sorry I've reached the age where I can comfortably say that) dont like vintage audio equipment. So it depends.
Give us some more info an what you like and where you would like to be. There is a wealth of information here, and some very knowledgeable people to help you along the way.
 
That seems like a pretty nice setup! I would maybe look into cartridge alignment if you haven't already. There are lots of tools for this, but in the past I have just used the quick and dirty method with printable protractors like these from Vinyl Engine. (you need to sign up for a free account)
 
You will have to go a long way to beat the 1200 T/T, keep it until you have $5000 to spend on a better model.
However your cart could easily do with an upgrade. try the MP500. But you will need to add about a 10 gram Head shell spacer to your 1200 arm & maybe a bit more weight on the counter-weigh.
The MP-500 is just about as good as it gets in the MM/MI range.

Cheers
 
Nice setup! The TT is definitely a keeper. I would start looking at the cartridge and/or phono preamp.
 
I would say you have a pretty decent setup already. But if you wanted some serious bang for your buck I would strongly recommend room correction.

I bought a MiniDSP and UMIK-1 which allowed me to integrate my twin subs and correct all my speakers in my setup. Took some fiddling but made a huge difference when I got it dialled in.
 
As others have said, hang on to the SL1200. Your cartridge and phono pre-amp are, on the other hand, quite modest. Upgrading the cartridge could make a very noticeable difference. A lot of people like the MP-110, although I didn't find it to my liking. It has a bonded elliptical stylus, so you should be looking at cartridges with at least a nude elliptical stylus. Once you've chosen your cartridge, then choose a new phono pre-amp, as it should be electrically matched to the cartridge.
 
Best bang for the buck imho is cleaning your records.
Super budget saver is using a paint pad from a hardware store and homemade cleaning fluid.
A bunch of recipes an ak, a simple one is 2/3 distilled water, one third isopropyl alcohol, and a tiny drop of dishwashing liquid soap. Put in a spray bottle, mist the paint pad, lightly hold on spinning record.
Next step up is a discwasher type cleaner.
You can keep going up in price to your comfort level.
Rabbit hole warning, record cleaning opinions are many and varied.
Good luck, happy listening.
 
As another has previously mentioned you will get a wide variety of opinions. Here is mine, and its worth about what you paid for it. But maybe there is something for you to be gained.

Table and cartridge are fine, I am not as big a fan of the 1200 as others here but it does get the job done well. The cartridge could use a higher quality stylus but till you wear that one out I would not change anything.

My recommendation would be to invest funds in speakers and phono stage. I am not going to tell you that I have heard the Kanto and that they are inadequate. Budget speakers over the past 10 years or so have improved dramatically in sound quality. But this is more of a lifestyle component than anything, or perhaps desktop monitor. Now this is just my opinion, but I think your easily obtained audio gains are available here. Personally i would go with a non-amplified set of speakers and an integrated amplifier. Yes its more expensive and yes it takes up more room. But this is where you get some significant gains. Then I would consider a higher quality phono stage, although the one you have is quite respectable.

Now these are a bit spendy, but are reported to be a remarkable monitor speaker. Something to consider

https://aoshida-audio.com/products/musician-knight1-65-inch-hifi-bookcase-speakers

6033076191.jpg

Then for an amplifer something from NAD, Cambridge, Marantz, or Rotel.

https://www.marantz.com/en-us/produ...2DbQ_6KD_DnZRKRIG7i4SfaNe8Ry0ttMaArtgEALw_wcB

marantz_pm6007_gallery_left-facing_1280x1024.png
 
Mister Pig said:
As another has previously mentioned you will get a wide variety of opinions. Here is mine, and its worth about what you paid for it. But maybe there is something for you to be gained.

Table and cartridge are fine, I am not as big a fan of the 1200 as others here but it does get the job done well. The cartridge could use a higher quality stylus but till you wear that one out I would not change anything.

My recommendation would be to invest funds in speakers and phono stage. I am not going to tell you that I have heard the Kanto and that they are inadequate. Budget speakers over the past 10 years or so have improved dramatically in sound quality. But this is more of a lifestyle component than anything, or perhaps desktop monitor. Now this is just my opinion, but I think your easily obtained audio gains are available here. Personally i would go with a non-amplified set of speakers and an integrated amplifier. Yes its more expensive and yes it takes up more room. But this is where you get some significant gains. Then I would consider a higher quality phono stage, although the one you have is quite respectable.

Now these are a bit spendy, but are reported to be a remarkable monitor speaker. Something to consider

https://aoshida-audio.com/products/musician-knight1-65-inch-hifi-bookcase-speakers

6033076191.jpg
Click to expand...
I agree with all of that BUT if I were spending that much on speakers I would talk to AK member @baco99 from Holt Hill Audio about these:
https://holthill.com/collections/holt-hill-originals/products/cionnsaile
I own a pair and absolutely LOVE them.
 
I just got a Nagaoka MP200 cartridge. Only 10 hours break-in on it. So little early to recommend. But it's one upgrade stylus that should fit your cartridge. When your stylus wears out. But verify before ordering.

Check cartridge alignment. Vertical tracking angle. Vertical tracking force. Anti- skate.

I agree with Mr. Pig's recommendation for an integrated amp and passive speakers. They should be matched to work well together. And to room and music genres.
What is your listening room like? Size, soft or hard surfaces and furniture? If your comfortable sharing. Post a couple pictures of setup and room. Pictures can be helpful to posters helping you. Do you have any concerns about bass bothering neighbors? If you got bass producing speakers. Have you heard any other speakers that you like or hate? Do you have an idea of how deep bass you want speakers to go?
What music genres do you listen to? No speaker does every genre equally well, In my opinion.

If you have time in your day. Peruse AK threads to educate yourself with audio gear that interests you.

My 1 to 2 cents.
 
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Old Guy8 said:
I just got a Nagaoka MP200 cartridge. Only 10 hours break-in on it. So little early to recommend. But it's one upgrade stylus that should fit your cartridge. When your stylus wears out. But verify before ordering.
Click to expand...
I can confirm that the MP-200 stylus fits the MP-100/110 body (I actually fitted it to an MP-100) and works very well. My understanding (from the Internet) is that there is only a small sonic difference in moving from the 100/110 to 150/200 body, so just upgrading the stylus is a worthwhile and economical move, especially when a complete MP-200 cartridge is so much more expensive than the stylus.
 
Hi!

For what it’s worth, I am a HUGE fan of the Parasound Halo HINT6 integrated amp. Has gobbs of the owner, great onboard phono and ESS SABRE DAC, great functionality, and a great look.

Sen me a DM if you’d like more info. I can send you the PDF brochure and pricing.

And to Billy’s point, the amp pairs perfectly with our Cionnsaile Monitors. We are actually putting this exact system in a small recording studio locally to use as their mix-down monitors. We won out against a set of Dynaudio powered monitors for the same purpose.
 
I also agree with Mr. Pig. Yamaha has a reasonably priced integrated, as for speakers do some research a wealth of info here at AK, and on line. I my humble opinion if your speakers can't faithfully reproduce what is being fed into them it doesn't do you a lot of good. Best of luck & welcome to the rabbit hole. :bigok:
 
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