New mono and upgraded stereo vinyl playback

[Mellotronix]

I am currently using an old Project Carbon Esprit with a Grado ME+ mono cart for mono playback. I have a mix of originals from the 60's and most of the Beatles/Beach Boys recent mono reissues.

The Project Carbon is temporary while I wait for Sumiko to send me a circuit board for my Project Classic TT. Grado hum is not a problem on the Classic. I've had Grado woodies mounted on that TT since Day 1. It is a very minor annoyance on the Esprit, only audible when the stylus hits the runout groove (point nearest the motor).

The VPI remains pretty much the same. I love the way that the Grado Master Statement 2 sounds with this deck (Prime Scout with 3D printed tonearm). Mono microgroove reissues sound very good on it as well. I will eventually get another armwand to handle mono with a higher end cartridge--thinking Ortofon Cadenza Mono. For now I'm enjoying my system very much!

 

[dpdatl]

Nice system. I would guess with the choices you made in gear it is a warm sounding system.

 

[Rome]

Very nice!

Rome

 

[Nightwisher]

Sweet!

 

[tcdriver]

I like it.

 

[Mellotronix]

Nice system. I would guess with the choices you made in gear it is a warm sounding system.

You are correct. Even with the BW 705's which can be exuberant, the overall presentation is on the warm side, especially since I acoustically treated the room with Auralex Pro Panels and bass traps. The room doubles as a small studio for audio recording, mixing and mastering so it's a great sounding space by design.

 

[Mellotronix]

I like it.

Thanks. If I had more patience and knowledge, I'd have a vintage system like yours. I owned a Garrard 40B turntable during high school and college. It took good care of the records that I played on it--still have all of them and they sound terrific! Listening to one right now: Neil Young Tonight's the Night. Bought it at Trade a Tape on the Hill in Boulder, Colorado (yeah, they had records too). My 40B had the plastic plinth with the fake woodgrain.

 

[Mellotronix]

Sweet!

Again, love that Luxman stuff.

 

[Mellotronix]

As some (well none so far) of you sharp eyed viewers will notice, the leads on the Project Esprit barely reached the short bodied Grado ME+ and I did, indeed, rip off the red wire's clip while attaching it to the pin. Heated up the soldering pen and had it fixed in less than 10 seconds. Decided that it didn't need to be covered with heat shrink right this moment, so it looks gnarly but works fine.

Even more unsightly are the two huge mounting screws sticking heavenward like a dead cowboy lying on his back with his boots pointed at the sky.

I'll get to those things eventually. I wasn't in the mood to try to hold those little nuts underneath the cartridge ears when I mounted it, so I took the easy, less aesthetically pleasing path of least resistance. You'd think that Grado would throw in a couple of different sized screws like Ortofon does. And c'mon Project. Just a millimeter of extra lead wire would be appreciated. Thanks for listening.