Optimal Upgrade Method

[BTShepp]

Hi all,
After a few years of regularly reading this forum, I made an account tonight and this is my first post.
I am interested in upgrading something in my vinyl setup. My equipment is listed below. Essentially, is it wiser to upgrade my cartridge, or just hold off for a better table in the future? I would be happy to budget around $250 or so for a new cartridge. I don't want to be over ambitious in buying a new cartridge for the table, at least by a large margin. I suppose I could use that same new cartridge in the future should I get a better turntable. I look forward to reading through your ideas!

JVC QL-A2 Turntable
Ortofon OM5e cart
Sherwood RX-4109 receiver
Paradigm 5se-mk3 mains
Yamaha YST-60 (active) sub

 

[bobaloniny]

As long as the tt keeps speed etc..I would look towards the cart.
Well, actually I would buy an OM 20 stylus for your cartridge, thats quite an upgrade.
Unless of course you just want to get away from Ortofon, then by all means, go cartridge shopping.

 

[bobins08]

Upgrade Stylus or Cartridge will give you a big bang for the buck. If you upgrade the TT and keep the current cartridge you will most likely have the same sound, or very close to it.

If you like the sound character of the Ortofon then upgrade the Ortofon stylus and also look on Barter Town for a used Phono Stage. The phono stage makes an incredible difference.

 

[BTShepp]

As long as the tt keeps speed etc..I would look towards the cart.
Well, actually I would buy an OM 20 stylus for your cartridge, thats quite an upgrade.
Unless of course you just want to get away from Ortofon, then by all means, go cartridge shopping.

Thank you for your input. The best feature of the table, IMO, is its accuracy of speed.

 

[BTShepp]

Upgrade Stylus or Cartridge will give you a big bang for the buck. If you upgrade the TT and keep the current cartridge you will most likely have the same sound, or very close to it.

If you like the sound character of the Ortofon then upgrade the Ortofon stylus and also look on Barter Town for a used Phono Stage. The phono stage makes an incredible difference.

Right now I'm using the phono stage in the receiver. I'm sure there's a lot left to be desired, although it is impressive to even have the preamp built into the modern receiver.

 

[malden]

I think the weak link is the receiver. Upgrading it to an integrated amplifier with a built in phono stage will get you into audiophile territory much quicker.

 

[malden]

here's a descent integrated amp... http://www.crutchfield.com/p_745C316BEE/NAD-C-316BEE.html

you'll also need a phono preamp... http://www.crutchfield.com/g_50500/Phono-Preamps.html?tp=204

 

[Mister Pig]

Glad to have you posting with us! We are a passionate bunch on the turntable forum, and we hardly ever agree on anything. Well except that other guys is wrong! And that I have lousy typing skills, but hey I am a pig.

If I were to upgrade your vinyl experience, this is what I would do.

Get a better stylus for your Ortofon. The OM 20 stylus makes sense, and there are some third party vendors like JICO that are reported to make a very cost effective replacement stylus for it.

Clean vinyl is very important to an enjoyable vinyl experience. We mostly agree(not all of us mind you) that a vacuum record cleaning machine is the best solution for clean vinyl. They used to be terribly expensive, but an affordable one from CanFab3 has just been released last year, and you can get one for a bit more than $100. Check out Squeakycleanvinyl.com

There is something to be said for a good quality integrated amp or 2 channel receiver with a quality on board phono stage. Now if your receiver is meant for a home theater set up, perhaps an outboard phono stage would offer you an upgrade in sound quality. But if this is only a 2 channel music system, then a nice used Creek integrated could be a significant upgrade for you.

Hope there is something in this post to help you out.

Regards
Mister Pig