Should I upgrade my phono preamp, or my cartridge?

M

MuddyBoots

New Member
Hey guys, I think the time has come for a little upgrade. I'm currently running a Technics SL-1200mk2 with an Audio Technica AT95E cartridge, behringer pp400 phono pre, SMSL SL-36A Pro amp, and Micca MB42X bookshelf speakers. Which upgrade will show me the clearest improvement in sound, a new cartridge (or just the stylus perhaps?), or a new phono preamp? I am not afraid of a little DIY either, as I have been considering Skrodahl's Muffsy phono preamp (you can see it at www.muffsy.com, and I'm open to other DIY recommendations). I can't spend a ton of money, in the words of Daniel Tosh, I'm a baller on a budget, so im looking at spending like $150 tops.
 
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Don't believe you are going to "upgrade" much with that budget either cart or preamp. Save some more money.
 
One possible upgrade that you might look at is the AT120E cartridge, but with the system that you currently have, I don't think it would be worth upgrading the cartridge right now. That AT95e is a great bang for buck cartridge.
 
Thanks for the reply. I got that cartridge because so many people said it performs well above its price point, and even has an upgrade path with improved stylii available. With my admittedly budget system, would I notice a difference in upgrading the phono pre amp?
 
Most likely not. Are you planning on a different amp and speakers down the road? That would probably be the time to maybe think about upgrading what you have now as far as cart and preamp.
 
MuddyBoots said:
Hey guys, I think the time has come for a little upgrade. I'm currently running a Technics SL-1200mk2 with an Audio Technica AT95E cartridge, behringer pp400 phono pre, SMSL SL-36A Pro amp, and Micca MB42X bookshelf speakers. Which upgrade will show me the clearest improvement in sound, a new cartridge (or just the stylus perhaps?), or a new phono preamp? I am not afraid of a little DIY either, as I have been considering Skrodahl's Muffsy phono preamp (you can see it at www.muffsy.com, and I'm open to other DIY recommendations). I can't spend a ton of money, in the words of Daniel Tosh, I'm a baller on a budget, so im looking at spending like $150 tops.
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Welcome to the AK forums.

In the area of upgrading stylus, there are several after market stylus available.

HE-hyper elliptical
http://www.turntableneedles.com/ATN...Technica-AT3400-AT95E-etc-710-DHE_p_3722.html

VividLine
http://www.lpgear.com/product/LPGATN95VL.html

Shibata
http://www.lpgear.com/product/LPGATN95SA.html

The HE and the VividLine may be the two most cost effective choices. :)
 
Look at the Grado cartridges. With your equipment, I recommend a cartridge upgrade > preamp at this point. They fit in the price range and are considered better than the ATs. Of course, you could always spend more and get a higher model or an Ortofon. A new preamp would be a good second step to improve your vinyl but only if you upgrade the rest of your system first.
 
The word Behringer just sends chills up my spine, unless you are a 19 year old college wanna-be DJ--their stuff is just junk. For $50, you can get an ArtDJII any day of the week on Amazon. Agreed on the cart--keep it and spend a couple bucks on a stylus.
 
savatage1973 said:
The word Behringer just sends chills up my spine, unless you are a 19 year old college wanna-be DJ--their stuff is just junk. For $50, you can get an ArtDJII any day of the week on Amazon. Agreed on the cart--keep it and spend a couple bucks on a stylus.
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+1 Behringer is very low level stuff. The ART DJ II is a much better preamp. I'm using a Pyramid SEA-2500X and have no plaimts. I think the phono stage is more than adequate and you can find them new for 80 bux, S/H included.
 
You might not hear much by upgrading the phono stage - the differences can be subtle. But if you decide to upgrade, I'd look for a unit that can handle both Moving Magnet and Moving Coil cartridges. At your budget, the Emotiva XPS-1 will handle both MM or MC cartridges, and it offers loading options for the MC carts. Might be better sounding than the Behringer for Moving Magnet cartridges but it will definitely position you for the future if you ever want to try a Moving Coil cartridge.

The ART DJ handles MM only which means if you want to try a MC cartridge down the line, you'll need to upgrade the phono stage or buy a Step Up Transformer as well as a cartridge.
 
I have a very similar system, sl-q200 tt --> AT92e -->realistic 42-2101a --> breeze audio tpa3116--> energy take speakers/subwoofer. I recently replaced a behringer ufo202 with the realistic phono, which I think I found searching through old threads on this forum, and others. Despite being really cheap, there were more than a few impressions claiming the realistic phono compares favorably to much more expensive phono amps. Now i definitely noticed a difference, better noise floor, and a bit more clarity in complex sections. But, it's an improvement I've gotta look for, for switch back and forth to notice. Honestly, diy isolating my tt made a more noticeable difference, because I was experiencing subwoofer feedback with my system. Isolation mods also allowed me to crank up my sub significantly, which is even more immediately noticeable.
 
I've seen those Little Bear phono amps, Poultrygeist, and they look very interesting. Do you have any experience with them? How do they sound?
 
Yeah I would replace the phono stage. I never used any Behringer components that I had much faith in. The sound quality has never been that good from them.


There have been a couple of DIY phono stage projects that are well received and could be in your budget range. Perhaps the CNC phono boards, its meant for MM and MI cartridges, or high output moving coil cartridges. Or the Boozehound Labs phono stage could work also. I have heard the CNC, but not the other. The CNC is quite nice.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
I was looking at those little bear phono amps too. Seems you have to modify them just to fix a few issues out of the box. Or pay more for a unit that has the fixes already.
 
bigx5murf said:
I was looking at those little bear phono amps too. Seems you have to modify them just to fix a few issues out of the box. Or pay more for a unit that has the fixes already.
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Thats kinda the consensus I got too. I think I'm leaning towards the Muffsy/CNC phono preamp. It seams like a fun project.
 
dcmfan said:
You might not hear much by upgrading the phono stage - the differences can be subtle. But if you decide to upgrade, I'd look for a unit that can handle both Moving Magnet and Moving Coil cartridges. At your budget, the Emotiva XPS-1 will handle both MM or MC cartridges, and it offers loading options for the MC carts.
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I'd have to respectfully disagree about different phono stages offering only "subtle" differences. I've had the opportunity of auditioning a variety of phono stages using the same table and cart combination on the same system in the same room. The difference can be dramatic to say the least.

I agree, that having both MM and MC options is nice to have, IF you are contemplating upgrading to a MC cart, but that is a whole different issue for future consideration, since even an entry level MC cart is double the OP's current budget. Paying for those features may be "overbuying" at this point in time--maybe down the road.

$150 gets an Art DJ II and leaves $100 for a stylus/cart upgrade.
 
savatage1973 said:
I'd have to respectfully disagree about different phono stages offering only "subtle" differences.
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Notice that I said "can be" not "will be". I've done the same as you (changing phono stages and keeping everything else the same). Sometimes the changes were easy to hear, and other times not so much.
 
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