TT plans and suggestions

[blackraven]

I've been looking at buying a TT for a while and wanted to get some opinions on my planned equipment,

TT's- Pro-Ject RM5se, MH MMF 5.1se or possibly the MMF 7.1

Phono Preamps- Pro-Ject Tube Box SE II, Bellari VP130

Cartrige- Grado Statemanent andReference Sonata1, Gold Ring Elite, Clear Audio Aurum Beta S MK2 or Virtuoso

[poppachubby]

You say possibly an MMF 7.1, would that be used? The Tube Box kills the Bellari. I own the Bellari and have auditioned the Pro-Ject.

Your carts are out of my league, I can't comment.

Here's a deal and a half, if you're not too picky and want to get in for a good price. http://www.audioclassics.com/detail....l=MMF5&nav=cat

[02audionoob]

There is a distinct possibility, or even probability, that the Grado moving iron cartridges will hum on the Music Hall and Pro-Ject turntables. I agree with Chubbs...the Bellari does not compete with the Pro-Ject. However, at the Pro-Ject's retail price, I think there may be better options...depending on your sonic preferences. I would also add the Dynavector 10x5 and 20X to your cartridge considerations.

[JohnMichael]

The closest experience I have with Music Hall or Pro-ject tables was from my Thorens TD295 MKII which was made by Pro-ject. The arn was good but I feel like my Rega arm is better. Since you listed a Clearaudio cartridge the Clearaudio Emotion CMB came to mind. CMB is their ceramic magnetic bearing which should be very quiet in operation. The table comes premounted with a Clearaudio cartridge for $2,000.

http://www.musicdirect.com/product/84327

Of course I would also be interested in a Rega P5 or 7. Another ttable on my short list would be the VPI Classic turntable.

As far as cartridges I have been very pleased with the Benz MC Gold now that I have the Graham Slee "Gram Amp 3" MC only as the phonostage.

As far as Grado's are concerned I never felt they were tracking the groove well until I had the lowered counterweight for the Rega arm. I was not pleased with the Grado in the Thorens that had the Pro-ject arms similar to the ones they are using today. They may work better in the carbon fiber arms than in the generation of arm my table had.

Good luck with your ttable search.

[blackraven]

Thats a great deal on the Clear Audio Emotion. Unfortunately I'm about 6 months away from completing it because we are taking a winter vacation. I'm working extra and saving some money. I'll start piecing it together in the next month. I'll probably purchase the preamp first and the TT and cartridge last. I'm wanting to get some opinions on my choice of equipment and to get some recommendations of other equipment.

As far as the MMF 7.1 goes, I would buy new Chubbs. I'm leaning to the Proj-Ject however. I like its small footprint and the fact it has a carbon arm. I need to check out the suspension on it.

My budget will be around $2500.

Noob, what other phono preamps would you recommend in the price range of the PJ Tube Box II?

JM, I've got that VPI TT and the Benz cartridge's on my list to look at as well.

[02audionoob]

Noob, what other phono preamps would you recommend in the price range of the PJ Tube Box II?.

In your first post, you mention the Tube Box II SE, which is an upgrade that I think is probably worth the money, when compared to the Tube Box II...even though the lower-priced Tube Box II is nice and outperforms the Bellari. In the SE's price range, I'd be inclined to look at the PS Audio GCPH (recent prices are around $700), the Dynavector P75 mkII ($780), Clearaudio Smart Phono ($600), Musical Surroundings Phonomena 2 ($600), the Rogue Audio Stealth ($795) and perhaps still consider the Tube Box SE II.

Where I'm going with this is, some options that might be more neutral than the Tube Box series, given that you already have tubes in your VA preamp. I use an Audio Research tube integrated amp, which I would say sounds pretty neutral to me, but not entirely so. When I was using a Tube Box SE, I thought maybe I was going just a tiny bit too far to the warm side. I switched to the PS Audio GCPH and the total system sounds closer to neutral to me. I still have my eye on upgrade possibilities, like the Whest Two, but I might save my pennies and aim even higher.

One thing I like about the GCPH that also exists with some of the other options is the multiple load settings. With my Goldring Eroica H, I turn the load selector down one notch from the recommended setting. With the Primare R20 ($795) you also get two MM gain settings and an MC, which gives you optimum settings for something like the Rega or Goldring MM cartridges with 6 or 7 mV output, or the Goldring or Dynavector high-out MC cartridges with 2 to 3 mV output.

Dang...I didn't realize I was going to write so much.

[blackraven]

I was just browsing Audiogon and there are some good deals on the MMF 7.1 and Pro-ject RM5 SE as well as the Pro-ject Tube Box II se. I can get the MMF7.1 and the tube box for about $1600. I have to have a talk with the wifey on this one.

Noob, thanks for the input about the preamps. I like the idea of the tubes, since I'm using a hybrid preamp which gives me a more neutral side of warm sound.