My Vinyl Revival Has Come, But I Need a Little Help

[relaxo]

Hi,

This is my first post here. I am a recording engineer with 450 old rock/folk albums in my collection. I had a little money 10 years ago before building a recording studio and bought a:

Rega Planar 3
McCormack ALD-1 w/ phono section.
Rega Elys

Now I will fulfill a dream and make it LISTENABLE finally!

1) Should I try the other preamps that you all talk about and possibly ditch the McCormack ALD-1 phono preamp?

2) I hate my Rega Elys. It sounds too HARD and dry to me with a lot of surface noise. My old Shure V15 was TOO MELLOW, too restrained with no excitement. What should I buy? I have read that the Dynavector10x5 is good for rock. The Audio-Technica OC9 Cartridge? Denon DL-160 Cartridge. Benz Micro Glider Cartridge?

Thanks for your comments,

Scott Clark
Recording Engineer
Mercy Sound Studios NYC
http://www.mercysound.com/

[Bernd]

Hi Scott,

You are alright with the Dynavector.IMHO. Also a realy good cartridge is Shelter. I have the 901 but believe that the 501 is also very good at much less money.
Good Luck

Bernd

[SlumpBuster]

The Benz is significantly more expensive than the others you listed. Is your budget really up too almost $900 for a cart? I think that my be overkill on the cost benefit of putting it on a Rega P3. Also the OC9 is moving coil, not moving magnet, so you'll need to make sure you have an appropriate preamp.

In terms of the $200 to $400 price range, i've always stuck with carts that I can upgrade the stylus without replacing the cart. I've had Ortofon OM range, but now have a Goldring 1012, which also allows for upgrading at least a couple of levels. I have no complaints with the Goldring. It handles a lot of "noisey" garage and punk rock easy, i.e. MC5, Stooges, Screeching Weasel, Naked Raygun with no harshness. As for folk, I'm totally into Jim Croce now b/c of my table.

You don't mention it, but in terms of order of upgrade, I would examine speakers before amplification. My order of upgrade was speakers, amps, turntable. If I had to do it again, I would do turntable first, then speakers, then amp. New speakers quickly revealed that my old cart was balls.

[JohnMichael]

Hi,

This is my first post here. I am a recording engineer with 450 old rock/folk albums in my collection. I had a little money 10 years ago before building a recording studio and bought a:

Rega Planar 3
McCormack ALD-1 w/ phono section.
Rega Elys

Now I will fulfill a dream and make it LISTENABLE finally!

1) Should I ditch the McCormack ALD-1 phono preamp and buy something else?

2) I hate my Rega Elys. It sounds too HARD to me with a lot of surface noise. My old Shure V15 was TOO MELLOW. What should I buy? I have read that the Dynavector10x5 is good for rock. The Audio-Technica OC9 Cartridge? Denon DL-160 Cartridge. Benz Micro Glider Cartridge?

Thanks for your comments,

Scott Clark
Recording Engineer
Mercy Sound Studios NYC
http://www.mercysound.com/

A little more advice from a Rega owner. One thing I do is to use a Mobile Fidelity Geodisc to align my cartridge. I did not like the sound of the table with the recomended Rega alignment. A change in alignment might even help your current cartridge sound better. I have been pleased with the Ortofon OM20 for a moderately priced cartridge. Of course some of the cartridges that are taller than the Rega carts will require the purchase of spacers to raise the arm. I use the 2mm spacer with the Ortofon and I think the Dynavector might also need a spacer. I think all the cartridges listed are good and I owned an earlier example of the Dynavector and will be purchasing another one soon. Welcome to audioreview.

[dean_martin]

Welcome aboard!

First, I'm not a Rega owner. Art Dudley reviewed the Dynavector 10X5 cart in Stereophile and said that it was a popular cart for Rega owners. Based on his description, it seems like it would fall between the "too mellow" and "hard" with a warm presentation.

I generally agree that the cart should come before a phono preamp upgrade, but you might be able to save a little $$$ if McCormack Audio has mods or upgrades for your amp. It's my understanding that Steve McCormack offered many upgrades for his products at one time. Upgrades and mods aren't advertised on his website (I couldn't find them), but it might be worth an email to see if something is available for your piece. Here's a link:

http://www.mccormackaudio.com/

[musicoverall]

The Benz is significantly more expensive than the others you listed. Is your budget really up too almost $900 for a cart? I think that my be overkill on the cost benefit of putting it on a Rega P3. .

I thought so, too. But the Glider I had on my old P3 years ago really transported my setup to another level. It worked perfectly. Also, I picked it up when they were going for $650 and with the trade in of my old Goldring G1022, I got the Glider for $500. If they had a deal like that going, the Glider would be a very synergistic choice, IMHO.

[musicoverall]

Hi,

This is my first post here. I am a recording engineer with 450 old rock/folk albums in my collection. I had a little money 10 years ago before building a recording studio and bought a:

Rega Planar 3
McCormack ALD-1 w/ phono section.
Rega Elys

Now I will fulfill a dream and make it LISTENABLE finally!

1) Should I try the other preamps that you all talk about and possibly ditch the McCormack ALD-1 phono preamp?

2) I hate my Rega Elys. It sounds too HARD and dry to me with a lot of surface noise. My old Shure V15 was TOO MELLOW, too restrained with no excitement. What should I buy? I have read that the Dynavector10x5 is good for rock. The Audio-Technica OC9 Cartridge? Denon DL-160 Cartridge. Benz Micro Glider Cartridge?

Thanks for your comments,

Scott Clark
Recording Engineer
Mercy Sound Studios NYC
http://www.mercysound.com/

My sentiments exactly about both the Elys and the Shure. The Shure I heard was the latest iteration and I couldn't get excited about something that sounded as rolled off as it did. The moving coils I use now measure as flat as the Shure but they sound flat and the Shure does not, to my ears. It just sounded dull and lifeless.

If you can find a good deal, I'd go for the Glider. As I posted a minute ago, the Glider didn't just make my Rega P3 sound good, it made it sound better than I ever imagined. On the other hand, there are others here more knowledgable about cartridges in this range. I don't have a lot of recent experience with different cartridges so I tend to stay with what is familiar. It's not very easy to audition cartridges on one's own system!

[risabet]

Consider a Benz "ACE", about 85% of the Glider sound for about $550.00

[relaxo]

Thanks you all for your input. Still saving up money. Also thinking about a Denon 103R. Do any of these have replaceable needles or cheaper retipping?

Denon 103R
Dynavector10x5
Audio-Technica OC9
Benz Micro Glider (expensive retipping!)
Benz "ACE"


Can't wait to hear what's really down in those grooves for the first time in my life!

[Woochifer]

I agree with JohnMichael, try aligning the cartridge first and tweak with any of the other adjustable parameters before you start swapping out parts of your vinyl rig. The GeoDisc is a great tool for properly aligning the cartridge. There's a reason why those things were selling for $200+ on eBay before Mobile Fidelity reintroduced the GeoDisc a couple of years ago.

I use an Ortofon OM30 on my Dual CS5000, and it sounds great with my rock LPs. Definitely has more of a lively sound than the Shures, which may or may not work for you depending on your preferences. I had to go with a MM cartridge because of that turntable's low mass tonearm. And while I was tempted to go with Grado, I knew that those cartridges had interference problems with my particular turntable, which has an unshielded motor located directly underneath the platter.

With the Rega, you should be fine with a MC cartridge. Keep in mind though that all MCs require retipping/cartridge replacement when the stylus wears out. That means doing the mounting and aligning regimen all over again about once every two years or so. With MM carts, you just swap out the stylus assembly with no realignment necessary, and you can keep a spare needle around to swap out whenever you play dirty or worn records.

[slate1]

I'm sorry - there's no amount of re-aligning of that Elys that's going to make it sound good... "hard, dry, surface noise" Relaxo hit it dead on with regard to the Elys.

Hands down, for rock - get the Dynavector 10x5, you won't regret it.