Naked kings and shiny things

Posted by: Tim Williams on 19 August 2002

Hmmmm. I'm a little concerned. For about the last three years I've listened almost exclusively to vinyl (Gyro / Q.C. modified RB300, Dynavector DV20XL), CD's having been relegated to 'in-car' use only.

Over the weekend, however, I dug out an old CD (Velvet Underground - 'I'm Sticking With You' after hearing it on a current car ad.)

Quite simply, the CD player (Micromega Duo Pro transport/DAC) is trampling all over my turntable - much broader soundstage / frequency range / much deeper, tighter bass - it simply sounds much better.

Is this simply a result of better quality source or does my turntable setup require attention / upgrading? - Would an off-board phono stage be the answer (I'm currently using 'S' boards within my 102) and, if so, which one?

Partnering equipment is 102 / 180/ flatcap / napsc / tablette 50's - Maybe I should just stop listening to the CD player and be happy again

Posted on: 19 August 2002 by Phil Barry

Maybe you're really a Linnie at heart. :-) I'd play with setup first.

Regards.

Phil

Posted on: 19 August 2002 by Frank Abela

Sounds like a deck setup problem to me, although the Micromega combo is not a bad CD player, to be fair to it.

I'd check the bounce on the deck. Ensure it's sitting with the subchassis just proud of the soft bungs at the base s of the feet. Ensure the belt isn't slipping and isn't too slack (new belt could be a wise move whatever you do). Also, are you using adaptors to plug the deck into the preamp? If so, this could be your problem. At the least, clean the adaptors. At best get the arm lead connectors changed to BNCs. Finally, you may wish to check the cartridge condition over at a dealer's to ensure it's OK and hasn't suffered too much wear.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

Posted on: 22 August 2002 by Tim Williams

Thanks for the advice. I am confident that the TT setup is all it should be. The cartridge is fine and the arm lead is terminated directly with BCN's (nasty connectors? No thank you!).

I think the basic problem is the lack of good dedicated phono stage. Sooooo....I'm looking (so far) at either a Dino with power supply or the Lehmann Black Cube. Or something nice and second hand!

Any thoughts gratefully received.

Posted on: 22 August 2002 by syd

Have you tried the system out with other records or are you just relying on VU. Perhaps the LP is badly worn, poor quality vinyl or pressing or mastered from a decidedly dodgy source. If you have other albums that you can directly compare to the CD version do so first before deciding that it's the TT that's at fault. One thing I've noticed over the years since CD came out that some CDs were mastered directly from the Master tape and the equivelent LP from third or fourth generation masters. This can have quite a bearing on the sound quality.

Yours in Music

Syd

Posted on: 22 August 2002 by Tim Williams

Hi Syd! The whole V.U. thing is a bit of a red herring. The only reason I mentioned it was that I only have it on CD and that prompted me to listen to my CD player again for the first time in ages. I have done the comparison with many CD's vs. LP's and the general trend is the same.

For the 'record' the V.U. disc was from the box set which came out a few years ago - remarkably good recordings compared to the original vinyl...