Tonearm Cable Question

Posted by: Naimed-In-NY on 14 October 2003

I'd like to get the opinions of Forum members regarding tonearm cables.

My amplification is 200/202+PSC2. My vinyl system is comprised of a VPI HW19 Mk.II table, Alphason HR-100S tonearm, Dynavector DV-10X5 cartridge into a Stageline. The table and arm were purchased over a decade ago and, to my ears, still sound great. The new Dynavector cartridge was purchased recently and is great VFM IMO. I listen mostly to CDs, but still enjoy my time listening to vinyl immensely.

My question is that I still am using the original tonearm cable (DIN to RCA) that came with my tonearm. I know nothing else about it, and, as far as I know, the company that made my tonearm (Alphason) no longer is in business. (Am I correct about this?) Am I likely to experience significant improvements by upgrading my tonearm cable? If so, are there any tonearm cables that are known to work well with Naim amplification? I looked in vain at the Naim website for any information regarding tonearm cables.

Because I listen primarily to CDs (and am trying to save up for a Naim cd player), I don't want to spend a lot of money. However, if I can noticeably improve the sound from my turntable by upgrading my tonearm cable, I might be willing to take that plunge.

I intend to speak to my dealer about this the next time I'm in his shop, but any experiences/suggestions from forum members would be very helpful as I'm really not sure whether I should even bother pursuing this.

Thanks in advance.

MBM

Posted on: 14 October 2003 by quickie

Hi,
I have just bought a Dynavector 10x5.......cracking little cartridge.
The Alphason's were either wired with standard copper cable or Van Den Hul D502 external/mss7 internal.
Have a look at your's.It should have writing on the cable if it is VDH.

Paul.

Posted on: 14 October 2003 by Trevor Bennett

Hi.
I used to have the same tonearm and looked into changeing the cable but when my dealer looked into it it was going to be a very expensive thing to do.I cant remember exactly why but i think it was because the cable is held inside the arm by some kind of hard foam and is very hard to get out.

Trevor.

Posted on: 14 October 2003 by Naimed-In-NY

Thanks for the replies. Perhaps I didn't explain myself clearly. I'm talking about the cable that attaches the tonearm to the Stageline. It is not permanently connected to the tonearm. It is a plain black cable with a single DIN connector on one end and two RCA-type connectors on the other end. I will have to wait until I'm home to see if it has any writing on it, but I do not recall ever noticing any. I'm not looking to upgrade or mess around with the internal wiring in the tonearm - just wondering whether purchasing a reasonably-priced tonearm cable (Audioquest, Cardas, etc.) is likely to produce noticeable improvements and, if so, whether there is any brand of tonearm cable favored by Naim enthusiasts (or does everyone simply use whatever came with the turntable/tonearm?).

Thanks again.

MBM

Posted on: 14 October 2003 by welshmark

Hi

Your plain black RCA to BNC interconnect may well be made with NAIM's own ARO armlead.
This in my opinion would be the ideal interconnect for you to be using and isn't linked to Alphason.
If however it is a run of the mill cable then I'm sure your dealer could get some NAIM ARO armlead and terminate it for you.

Good luck

Mark

Posted on: 14 October 2003 by Pete Lewthwaite

MBM,
I use an Alphason HR-100S MCS which I bought in 1987 on my Gyrodec. This still has the original wiring of VDH MCS internal and 502 external as described by Paul. However the two cables are directly soldered together just below the arm with no sign of a Din plug/socket so there must be several implementations of the wiring.

If you also have the MCS version, then you already have very good internal and external cable (although someone will doubtless disagree with me here). If you have the copper wired version, then I think you may need to rewire the arm internally to get the full benefit any changes to the external cable.

As I have had to repair the soldering in my arm once or twice, which fortunately is quite easy as the MCS is self fluxing, last year I spoke to Moth in Stevenage, UK about rewiring it. They quoted figures of between about £170 for an Incognito rewire to £250 to replace like-for-like.

As for Alphason the company, they no longer make or support any turntables or arms.

Posted on: 14 October 2003 by John3

quote:
My amplification is 200/202+PSC2. My vinyl system is comprised of a VPI HW19 Mk.II table, Alphason HR-100S tonearm, Dynavector DV-10X5 cartridge into a Stageline.

As a matter of interest are you using 'N' boards in the Stageline with the 10X5?

Posted on: 14 October 2003 by Naimed-In-NY

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I am using the "N" version of the Stageline. It's been so long since I purchased my table/tonearm set-up, I really don't recall anything about the tonearm cable. I know I'm using the same cable that my dealer supplied to me, but since it is not soldered onto the tonearm itself and appears to be a plain black cable, I'm starting to wonder if my dealer at the time (who no longer is in business) gave me a run-of-the-mill cable to go with what then was a fairly high-priced turntable/tonearm combination. (If so, shame on me, but it was my first "serious" stereo purchase so perhaps I was naive.) I like the idea of asking my dealer if the Aro cable can be prepared for use in another tonearm, although given the cost of the Aro, I'm not sure what the cable would cost. If anyone has purchased a stand-alone tonearm cable, I'd be interested in knowing which brand was selected and why.

Thanks again for the replies. Very informative.

MBM

Posted on: 14 October 2003 by quickie

Hi MBM,
If you arm is a very early one,then the VDH cable would not have been available at the time when you purchased it.
A better external lead will improve the perfomance,but not as much as replacing the internal cable.
It's not so much the quality of the wire used in the arm,but the fact theres three different types,and all those solder joint's!

Paul.

Posted on: 14 October 2003 by Naimed-In-NY

Paul - Thanks for the post. I doublechecked and there is no writing on cable that came with my tonearm. Not sure if it worth pursuing upgrading my tonearm cable (interior or exterior). Will have to speak to my dealer. I'm not particularly handy, so I would never attempt to mess around with the internal wiring with my hands full of thumbs.

Thanks.

MBM