stereo system rack

[Kevin Bresnahan]

5 hours ago, AllenLowe said:

just an extra opinion about turntable pre-amps. I did find that, with a semi-high-end turntable (I have a VPI TNT junior) pre-amps made a big difference. Don't know about other kinds; I sold my conrad johnson, which was a great tube thing, and replaced it with a very small but very good-sounding NAD. The NAD is definitely not on the same level as the tube thing, but it does the job amazingly well for its size and price.

I am not surprised at the difference you're hearing. From a pure electronic standpoint, the phono preamplifier steps up the signal from the cartridge to the amplifier. The Conrad Johnson likely had ~50 dB of gain, whereas the NAD is probably closer to 35-40 dB. This 10-15 dB difference in gain can mean a lot to the resulting sound. Most likely the differences you're hearing is because the cartridge you are using is matched differently to the NAD phono preamp than it was to your old Conrad Johnson phono preamp.

When it comes to matching a tricky phono cartridge to your amplifier, particularly a moving coil cartridge with unusual output impedance or very low output voltage, you might need a phono preamplifier with adjustable settings. I just bought one last year, the Pro-Ject Phono Box DS, that has several rough adjustments that can be made from the front panel. I bought it because I'm thinking about going to moving coil (using Ortofon 3M Black MM now). There are models out there that allow for more adjustment than this but for me (and my aging ears) this worked fine. Your mileage may vary.

[AllenLowe]

interesting; I do think tubes also effect the sound.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

2 hours ago, AllenLowe said:

interesting; I do think tubes also effect the sound.

They most certainly do!

The real question is whether you like this effect or not.

BTW, there are days when I miss my tube setup as well.

[AllenLowe]

tubes to me in these kinds of setup, as in guitar amps and in mic preamps, breathe, for want of a better term. In a good tube appliance it is a very particular and very warm sound. But as our ears have gotten accustomed to solid state, opinions have definitely changed. But to me this is why 1950s jazz guitar recordings sound so much better than current ones - there is a more organic connection between finger and strings, and a fatter, more "musical" sound.

[sidewinder]

I use a Naim phono stage with my MC cartridge on Linn LP12. Very happy with it - it needs careful matching for impedance though, which is done via either standard or custom matched resistive and capacitive loads, which you plug into the back of the unit.

Edited December 29, 2017 by sidewinder

[GA Russell]

Kevin, I had forgotten that you like the Blue Jean cables!

I pulled the trigger on the Pangea Vulcan rack this evening.

Thanks again for your opinions.

[Scott Dolan]

15 hours ago, AllenLowe said:

interesting; I do think tubes also effect the sound.

They most definitely do! It’s all about the second-order harmonics tubes add to the audio signal. A harmonic distortion that most people find pleasing to the ear. 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

13 hours ago, GA Russell said:

Kevin, I had forgotten that you like the Blue Jean cables!

I pulled the trigger on the Pangea Vulcan rack this evening.

Thanks again for your opinions.

I have several Blue Jean Cables products. I use their speaker wires on both of my systems and I have a couple of pairs of their RCA audio cables. I use several pairs of Monoprice RCA audio cables as well. Go with whatever you like. I know a lot of people who swear by Audioquest and if they look good to you, go for them.

That Pangea is a nice looking shelf for $99. Those thin shelves might, just might, be an issue for the turntable on top. If you have issues with mechanical feedback (rumble, skipping, etc), you can always go with an inexpensive wall shelf later. I have two wall shelves that I had made for me. I bought wall brackets from Home Depot for about $20 and had a friend who runs a woodworking shop make me a 1 & 1/2 inch thick piece of butcher block maple. That was about $35. Total $55. The nice thing about a wall shelf is that you can use studs.

 

Edited December 30, 2017 by Kevin Bresnahan