‘How much will you get for it and will it make that much difference to the DAC you can afford?’
…and this is what it all boils down to… I reckon on Simplex/xx2/NEO 310LP/MCRU LPS/Cardas cables liberating about £3900. Which means a new DAC will either cost me nothing or another £3k-ish on top, depending on what I buy. This makes a big difference right now. Would I get this level of vinyl performance for £4k in future? Dubious. But performance is only performance if you use it.
Paul, above, said his LP12 ‘looks nice’ - and so does my Simplex atop its Townshend podiums. It gives the rack of sterile black boxes some personality - especially given there’s a golf ball in the mix.
I’ve just re-photographed the rig using a camera rather than my phone, to picture it at its best. There is definite wobble-factor. This is the problem - it has an emotional value that is nothing to do with SQ or listening. It speaks to 40yrs of musical heritage. Now would be a good time to identify as Spock.
That is always a draw, the emotional and nostalgia connection. I moved on my LP12 a long time back when first embracing cd. Now I am looking for a cheap ish original unrefined or ‘improved’ early LP12 just to display in my study.
If you listen to a DAC with your ears rather than your wallet you may find you don’t need to spend anywhere near the up to £7k you are considering…so you could keep your vinyl set-up and for much less than the additional £3k you were thinking of adding to the proceeds, get a stonkingly good DAC.
Now then - that’ll ruffle some feathers, but it’s funny you should say that and that you’re a Topping warrior.
With my previous speakers I couldn’t get anything to sound right, after the expiry of my Mirus Pro. MSB Discrete, B Dac, Weiss 501, Tambaqui; all produced sound that was ultimately flawed for one reason or another - too hot on top, too laid back etc… Only a Le Dac 2 really got me emotionally engaged.
But, in order to break-in my new Serafinos, I bought a cheapy Topping E70. I’m on only about 30 of the 100hrs I want to give them, but I’m startled by what I’m hearing. When the 100hrs are up I’ll give it a critical listen, but for £400, I am amazed.
The convention always seemed to be you’ve got to invest heavily in the front end if you want great sound. But this little thing might beg to differ. Your comment is a reminder that p’raps I should exercise a bit of patience and see what’s really needed to get a good result before selling. Thinking on… Thanks.
Sort of in the middle here: never had the heart to sell my TT nor my vinyl collection, but after moving to the new house the TT was never unpacked. It is still in its original box (from 1985).
Having finally succumbed to streaming I really do enjoy it. Probably stream 95% of the time. But…. When I fancy slumming it on the old fruit box it is absolutely magic. I will never sell her or my life long accumulated collection of LPs. On the right record it trounces my streamer, and of course there is the ceremony thing that I still enjoy.
If I were you a better record player might be the answer
No, but for records that play like they were damaged with nails, but really just have caked on contaminants, the Kirmuss/Audio Desk can perform miracles. I have restored quite a few like that, including some early 60s DGG tulips albums that now play nearly like new, maybe with just a little bit of surface noise.
I have found Chord DACs (TT2 and Qutest) really sensetive to noise in the chain. Get rid of that and the harsh, bright sound is replaced with a warmer but still detailed sound with great soundstage. For me ethernet cables (going basic cat 6e with no metal on the connectors) and connecting the streamer via optical had a big positive impact.
If I had money to burn I would invest in vinyl. Some of my best LPs are indeed fantastic. My Akiva is way overdue a change for a new cartridge but there are many factors (not so much money) that are stopping me
Couple of decades ago when I left my parents house to go to a college, the only thing I asked them was to keep my cassete tapes, as I could not take those with me as I was renting a small room, with no place for 100+ cassetes, nor I had a tape deck of my own anyway, so they had to stay there. Years passed and when I was going to my home town to see my parents every now and then, I was so happy to play some of my favorites ones.
Now after all these years I am not sure whether those tapes are still where they used to be and I have stopped even thinking about them, even when I go back there, there are no memories or nostalgia for those. Some might argue that tapes and vinyl do not have the same emotional value, but those tapes were my absolute precious everything when I was a teen and in my early 20s.
I tried once like maybe 10 yrs ago, I bought a denon tape deck, sold it quickly afterwards, just couldn’t go back to playing tapes, by that time digital was already way ahead SQ wise, there was no emotion when I tried playing a few tapes, even the favorite ones.
Nowadays those memories make me search rarely on the auction sites for a Nac or an Aiwa, but I know very well that I even if I get one, I will record a few casettes and they will be left somewhere gathering dust after that. Digital sq, ease of use and endless online music libraries blur those nostalgic desires quickly, and that is only on an “average” Naim DAC V1.
I have a similar dilemma, I only play vinyl occasionally. My aging Rega P3 doesn’t come close to my new 222/300 combo, so do I go all in on streaming or upgrade the turntable to a higher level than the streaming part of my system for those times when I want a vinyl fix, and then, what level TT would that take to surpass the 222/300 choices choices.
Indeed. What I really meant to say was I’d come to believe that one has to spend a serious chunk on a DAC before the magic happens - from a DAC. We shall see in a few days.
Yup. I suspect you’d have to spend a serious lump to better your digital. But I haven’t heard the 222 so can’t really know. Cost/benefit ratio, in my case, is seriously compromised.
choices choices.