About 14 months ago I was browsing on Ebay and for a bit of fun ended up bidding on 300DR. I was more than happy with my standard 252/SC2/300.
And so It started…
I thought 300DR was a decent enough upgrade, nothing earth shattering (more clarity, less dense) and I could’ve left it there but then I started to wonder if the 252/SC2 was was holding back what the DR was really doing.
Ah now, lovely system. But do I spy a Rega P25 in the background?
If so, its a lovely deck. I had one for several years. While slightly sqiffy, one evening I bid on a pre-loved Michell Orbe and won. Long story short I set up the Orbe using my cart from the Rega (Dynavector 4XGold) and I could not believe the improvement. Not suggesting that the Orbe is necessarily right for you but you might want to consider…
Ah OK. Never heard the P9 but looks like the plinth is very similar so my mistake. What cart are you using? I still have my 4XGold and looking for an upgrade. Thinking about the Dynavector XX2 but not yet taken the plunge.
Funny thing is I have an NDS which I listen to most of the time (like right now) and I love it but there is something about the playing of records that I cant explain (especially my 1970s originals). So I want to give the Orbe/SME V something that is closer to what they deserve. I figure a better cart is the first step (I heard the excellent MC demo at the Ascot show) and then think about whether the phonostage (Dynavector P75) needs upgrading to maximise the performance.
You lucky thing - I loved my CDS3, 552 and 300. I bet it sounds wonderful. Two tiny things (sound the nit-picker alarm!) - you should align the 552 with the front of the glass, which should sound a bit better, and get those two Fraims level…
Thanks for the 552 tip, I’ll get round to sorting that out at some point. Yeah, it’s sounding good even though the 500 seems a bit tight with only a weeks use so far and the 552 a couple of months. The Fraim stacks are actually dead level, it’s the floor that has a slight fall to the Left. It’s carpet over floorboards so not sure what I could do to improve the things. Any suggestions are more than welcome!
