Post your turntable setup...can't get enough of those spinners!

I have an SME Series V too. I've read somewhere that you can kinda do azimuth with it, but Brooks Berdan told me he disliked the SME Series V the most cause you couldn't do precisely that. The newer SMEs now have it, I think?

 

Rega RP3
Shure M97xE Cart
TC-750 w/ SOLAHD power supply mod via @JK47
to Mjolnir 2 --> Many headphones, HE-6 Speaker Amp, JBL LSR305s

I'm considering this as my entry into vinyl world, although I've had a dreaded LP60 (a gift) and a dozen records for a couple years, which wasn't even hooked up to my main rig, but the family room speakers. Received the modded TC-750 from JK47 (thanks!) and table as open box/unused from a dealer for a great deal a couple weeks ago, but the Elys2 had channel imbalance upon arrival and went off to Rega. Finally got it going with the interim M97xE cart as recommended by @shaizada

Too early for sound impressions (waiting for Elys2 back) but so far I'm really enjoying records on my main audio rig, and this will certainly steal some time from Gungnir Multibit. Really looking forward to slowly building my collection, tweaking and upgrading. The community has been really educational and influential in navigating this whole analog thing!

 

Yo @PoochZag, so the channel imbalance issue is all gone right?!

 

Yup! It was definitely the Elys2, the dealer even confirmed it when I sent it back to him, so just waiting on Rega's US distributor (Sound Organisation) to send me a new one. Thanks for all your help and advice

 

Above: potato panoramic pic of my listening room

TT: U-Turn Orbit Plus
Receiver: Sony TA-AX401
Speakers: ELAC Debut B6

DAC: Bifrost 4490
Amp: Bottlehead Mainline
Headphone: modded HD650

Below: u-turn orbit plus with acrylic platter + Ortofon OM5e

Finally took the dive into a full analog setup. Originally the plan was to upgrade the Bifrost 4490 to a Gungnir Multibit, but after reading how far digital will always lag far behind analog, I figured that the money would be better spent on a turntable.

Quick impressions:

• Huge soundstage with insane depth, impeccable imaging, layering like I've never heard before
• The presentation beats any multibit DAC that I've tried (I currently have my friends Theta Progeny and it destroys it)
• Switching back to the Bifrost 4490, the music felt dry and the soundstage became more constricted
• On the Mainline with the modded 650s, wow... just wow.

Special thanks to @shaizada for all the advice and turntable porn, @purrin for helping me realizing the potential of vinyl, and @Merrick for answering my PMs and giving me the final nudge to pull the trigger. I still have much to learn and will for sure enjoy the ride!

 

Prepare to tumble down the rabbit hole of awesome music.

How are those ELAC speakers by the way?

 

They're clean sounding with massive bass, but they do have their drawbacks. They might be a bit too warm for some, mids are a bit recessed, highs a tad bit rolled off (and on certain recordings peaky at times), and soundstage isn't as wide as some point out. However, for the price, I can't really complain. I'm just being picky since I've come from a modded HD650 driven by a Mainline. Though if you can afford the upcoming UB5s, I would try those.

Forgot to mention that as soon as I got the table working, for the first time since I've owned them, the speakers disappeared and I stopped worrying about their quirks. There was just... music.

 

Thanks, I know I'm going to need to demo as many speakers as I can before plunking down money on any of them.

 

All these vinyl setups are coming up...so very happy to see this. The comment about how the speakers kind of just disappear, analog has a way of doing this. There is more music and less fuss once it is implemented. Every spin of a record is an event...it is meaningful. It sounds in harmony with your mind and body.

 

Yeah, amp matching with speakers is a deep deep hole. Demo as many setups together as you can within your budget, that helps a ton. If you have to haul around your amp, even.

 

VPI in the house! Listening to the XX... Didn't realize how much this album had going on.



This Classic 2 Companion came with a Goldring 1042 that seemed to bring out a lot of sibilance. Pulled it and put the Denon DL-103R which I much prefer. The Goldring apparently has 20 hrs or so on it... Anyone have experience with their carts?

 

I'd almost swear you were commenting about my KEF C75 speakers...all except for the low end part. They are 3db down at 47...not very low for dual 8" drivers. And of course in an acoustic suspension box.

It is just funny the similar characteristics of speakers designed by Andrew Jones. I pair mine with a sub and they sound fantastic. Although I would say they don't have a "wide" soundstage, but a "deep" soundstage. You can just hear the layers jump out at you. Very revealing with vinyl.

 

This makes me feel a lot better about the channel imbalance I have with my Elys 2. I have an AT440MLB on the way.

Rega RP3, Elys 2, junk preamp at the moment (TC-750 on the way).

 

Hey once you get the tc750 we'll be analog setup buddies!

I think my new Elys 2 may have a very slight imbalance as well, but it's subtle enough I don't really get bothered by it, plus there's so many other variables it's hard to blame the cart completely. My first one though was nuts, maybe like 8db, so I hope yours isn't anywhere near that

 

I hope to mod a TC750 someday when I have the time and skills to do it, but will a stock TC750 yield improvements over the phono stage of a Sony receiver built in the 90s?

 

I bought used, so I have no qualms with jumping ship on the Elys altogether. I really don't know how many hours are on this stylus. If I had to put a number on the imbalance, I'd say around 3-5 dB. Elys 2 just has such a horrible reputation for IGD and channel imbalances I really don't want anything to do with it.

 

I'm not sure, as the tc750 is all I've had with my RP3 setup, but hopefully another tc750 user can chime in. Although it seems likely considering all of its praise over other budget phonos.

Oh wow that's kind of a lot, my new Elys 2 is certainly not that bad. Yeah I've read a few reviews that have had that problem, but many also seen to think it's a good cart for the money so idk what to believe. I find it more engaging and clear than the much cheaper Shure m97xe but that's where my cart experience ends

 

Current work set up:
Pioneer PL-530, Denon DL-110 -> Pro-ject MM phonostage ->Bottlehead Crack and Burson Conductor -> Senn HD600/Audeze LCD 2.2 (or JBL 3-series monitors)

 

I've got the AT440MLB in now, and it's quite amazing. No more channel imbalance, almost no IGD, and there is treble again. I don't know if my Elys is defective, or it really is just junk.