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Basic questions about turntables

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shafesk
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Hello again forumites,

I do have some decent experience regarding hi-fi kit but when it comes to turntables I'm quite the newb because the analogue scene isn't as prevailent in my country. I do own a few tts but all except my denon are not working. I noticed that when my marantz was working that it had a lower noise floor than the current denon, even when I played dirty lps it wouldn't make such a fuss. With clean vinyl the marantz was almost dead silent. This got me thinking whether a change in phonostage will help matters as I cannot change the cartridge on my denon. I know I should get a better tt but I just don't have enough vinyls to justify the outlay. If I get a better phonostage I could still keep it when I upgrade to something nice. Do you think a better phono than my CA 540p will considerably lower noise? If so, any reccomendations?

Regards,

Shafin

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Hi-fi:

Denon DNP-720AE network streamer, Mordaunt Short Mezzo 6, Cayin A-55 T, Technics-SLQ210, Denon DP-29F turntable, 540p, Dac-magic, Marantz 5004CD and 6025 Turntable, Mac ,Pure AV interconnects, QED Revelation speaker cables, QED Performance interconnects.

Head-fi:

Akg K702, Grado SR60i, UE Triple-fi, Musical Fidelity X-cans, HRT Music Streamer 2+

hoopsontoast
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RE: Basic questions about turntables

The CA 540P is a very capable phono stage, I would say you are being held back by the TT/Arm/Cartridge combination at the moment.

Any noise will be picked up by the cartridge, or background hum from the motor or inteference from lack of grounding etc.

The Phonostage should not have any influence on the noise floor, unless its faulty, which it does not sound as if it is.

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nopiano
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RE: Basic questions about turntables

I agree with hoops.  Upgrading the phono stage will only reveal the weaknesses before it.  With vinyl, getting the mechanical side sorted is the hard bit - and that means a well maintained deck, accurately fitted and aligned cartridge, and placing it on a decent platform.

It depends what sort of noise is bothering you.  If it is rumble (LF) then that may be the Tt or a badly pressed disc, or a mismatched cartridge (susceptible to warps).  If HF, then try getting the record cleaned by a specialist or comparing with a new copy.

I am assuming you have got the stylus spotlessly clean?

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Hi-Fi: Krell KAV-300cd, Michell TecnoDec/RB250/Grado Prestige Black1, KAV-300i amp, Transparent balanced interconnects and bi-wire to Sonus faber Concerto grand piano speakers, Nakamichi ZX-7 cassette deck, Logitech Squeezebox Touch, Hitachi FT-5500 and Sony S570ES tuners, BCD Engineering stand, RA Powerlink, Chord powerchord, Grado SR60i cans.

AV: Sony Bravia KDL-32EX503 telly, BDP-S370 player with QED HDMI. Currently unused: Denon AVR-1705, DVD-1710, KEF KHT1005.2 

Alears
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RE: Basic questions about turntables

+1 for what nopiano said.

Could you explain why you cannot change cartridge in you Denon?

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shafesk
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RE: Basic questions about turntables

nopiano wrote:

I agree with hoops.  Upgrading the phono stage will only reveal the weaknesses before it.  With vinyl, getting the mechanical side sorted is the hard bit - and that means a well maintained deck, accurately fitted and aligned cartridge, and placing it on a decent platform.

It depends what sort of noise is bothering you.  If it is rumble (LF) then that may be the Tt or a badly pressed disc, or a mismatched cartridge (susceptible to warps).  If HF, then try getting the record cleaned by a specialist or comparing with a new copy.

I am assuming you have got the stylus spotlessly clean?

yes I have got the stylus clean but I'm getting lots of static on vinyl

__________________

Hi-fi:

Denon DNP-720AE network streamer, Mordaunt Short Mezzo 6, Cayin A-55 T, Technics-SLQ210, Denon DP-29F turntable, 540p, Dac-magic, Marantz 5004CD and 6025 Turntable, Mac ,Pure AV interconnects, QED Revelation speaker cables, QED Performance interconnects.

Head-fi:

Akg K702, Grado SR60i, UE Triple-fi, Musical Fidelity X-cans, HRT Music Streamer 2+

shafesk
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RE: Basic questions about turntables

Alears wrote:

+1 for what nopiano said.

Could you explain why you cannot change cartridge in you Denon?

its a pretty basic tt and you can only change the stylus but the cartridge is fixed to the tonearm.

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Hi-fi:

Denon DNP-720AE network streamer, Mordaunt Short Mezzo 6, Cayin A-55 T, Technics-SLQ210, Denon DP-29F turntable, 540p, Dac-magic, Marantz 5004CD and 6025 Turntable, Mac ,Pure AV interconnects, QED Revelation speaker cables, QED Performance interconnects.

Head-fi:

Akg K702, Grado SR60i, UE Triple-fi, Musical Fidelity X-cans, HRT Music Streamer 2+