Let's see your turntable.
 

Post pics of your TT! Describe the tonearm/cartridge your using and anything else you'd like to share about it.

Not my turntable but here is a Spiral Groove SG2 that is made by Alan Perkins that I recently auditioned and was very impressed with it.

The tonearm was the excellent Tri-Planar MKVII and the cartridge was the Lyra Olympos which is next to impossible to acquire due to the no longer available platinum-iron magnets.

This TT/arm/cart was the best I have heard to date. I don't think I've heard a better recorded piano reproduction so far. The brass section on one of the Jazz LPs we played was just incredible.


http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/d...7/IMG_0844.jpg
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http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/d...7/IMG_0847.jpg
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Here's my new Linn Sondek LP12:

Great looking TT Greg. How do you find the Adikt MM cart? Is it smooth and warm sounding? Have you tried any others?

The Adikt MM pickup came with my LP12 as a "package deal". I had always used a MC pickup before(Linn) but this MM pickup is SPECIAL. It's a $600.00 MM that sounds like it should be a MC pickup at a much higher price- very fine details are revealed,great mids, and bass. I like it so much right now that I'll just keep it for a while. I was all set to get a Naim phono stage(MA6500 only has provisions for MM pickups) but this pickup meshed so well with the Pro-Ject 9cc tonearm that I'm just going to leave it alone. The Pro-Ject 9cc tonearm($1200.00) was made specifically for the LP12($3000.00 for the base with no power supply or tonearm) and is a excellent match too. I see no reason to look at the Linn Akito ($1350.00) for a upgrade on the tonearm- go straight to the new Ekos SE($4950.00) for the next step.
Since this was sold as a package by Linn at $3750.00 for the LP12 base,Pro-Ject 9cc tonearm, Adikt MM pickup, and Majik power supply($750.00 if purchased separately), I consider it to be a tremendous value for those wanting to get into,or return to, vinyl. My MCD500 clobbers sonically the fully tripped out LP12 ,which currently costs $18k, so I saw no need to go that route. But, I still missed playing records so for me it was a very logical choice. I did demo the Linn Lingo($1800.00) power suppy( it comes with a different motor which costs $1200.00) and found there to be only a slight improvement in sound. I elected not to get the Lingo- it's good but not worth $3000.00. My LP12 is still very new and sounds better every time that I play a LP. The Adikt MM pickup does not fit quite a few tonearms and is made mainly for the Linn/Pro-Ject 9cc tonearms.

Thanks for sharing that Greg. Interesting stuff! It's quality posts like that I and I am sure many others enjoy. Keep it coming guys!

The LP12 has a signature sound that needs to be heard rather than described. The Adikt, for all practical purposes, performs like a MC pickup vs MM which in my experience misses out on the extreme highs, part of the mids, and deep bass. The Adikt delivers in all areas.
What can I say, my speakers are British too, so the sound will be a little different with quite a few speakers out there.

You are welcome Serge! Thanks for the nice comments!
What pickup have you decided on? Lyra makes incredible MC pickups, I may get one in the not too distant future.

I am still a noob when it comes to this and trying to get a grip on some of the characteristics of different brands out there. It seems that the balance of the sonic traits of a specific cart matched to the tonearm and the sonic characteristics of a table itself are important. I am probably stereotyping a bit too much but seems that most Lyra's extract tons of detail as do the top Dynavector's without sounding too etched or hyper resolving while some carts such as Koetsu and Miyabi/47 sound more warmer/forgiving. I would say that the acrylic platter tables would pair up nicely with the more forgiving carts while the aluminum would need the more neutral carts and the composite platters could probably benefit from the more resolving carts out there. :scratch2:

One thing for sure, there are many different combinations that work great, just need to do some homework and some experimentation. :yes:

Damm , now I want a better turntable :)

I'm not sure of your budget, but I would recommend checking out: Rega(budget tables with very good sound),Linn, SME, & Roksan. Pickups: Grado,Linn, Lyra,& Dynavector. Grado makes very good budget pickups: moving iron,moving magnet,& moving coils. These, like all pickups, have their own distinct sound.
Tonearms: Pro-Ject,Rega,Linn,& SME.
Pro-ject TT's gets honorable mention in the budget category,stay away from the lesser models as these are prone to various problems. The upper models are decent.
Just my $0.02. :D