okay - i am comparatively a vinyl n00b - the last few turntables that i worked with are the Technics SL1200 models because i used to be a club DJ - since i gave up the clubbing i have not used turntables at all - prior to that i used to use a few but i was by no means an audiophile in my youth so it was more for recording from vinyl to tapedeck
so I have a friend who has an L&G turntable and doing some research on this i have found that its manufactured from Luxman - the guy has purchased a decent set of speakers and due to his old amp giving up the ghost he has decided to get an AVR to allow him to get the best out of his sources which include DVD players and DSTV HD so HDMI is a bit of an advantage - he isnt interested in adding a phono stage so he is selecting an AVR with built in phono capabilities
the problem is that most AVR's with phono capability only handle MM and will still need an independent phono stage for MC - so the thing is given that his cartridge is described as a VM model we have a few questions and hope someone can help
1) is it worth keeping this turntable ie is it decent enough given he isnt by any means an audiophile but he does value decent sound with an emphasis on great tonal range rather than concentrating on all fussy audiophiley considerations (though having these would obviously be a bonus)
2) if this VM type cartridge which seems to be some type of Audio Technica patent is an MM cartridge - will it work with a typical MM phono stage - or will something else be required .... then are these types of cartridge and stylus still available anywhere in the Gauteng area - if so where? If he is able to service the turntable so that it works perfectly can he just add a more modern MM cartrige to the tonearm thats there right now?
3) who near the Roodepoort area is the vinyl specialist to see - ie someone who can service the turntable and probably get it into really decent shape to carry on working properly ie make sure it has the right type of cartridges etc and a decent new stylus that doesnt cost an arm and a leg
4) would it be better to just scrap that idea and get some sort of newish entry level turntable like a moonbeam SOTA and probably some type of new cartridge and stylus from a brand like Ortofon or if someone can suggest something thats a decent budget solution ..... bearing in mind we dont really have to have absolute audiophile performance so a Koetsu Jade Platinum would definitely be out of place
so I have a friend who has an L&G turntable and doing some research on this i have found that its manufactured from Luxman - the guy has purchased a decent set of speakers and due to his old amp giving up the ghost he has decided to get an AVR to allow him to get the best out of his sources which include DVD players and DSTV HD so HDMI is a bit of an advantage - he isnt interested in adding a phono stage so he is selecting an AVR with built in phono capabilities
the problem is that most AVR's with phono capability only handle MM and will still need an independent phono stage for MC - so the thing is given that his cartridge is described as a VM model we have a few questions and hope someone can help
1) is it worth keeping this turntable ie is it decent enough given he isnt by any means an audiophile but he does value decent sound with an emphasis on great tonal range rather than concentrating on all fussy audiophiley considerations (though having these would obviously be a bonus)
2) if this VM type cartridge which seems to be some type of Audio Technica patent is an MM cartridge - will it work with a typical MM phono stage - or will something else be required .... then are these types of cartridge and stylus still available anywhere in the Gauteng area - if so where? If he is able to service the turntable so that it works perfectly can he just add a more modern MM cartrige to the tonearm thats there right now?
3) who near the Roodepoort area is the vinyl specialist to see - ie someone who can service the turntable and probably get it into really decent shape to carry on working properly ie make sure it has the right type of cartridges etc and a decent new stylus that doesnt cost an arm and a leg
4) would it be better to just scrap that idea and get some sort of newish entry level turntable like a moonbeam SOTA and probably some type of new cartridge and stylus from a brand like Ortofon or if someone can suggest something thats a decent budget solution ..... bearing in mind we dont really have to have absolute audiophile performance so a Koetsu Jade Platinum would definitely be out of place
