I tend to be a consolidator of equipment rather than owning multiple systems. A step up is preferable to owning lots of stuff as a general rule. But that does not seem to hold true with me and analog gear.
I have two turntables, one a SOTA Cosmos Eclipse with SME V arm on it. Second is a Scheu Audio Das Laufwerk No 2 with 2 arms A Schroder CB-1L in ebony and a Dynavector DV505.
Cartridges are an Ortofon Verismo, Transfiguration Audio Proteus, Ortofon MC2000/T2000, and Kiseki Blackheart first generation.
Phono stages are an Esoteric E-03, and a BMC MCCI Signature ULN and non ULN.
The question becomes can all of this be sold and the funds applied towards one very good analog rig, and what would it be.
Now on one hand it can be argued that the SOTA is an overachiever, and that perhaps this older version SME V is the limiting factor. The table can accept up to a 10 inch arm that weighs less than 2.2 pounds, so it has some constraints. The Scheu is a prototypical high mass unsuspended table. Runs just fine.
Now the Schroder arm is remarkable sound wise, but it has to be one of the most infuriating arms to set up. I absolutely loath installing cartridges on it, but I do acknowledge its greatness.
The Dynavector arm is there to be able to use the Ortofon MC2000 cartridges. I have two of them, and one was damaged in an accident and has a boron cantilever. This is my casual use daily driver. The other one has been fitted with a smaller footprint line contact stylus and sounds superb. But this is a 11 gram cartridge that is close to 30 dyne in compliance and needs a low mass arm. The small vestigial arm and an ultra-light Denon headshell allow me to use this cartridge. When in college I was fortunate to work in an audio store and while I was poor I lusted after the MC2000 we carried. So this is kind of a touchstone for me. Same for the Kiseki.
The Ortofon Verismo is a lovely cartridge. But it tracks at 2.6 grams! I have never been comfortable with that kind of tracking force.
So I am curious to hear others thoughts of what might be pathways to explore. Your experiences, and viewpoints are quite intriguing to me. Please share.
I have two turntables, one a SOTA Cosmos Eclipse with SME V arm on it. Second is a Scheu Audio Das Laufwerk No 2 with 2 arms A Schroder CB-1L in ebony and a Dynavector DV505.
Cartridges are an Ortofon Verismo, Transfiguration Audio Proteus, Ortofon MC2000/T2000, and Kiseki Blackheart first generation.
Phono stages are an Esoteric E-03, and a BMC MCCI Signature ULN and non ULN.
The question becomes can all of this be sold and the funds applied towards one very good analog rig, and what would it be.
Now on one hand it can be argued that the SOTA is an overachiever, and that perhaps this older version SME V is the limiting factor. The table can accept up to a 10 inch arm that weighs less than 2.2 pounds, so it has some constraints. The Scheu is a prototypical high mass unsuspended table. Runs just fine.
Now the Schroder arm is remarkable sound wise, but it has to be one of the most infuriating arms to set up. I absolutely loath installing cartridges on it, but I do acknowledge its greatness.
The Dynavector arm is there to be able to use the Ortofon MC2000 cartridges. I have two of them, and one was damaged in an accident and has a boron cantilever. This is my casual use daily driver. The other one has been fitted with a smaller footprint line contact stylus and sounds superb. But this is a 11 gram cartridge that is close to 30 dyne in compliance and needs a low mass arm. The small vestigial arm and an ultra-light Denon headshell allow me to use this cartridge. When in college I was fortunate to work in an audio store and while I was poor I lusted after the MC2000 we carried. So this is kind of a touchstone for me. Same for the Kiseki.
The Ortofon Verismo is a lovely cartridge. But it tracks at 2.6 grams! I have never been comfortable with that kind of tracking force.
So I am curious to hear others thoughts of what might be pathways to explore. Your experiences, and viewpoints are quite intriguing to me. Please share.
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