[Lyon]

Hi

I am Jack from Shropshire, UK... and i would like to say a big hello to all WTL TT users and guests here in the forum.

Back to analogue after 20 years in the digital wilderness, I think you will agree that i chose my turntable well (Amadeus GTA).
I have some questions about my phono stage and MC cartridges, I plan to upgrade to MC from the MM cartridge that came with the TT.
But at present im very pleased indeed twiddling with VTA and damping etc. and generally taking my time dialing in the sound.

[G E]

Welcome to the forum!

I have made a similar journey: analog (vinyl and some cassette), early adopter of CD, then the hi-res formats SACD and DVD-A, Mac based files, and back to vinyl. Luckily I kept most of my records and have about 300-400 titles.

There is a real magic with the Amadeus. I rarely play any of my digital sources and my DAC isn't even hooked up any more. BTW, I found great benefit in upgrading the power supply. My hum issues vanished and the PRAT improved if one can imagine that being possible 

I am using a Grado Reference Sonata hi output version. My phono pre is the Hagerman Cornet2 with NOS Amperex tubes.  I am thinking about moving up the Grado line. But for right now I feel like I'm in heaven when I spin the tunes.

Happy listening!

[threadkiller]

Yes, congrats!
You'll get a host of opinions as to carts and phono stages, and even interconnects.  All good, I'm sure.
So get to buying vinyl and have fun! You've made a great choice, which is about the only thing none of us can argue about...
Best
Charlie

[rob400]

Hi Jack.
I'm a fellow Brit and WTL owner (Versalex). Congrats on selecting an excellent deck. I would encourage you to consider the Dynavector cartridge range with your Amadeus. I've used several of their models from 20XL2 which was great VFM to the XV1s which I use now and is a sublime model. Happy listening!

[Lyon]

Thanks G E, Charlie and Rob for your warm welcome

I have about 100 or so LP's from my collection back in the 80's, which ive been cleaning and playing, they all sound remastered on this turntable but nothing compares to the quiet whoosh of new vinyl so ive bought myself a few 180gm reissues like Miles Davis Nefertiti, Joni Mitchell Hejira, Paco De Lucia Siroco etc. Passion Grace and Fire on this turntable is relentlessly exciting...staccato machine gun fire from the duelling guitars... tone and timbre just feels right.

Im enjoying this forum, reading many informative posts here and now hope to find someone who has knowledge of my phono stage: an Esoteric Audio research 834P signature. Im running an Audionote IQ2 moving magnet cart and would like to upgrade to Moving Coil.
 Rob... The DV XX2 looks like a nice cart... ive been looking at it for a couple of days but not sure if it makes a good match?
 G E Im going to look for reviews later on the Grado Reference Sonata cart... thanks for the heads up.
 Charlie After reading a couple of your posts I Got the A23 Mat and that was an amazing upgrade for £50, money well spent. The DPS im not sure about as many of the reported   improvements like quieter background, more resolution i got those from adding a £30 Tacima conditioner. Perhaps the DPS will take it a whole stage further?

All Best Wishes

[ACHiPo]

Hi Jack.
I'm a fellow Brit and WTL owner (Versalex). Congrats on selecting an excellent deck. I would encourage you to consider the Dynavector cartridge range with your Amadeus. I've used several of their models from 20XL2 which was great VFM to the XV1s which I use now and is a sublime model. Happy listening!

As Threadkiller said, you'll get lots of recommendations, so I'll toss mine in 
I'm on my second Lyra cartridge on my WTT Reference and have been very happy with both.  The first was a Lydian, which I ran for 10 years (who knows how many hours) until the suspension started to go (still sounded good, though).  I replaced it with a Delos and like it a lot.  I see a lot of great things about the Dynavectors and Ortofons in these tonearms.

[threadkiller]

Hi Jack,
Glad you like the mat. Either are good and an improvement over stock.
As for the DPS, all the owners I know, which is a few, use one. We all heard the difference it brought. The wall warts provided are just ok, can be noisy in some systems. Some on here, like yourself, try other devices and have good luck. How they compare to a DPS I'm not sure. The DPS was there, it was WTL approved, and that was that, as they say.
I and others did laugh, and were a bit puzzled, in the WTL review by Art Dudley, where he finds the DPS added nothing. The DPS, like many things, needs run in and needs good support. It's also a reminder that not every review gets it completely right.

[rob400]

Jack.
The XX2 is a great match. You can buy with confidence knowing that it provides a nice improvement over he 20XL2 for not too much money. The very knowledgable Charlie's advice is always worthy but we who bought our WTL's in Britain are fortunate to find that the  supplied power supply is better than the one that the US guys receive as standard. My listening of the DPS was disappointing as I heard no improvement over the stock supply one at all. You really should listen to that one before buying IMO.

[G E]

Interesting to hear the Brits get a better power supply than the ones we get here in The States.

My unit was very noisy, lots of hum and noise came through. I used a pc monitor power supply unit for a while which was better but still there was room for improvement. I even used the extra short ground wire they provide - runs from power in jack to ground post.

I decided to build my own PS and that adventure is chronicled here:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=126851.0

And here:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=123232.0

The difference was not subtle and I was able to dispense with the auxiliary ground wire.

If you aren't hearing hum or other problems leave well enough alone and put the money toward your cartridge.

[threadkiller]

Good advice that.
Rob, you Brits with your wonky mains...
If you were on this side of the pond you'd hear the difference, ol 10%, trust me.
Mr P has plenty of the "Brit" warts should anyone need one who's supplied one is noisy.
I do love the xx2... just not familiar with your phono stage.
As for the newer WTL's, you can put any cartridge on. We've even put on an EMT JSD6, which weighs in at a most massive 18gms!  The counterweight went almost to the tip, yet it made it, and geez Louise, it's glorious!

Enjoy!

[AnalogueInQatar]

I'm finding that I need less VTF than I did on my Rega arm based turntable.

It is all coming together nicely. The week-end awaits with sone serious fine-tuning and listening.

I think my Goldring 1042 is at its limit.

Tine to get saving for an upgrade!

[Lyon]

Hi AnalogueinQatar My Audionote IQ2 is a modded Goldring 1042. they are a great cart and back in the 80's I used one extensively with my Acoustic research legend... everything sounded so lush on that turntable.
 
Charlie your quite right about the crappy mains supply here in the UK! I live in a rural valley with a dairy farm up the road and i can often hear the milking machines through my speakers...Although having said that im not getting any ground hum which is a blessing. Living in the midst of a big city must be a never ending nitemare of sound pollution. Everything does seem to sound better after 10pm...is that a common experience here in the UK?

These are the specifications for my phonostage:

Description: Moving-coil/moving-magnet phono preamplifier, available with or without front-panel level control. Input sensitivity for 1V output at 1kHz: 2.2mV (MM), 220µV (MC). Maximum output level: 30V. S/N Ratio: 80dB (IHF, unweighted).
Dimensions: 5" W by 4" H by 11" D.
Manufacturer: Esoteric Audio Research, Huntingdon, UK. US Distributor: EAR USA, 1624 Sunset Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405. Tel./Fax: (310) 396-1919.
Web: www.ear-usa.com

A short review:

http://www.stereophile.com/content/ear-834p-phono-preamplifier-michael-fremer-ear

Im not very technical minded... Rob do you think the DV xx2 would be a good match? The more i read about that cart the more i want it in my system.

Achipo thanks for your post... I had not heard of Lyra Carts before... there is a company here called origin.live that sell them so ive been able to read up on the Delos. It has quite a high output 0.6mv.

Thanks again everyone for your warm welcome

Jack

[rob400]

Hi Jack.

I concur with your mains experiences and opinions. I run a dedicated supply which helps but isn't a cure all. I can highly recommend the XX2 because of it's neutral and balanced sound so it should work well with any deck which exhibits similar characteristics. My XV1s is a lot better but at a price. I ran an XX1L on my former deck an LP12/ARO and that combination was very good. My advise is listen first if you can but if that is logistically difficult buy with confidence.
Rob

[ACHiPo]

Jack,
I auditioned the 834p when it came out and really liked it.  At the time I couldn't swing it, the used WTT reference, a new cartridge, and a new (used) preamp so I compromised and got a used BlackCube for ~$200 and lived happily with it for 15 years until I picked up a used Jeff Rowland Consummate preamp/phono, which is glorious.

Evan

[Lyon]

Hi Rob
  This phonostage is quite small and will fit in a shoebox... I will take it to the dealers when i buy the cartridge and audition through it, I just need to know that low output MC's will work well without a SUT etc
 
 Achipo I was going to save and treat myself to a WTL deck for my birthday in June. Fate conspired to bring me the WTL amadeus as an early Christmas gift.  I found one on Hifi Wigwam mid December with an Audionote MM cartridge included for half the retail price. Having been taught by my parents to never look a gift horse in the mouth I bought it immediately. It's immaculate and is still using its first belt.
 I didnt have a phonostage at that point so bought the EAR834P on ebay...it was serendipity that one was for sale. I have an all Valves system here...Audion Silver Night 300b Amp feeding Audionote AZ3 speakers so having a valve phonostage  is fantastic.

I just wish there was more information online about which low output MC cartridges work well with the EAR834P

Jack


 

[rob400]

Hi Jack.
Interesting one. Ordinarily I would suggest selecting the cartridge and phono stage as a pair as the synergy between the 2 is very important. If one had to come before the other I'd say cartridge then buy the phono stage that works best with it. You have of course done the opposite. I wish I could advise regarding a suitable partner for the EAR834P but I'm not familiar with it. I do know from experince that the DV P75 mk2 or 3 are a very good match for an XX2. The XV1's need something better like the P300 I have fitted internally in my DVL300 pre. Nice buy Amadeus wise. A real LP12 beater IMO.....

[/mp]

I just wish there was more information online about which low output MC cartridges work well with the EAR834P

I was going to suggest asking the experts at EAR but their website, http://www.ear-yoshino.com/ seems to be down. You might try the US importer Dan Meinwald 562 / 422–4747 (Pacific Time) Email: info@ear-usa.com

Good luck and kindly share your findings,
/mp

[Lyon]

Hi Rob and MP

 Yeah I was not expecting to buy the WTL so soon, one came up on HiFi Wigwam for a bargain price and that was that...Goodbye Christmas money Hello delicious sleek turntable.  but then i had no phonostage and i wanted to listen to records quickly so on Ebay i found the EAR834 again a bargain.

I found quite a good review on Stereophile by Michael Fremer. Its a positive review, I have cut and paste a paragraph here:

You can run any cartridge you like into the 834P—its noise level is relatively low, with just a bit of "tube rush" well below normal signal level—but get to 0.25mV and you're pushing your luck. But there was no problem with MM or high-output MC cartridges, of course. I had great results with newer low/medium-output cartridges such as the Lyra Titan and Transfiguration W.

So I guess i need to be looking at MC Carts with a signal level of 0.25mV or higher.

All Best Wishes

Jack

[rob400]

Hi Jack.
The Dynavector XX2 has an output of 0.28mv so compatible from that perspective but as will know there is more to it than that. Why not take your front end to your nearest DV dealer and have a listen? Do you buy cartridges from new? Funnily enough a guy on PinkFishMedia recently posted that he'd found all the DV cartridges that he'd owned dull sounding. He much prefers the Lyra's. After I drew him out regarding the details it transpired that he buys his cartridges second hand and the two DV's he'd owned were at least 5 years old when he acquired them  . Happy hunting!

[Lyon]

hi Rob

  I plan to buy my cartridge new...buying 2nd hand seems crazy! it would be difficult to check the wear and tear on a 2nd hand stylus especially buying on ebay. I managed to get the WT TT, Audionote IQ2 Cart which was included with the TT and Phonostage for £2000 and i have or will have a budget of £1000 - £1200 for the new Cartridge. There is a dealer in Lancashire... Audio Council and one in somerset... Mike Manning Audio that sell both DV cartridges and the WTL TT's.  I live in Shropshire about half way between the two.

 I havent been near a turntable since the early 90's so its all a learning experience...i dont even know what prat means!? all i know it this WT amadeus is very fast and exciting and creates an emotional link which was often absent with my CD's and it separates out instruments amazingly, its totally easy to follow a bass line for example, even nick drake has a spring in his step these days Ive got the Golf ball about 20 - 25% in the goop.