Mike Lindsey Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Allan, Yeah, I've got a watch on each of those. I think I'm gonna have to start out with the 3009 (I'm getting 2 of the Maple armboards) for money reasons, and then when I get my bonus in October start to look for a 3012. I wish I could find some guys in this country selling these tonearms. The shipping alone is another $40. I'm hoping to snag one for around $350 but it's not looking good of late. Here's the other one I'm looking at: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9728760150&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1 Thanks for the heads up! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Nerdie talk? Let me guess, Scottie has never had a transcription turntable. Yes, they are a pain in the ***, but............. [] Uhhhh... Among his 25 tables he has the following: Thorens TD124 Garrard 301 (2) JA Michell Hydraulic Reference Transcriptors (2) (the famous Clockwork Orange tt) Mike Great! Then possibly Scottie has as much experience with analog transcription record players as I do and could contribute something more than comments about our "nerdie talk". I think he was just being cute... which last time I checked was still allowed on this forum. [] Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Jay I do not have the experience of the others that have responded here but I happen to enjoy my Rega mated to a Clear Audio Champion. I do not have the level 2 just the basic champion. I auditioned the table and arm combination against combos that were many times more expensive and settled on this based on my listening impressions. I initially bought it with a Grado Sonata cartridge again after comparing the to offerings that cost a heck of a lot more. I actually was planning on spending a great deal more than I ended up spending because in the final analysis I liked the sound of this combination best. Maybe I should say best within reasonable cost parameters. There were some combos at over 6 grand that were pretty amazing! I have since replaced the Sonata with the Shelter 901 and am very happy with that combination as well. I cannot say its better than the Sonata but its different in a way that I think I prefer! It may be a case of not knowing what I am missing but you may want to give the table with the rega a listen and see what you think! josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Nerdie talk? Let me guess, Scottie has never had a transcription turntable. Yes, they are a pain in the ***, but............. [] Uhhhh... Among his 25 tables he has the following: Thorens TD124 Garrard 301 (2) JA Michell Hydraulic Reference Transcriptors (2) (the famous Clockwork Orange tt) Mike Great! Then possibly Scottie has as much experience with analog transcription record players as I do and could contribute something more than comments about our "nerdie talk". Artto, Hey man that's Mike talking, not me. I'm not even sure I know what a transcription analog doohickey thing is? Is that a record player? I was merely pointing out that Jay seemed overwhelmed by the discussion and he beat a hasty retreat. I think if you read the progression of his posts, you will find maybe some small sliver of humor in it. And please stop calling me Scottie or I'll have to beam you up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowntnbkr Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 I just took the plunge. I have been corresponding with Dave from Vinyl Nirvana in New Hampshire. I am getting a nice looking td-150 that he has completely gone through. I am putting an rbg300 with an OC-9 cart. shipped for just under a grand. Dave assured me this is a good setup (as this is my first veture into vinyl) as did the guys at needle doctor and a few other vinyl guys I know. I cannot go any wilder than I have (mc-30's, mx-110, cornwalls, LS both with Deans xovers, Bob ct125's and now this turntable all in the last 14 months), but I feel confident I will be happy with the setup. I have also learned that there are as many opinions as there are members, and the ultimate factor are the two appendages on either side of your head. This forum has been both a blessing and a curse as I am sure many of you can attest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullwinkle Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 I have a TD 150 with a rega 250 and I think it is wonderful. You did well and I think you will be pleased. Dave is a really knowledgeable guy. He knows his TT's and combinations with tonearms/cartridges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmusic Posted May 23, 2006 Author Share Posted May 23, 2006 Josh, Thanks for the kind words, and for you support and advice. I still may end up going with a similar setup, just not sure about how much I want to spend as I am looking at a few other toys. Thanks again. Scottie, If you find some humor in this, maybe you can share it with the rest of us. If you read a little closer I asked for some friendly advice, I did not know it would lead to an all out opinionated response by the very people I asked for help. I still do not see the humor in which you are talking about, please point it out. Or are you the only one who see'e this humor you speak of. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBryan Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 "That's what I did [find the cartridge first, then match the rest of the setup to it] and now I've got myself in a world of trouble. It's kind of like the tail wagging the dog." Mike, You make a good point. Perhaps I should've mentioned that you can do a lot of the matching process on paper before you start purchasing. I've had occasions when I bought a piece of equipment on a whim and then spent months trying to find a use for it. I feel your pain! -Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Hey folks, let's lighten up a bit, ok? Some people just seem to be a bit sensitive here. I think you have gotten some good advice Jay. The cartridge and the arm are a system and work hand-in-hand together. A hight compliant cartridge requires a low-mass arm, and a low compliant cartridge requires a high mass arm. You need to decide on the cartridge you are going to use, and then mate up the arm that will work best with that cartidge and your budget. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Josh, Thanks for the kind words, and for you support and advice. I still may end up going with a similar setup, just not sure about how much I want to spend as I am looking at a few other toys. Thanks again. Scottie, If you find some humor in this, maybe you can share it with the rest of us. If you read a little closer I asked for some friendly advice, I did not know it would lead to an all out opinionated response by the very people I asked for help. I still do not see the humor in which you are talking about, please point it out. Or are you the only one who see'e this humor you speak of. Jay Jay, That's funny, you called me Scottie too. Jay I'm sorry, there's no need to point out any humor, I guess I was just way off base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 Thanks for your kind words!. The rega is an option with the Clear Audio and it is for a reason. It mates well. Fellow forum member Chris King has virtually the same set up as I do and he is equally pleased with the results. As mowntnbkr pointed out ..only your ears matter. All the hype and BS do not matter if you like the way it sounds! I happen to think the Champion and the rega arm with the Grado Sonata make the music that I like sound the way that I like it to sound. Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmusic Posted May 24, 2006 Author Share Posted May 24, 2006 Mike, Thanks alot, That's the kind of advice I was looking for from the begining. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted May 25, 2006 Moderators Share Posted May 25, 2006 Mike, Thanks alot, That's the kind of advice I was looking for from the begining. Jay Jay, Also talk to Wardsweb on here. He has a Champ. Level 2, I believe he has an SME 309 arm and he loves it, but he can tell you much more about it then I could. Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 Thanks for your kind words!. The rega is an option with the Clear Audio and it is for a reason. It mates well. Fellow forum member Chris King has virtually the same set up as I do and he is equally pleased with the results. As mowntnbkr pointed out ..only your ears matter. All the hype and BS do not matter if you like the way it sounds! I happen to think the Champion and the rega arm with the Grado Sonata make the music that I like sound the way that I like it to sound. Josh Actually Josh the Rega is only an option with Clearaudio in the US. For some reason over here the basic option is actually the Project 9 arm - or it was. Now they tend to sell them either with their own arms or without any for you to add what you want. Further, whilst I don't want to rain on anyone's parade here - you mentioned in a previous post that the Shelter was not better than the Grado Sonata - just different. I would say that observation is indicative of the arm being the limiting factor in the quality of the sonic result. Frankly I have heard both cartridges on a variety of implementations and there should be no comparison between the 2 - the Shelter 901 is reckoned to be one of the top 10 cartridges in the world generally by too many audiophiles to list (including magazines, clubs and individuals). The Grado is a fine cartridge but not in the same league. I should add that I owned a Shelter 901 for a couple of years and have only swapped it out exactly because it was not a good match for my new arm. In actual fact the cartridge was originally Tony's (much mentioned audiophile friend) and he had it for a while on the Rega with so many mods it was unrecognisable by the end. when we moved it to my TT we placed it on my Project 9 arm that was also modded (but not as much). It played better on the Project 9 than on the Rega (Tony's opinion) yet when another friend came round (he ran it on an SME 5 as I recall) he thought it was poor on the Project. Neither the Project nor the Rega are bad arms. They are both good value for money - but neither are actually a proper match for a cartridge like the Shelter. If it makes this message any more palatable both are a better match than my Clearaudio TQI 2000 linear tracking arm. It is not necessarily a matter of amount of cash invested. Sorry to be brutal. YMMV - IMHO and all that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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