Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

Joe Mac said:
I have much less efficient speakers than you and my 40wpc tube amp has more than ample power for anything I’ll ever need!
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I was briefly tempted by the KingKo KA101 Pro - it's currently available for $995 in the States. 12W stereo and I've heard it's got a very SET-like sound. But of course I'd need to secure a future for my JoLida first...
 
kvetcha said:
My JoLida is 70wpc. The dial starts at 6 o'clock, and almost all my listening is between 7 and 8. 9 is deafening.

Which is the main reason I'm considering a lower power amp.
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I know that feeling. When I first connected my Schiit Valhalla 2 -> Bottlehead Kaiju -> Zu Soul Supreme, the sound went from mute to deafening as I turned the volume from 7:00 to 7:30. I had to turn the Kaiju's volume down to 15% in order to have any control with the Valhalla's volume knob.
 
kvetcha said:
My JoLida is 70wpc. The dial starts at 6 o'clock, and almost all my listening is between 7 and 8. 9 is deafening.

Which is the main reason I'm considering a lower power amp.
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I can imagine! lol

Mine starts at 7 o'clock and unless I am alone in the house, I'm listening at around 9 o'clock max. My nighttime level is right at 8 o'clock.
 
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AnthonyI said:
This may be completely off your radar, but if space, wall distance and bass are check boxes, the Polks LSiM 703 do an amazing job of all three and have a beautiful sound to them. The rear "baffle" solved a lot of problem for placement for me and I still enjoy them.

I know they're out of production, but can still be had at a great price. Just an option ;)
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Heard anything about the Polk Legend line that has replaced the LSiM? Researching the LSiM after your post led me down the rabbit hole of checking out the new Polk line to. Polk honestly wasn't on my radar at all, but the L100 and L200 both seem like interesting options and that "power port", or whatever they call it on the back, sounds like it could be advantageous for my placement obstacles.
 
Pergo said:
Heard anything about the Polk Legend line that has replaced the LSiM? Researching the LSiM after your post led me down the rabbit hole of checking out the new Polk line to. Polk honestly wasn't on my radar at all, but the L100 and L200 both seem like interesting options and that "power port", or whatever they call it on the back, sounds like it could be advantageous for my placement obstacles.
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I did get a chance to hear the L600's when they came out, I really liked them and went to check them out because I really liked the 703's and with the LSiM series being discounted all over, was thinking about going that route. Then the ZU's fell into my lap and that was that. I do still want to reiterate how amazing the 703's are, and the price just makes them a better offering. As for the L100/220's, I think Polk has been a little underrated over the years and I can't help but assume the L100/200's would follow suite.

On the subject of the power port, it definitely helped with my limited placement options and the bass digs plenty deep. I could post a sound sample for you, but as with all samples over the interwebs, you need to take it with a grain of salt, but it might give you a "taste" of the sound.

Let me know :)
 
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AnthonyI said:
I did get a chance to hear the L600's when they came out, I really liked them and went to check them out because I really liked the 703's and with the LSiM series being discounted all over, was thinking about going that route. Then the ZU's fell into my lap and that was that. I do still want to reiterate how amazing the 703's are, and the price just makes them a better offering. As for the L100/220's, I think Polk has been a little underrated over the years and I can't help but assume the L100/200's would follow suite.

On the subject of the power port, it definitely helped with my limited placement options and the bass digs plenty deep. I could post a sound sample for you, but as with all samples over the interwebs, you need to take it with a grain of salt, but it might give you a "taste" of the sound.

Let me know :)
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Solid input, thanks! There are definitely some intriguing deals out there on the 703's so I totally get your point there. Don't worry about the sound sample, I think I may have actually found an option locally for auditioning some Polks to get a better feel for them, so hoping to go that route soon.
 
Pergo said:
Solid input, thanks! There are definitely some intriguing deals out there on the 703's so I totally get your point there. Don't worry about the sound sample, I think I may have actually found an option locally for auditioning some Polks to get a better feel for them, so hoping to go that route soon.
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Awesome, would really like to hear what you thought of them once you've had a chance to check them out :)
 
Pergo said:
Heard anything about the Polk Legend line that has replaced the LSiM? Researching the LSiM after your post led me down the rabbit hole of checking out the new Polk line to. Polk honestly wasn't on my radar at all, but the L100 and L200 both seem like interesting options and that "power port", or whatever they call it on the back, sounds like it could be advantageous for my placement obstacles.
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Late last year I got to do an extended demo (2.5 weeks) of the L200. In my opinion, the power port is a big strong point of these speaker. If you need to place near a wall, it's a great tool. I also got to hear the L800 in a limited demo.

The L800s have a lot of cool tricks, but they are very finicky with amp matching and the room. If you don't have a symmetrical space, I would go with any other speaker in the Legend line. I haven't heard the L600, but I imagine that would be the sweetheart of the line, especially if you catch them on sale.

As for the L200, their sound signature wasn't my personal preference. They seemed to be getting enough power, even with my 20w tube amp, but I just felt the top end was a little brittle, and my room at the time was already highly reflective and made things bright. But that general feeling stuck with me when I took them to other rooms. Granted, I admittedly prefer a very smooth and sometimes rolled off top end. I tend to be drawn to options that are darker and maybe a touch midrange forward, and the L200 was not in that smooth and buttery category. I personally would still pick the LSi9 over the L200 (I got to A/B both in the same room), but I know several people who feel the opposite.

If you like the LSiM sound, it's a pretty safe bet you'll like the L200s. At the same time, for the price difference I think I'd have a hard time justifying the L200 unless you particularly like tone a little more or the looks. The Legend series will end up one sales too. I believe they already did one big sale at the end of Q1, which brings them into the great buy pricing. They are not over priced based on what's in the market, but their sales are somewhat predicable and usually worth the wait in my opinion.

The L200s weren't too hard to drive, but I believe the L600s are harder to drive, and the L800s need gobs of power. The whole line benefits not only from high power, but also higher current. If you are going to stick with these long term I suggest getting an amp that can take big impedance swings, so 4 ohms minimum for sure, but 2ohm stable is a good idea. They most commonly pair their stuff with Marantaz at shows, so that's something to consider.
 
displayname said:
Late last year I got to do an extended demo (2.5 weeks) of the L200. In my opinion, the power port is a big strong point of these speaker. If you need to place near a wall, it's a great tool. I also got to hear the L800 in a limited demo.

The L800s have a lot of cool tricks, but they are very finicky with amp matching and the room. If you don't have a symmetrical space, I would go with any other speaker in the Legend line. I haven't heard the L600, but I imagine that would be the sweetheart of the line, especially if you catch them on sale.

As for the L200, their sound signature wasn't my personal preference. They seemed to be getting enough power, even with my 20w tube amp, but I just felt the top end was a little brittle, and my room at the time was already highly reflective and made things bright. But that general feeling stuck with me when I took them to other rooms. Granted, I admittedly prefer a very smooth and sometimes rolled off top end. I tend to be drawn to options that are darker and maybe a touch midrange forward, and the L200 was not in that smooth and buttery category. I personally would still pick the LSi9 over the L200 (I got to A/B both in the same room), but I know several people who feel the opposite.

If you like the LSiM sound, it's a pretty safe bet you'll like the L200s. At the same time, for the price difference I think I'd have a hard time justifying the L200 unless you particularly like tone a little more or the looks. The Legend series will end up one sales too. I believe they already did one big sale at the end of Q1, which brings them into the great buy pricing. They are not over priced based on what's in the market, but their sales are somewhat predicable and usually worth the wait in my opinion.

The L200s weren't too hard to drive, but I believe the L600s are harder to drive, and the L800s need gobs of power. The whole line benefits not only from high power, but also higher current. If you are going to stick with these long term I suggest getting an amp that can take big impedance swings, so 4 ohms minimum for sure, but 2ohm stable is a good idea. They most commonly pair their stuff with Marantaz at shows, so that's something to consider.
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This is great, thank you! Lots to consider here. That power port with the placement near the wall is definitely a big positive in my situation. I noticed Crutchfield has the L200s for $1500 right now...is that pretty much in line with what you've seen from other sales or do they actually drop even more? I'm still at least a month, maybe two, away from making the final decision so I don't mind waiting for sales to pop up. Not that I've settled on these yet, but just curious.
 
Pergo said:
This is great, thank you! Lots to consider here. That power port with the placement near the wall is definitely a big positive in my situation. I noticed Crutchfield has the L200s for $1500 right now...is that pretty much in line with what you've seen from other sales or do they actually drop even more? I'm still at least a month, maybe two, away from making the final decision so I don't mind waiting for sales to pop up. Not that I've settled on these yet, but just curious.
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Oh, 16% off already, not bad. I don't think you'll beat that this holiday season, but I'd try to buy from somewhere with a 60 day return window if you can find it. That would help secure the pricing through black Friday/cyber Monday sales.
 
I didn't feel like starting a whole new thread just for this, but has it already been 2 months since these 2 Grado carts showed up? Hope you enjoy the read, just thought I would share.

20201021_195518.jpg

Over the last 7 weeks or so I’ve been burning in and spinning away with my Grado Gold v3 and Grado ME+ Mono carts, after approx. 30 hours on each we started doing a little A/B testing to see what’s what with a mono cart on a “mono” pressing compared to a stereo cart on a mono pressing. A couple of quick disclaimers here, I have maybe 2 actual mono pressings and the rest are “modern” mono represses and or re-issues. I know there’s a big conversation about “true” mono, so I wanted to get that out of the way. 2nd disclaimer, these are just my opinions not gospel and only intended as such, sharing experiences is a big part of this hobby in my opinion, you can always gain a little something from a lot of people.

So let’s talk sound, I've always really liked the way mono pressings sounded with my stereo carts, I thought they represented the music better, some say they don’t hear a difference and like everything it boils down to preferences. But, when comparing them head to head (Mono vs Stereo Cart), there is a noticeable difference between the two….in my opinion.

What we listened to:
  • The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds [45 RPM AP Mono Pressing 2017]
  • Blossom Dearie – ST [Verve/VMP Mono Pressing 2019]
  • Frank Sinatra – In the Wee Small Hours [Capitol Records Mono repress 1956]
  • Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow [Mobile Fidelity 45 RPM Mono 2015]
  • John Coltrane – Blue Train [Blue Note 75th Ann. Mono 2014]
  • The Kinks ‎– The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society [Sanctuary Records Reissue Mono 2014]
  • Lightnin' Slim* ‎– Rooster Blues [Excello reissue Mono 2016]
  • Robert Johnson ‎– King of The Delta Blues Singers [Columbia/MOV Remaster, Reissue Mono 2013]
  • Sonny Rollins ‎– Saxophone Colossus [Prestige remaster Mono 2011]
After spending a lot of time going back and forth over single tracks at a time, I find it kind of easy to explain. The stereo cart, again, while sounding really good, has an extra airiness to it, which makes sense, but with the mono cart that disappears and the focus goes to what’s in the track, the instruments and the vocals. The instruments are more defined compared to the stereo cart, the bass is much tighter and “warmer”, it has a more detailed strum and thump to it. The vocals are accurate, very much how they should sound and “feel”. I fight the urge to say the difference is subtle, but subtle doesn’t always mean it’s not noticeable if that makes sense. That’s really it, I honestly think it’s the closest representation of how the music was meant to sound. I will add that pressing quality, as always, varies and does show on a mono cart as it does on any other cartridge you run.

Is it worth the hassle? Yes and no, and I’ll explain. If you don’t have a replaceable head shell, I would say no. Even though I really, really prefer the sound from the mono cart, it wouldn’t be worth the added work of mounting and calibrating a cart for just a couple albums. Maybe if you have a bigger mono collection, but even then, you need to stick to mono for a good stretch to avoid the inconvenience of switching back. Now, all that being said, if you have a removable head shell, I would really think about it, especially if you find yourself in a similar set up as I am, where you’re running a Grado cart already. With the Grado Prestige carts having the same specs and tracking force, the swap with a removable head shell is literally the same time it takes to flip an album.

I’m really happy I gave this a go and thrilled with the PLX 1000 set up with the Gold and ME+ carts on the fly for whatever I want to listen to. Yes, it’s $150 more for the ME+ and some of you with a Gold would probably appreciate the jump an 8MZ would bring to the table for the same cost, but as one of those always looking for the best representation of the music I listen to……..that I can afford, I’m really excited about quality mono pressings that might come along in the future. :)
 
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AnthonyI said:
I didn't feel like starting a whole new thread just for this, but has it already been 2 months since these 2 Grado carts showed up? Hope you enjoy the read, just thought I would share.

View attachment 71308

Over the last 7 weeks or so I’ve been burning in and spinning away with my Grado Gold v3 and Grado ME+ Mono carts, after approx. 30 hours on each we started doing a little A/B testing to see what’s what with a mono cart on a “mono” pressing compared to a stereo cart on a mono pressing. A couple of quick disclaimers here, I have maybe 2 actual mono pressings and the rest are “modern” mono represses and or re-issues. I know there’s a big conversation about “true” mono, so I wanted to get that out of the way. 2nd disclaimer, these are just my opinions not gospel and only intended as such, sharing experiences is a big part of this hobby in my opinion, you can always gain a little something from a lot of people.

So let’s talk sound, I've always really liked the way mono pressings sounded with my stereo carts, I thought they represented the music better, some say they don’t hear a difference and like everything it boils down to preferences. But, when comparing them head to head (Mono vs Stereo Cart), there is a noticeable difference between the two….in my opinion.

What we listened to:
  • The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds [45 RPM AP Mono Pressing 2017]
  • Blossom Dearie – ST [Verve/VMP Mono Pressing 2019]
  • Frank Sinatra – In the Wee Small Hours [Capitol Records Mono repress 1956]
  • Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow [Mobile Fidelity 45 RPM Mono 2015]
  • John Coltrane – Blue Train [Blue Note 75th Ann. Mono 2014]
  • The Kinks ‎– The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society [Sanctuary Records Reissue Mono 2014]
  • Lightnin' Slim* ‎– Rooster Blues [Excello reissue Mono 2016]
  • Robert Johnson ‎– King of The Delta Blues Singers [Columbia/MOV Remaster, Reissue Mono 2013]
  • Sonny Rollins ‎– Saxophone Colossus [Prestige remaster Mono 2011]
After spending a lot of time going back and forth over single tracks at a time, I find it kind of easy to explain. The stereo cart, again, while sounding really good, has an extra airiness to it, which makes sense, but with the mono cart that disappears and the focus goes to what’s in the track, the instruments and the vocals. The instruments are more defined compared to the stereo cart, the bass is much tighter and “warmer”, it has a more detailed strum and thump to it. The vocals are accurate, very much how they should sound and “feel”. I fight the urge to say the difference is subtle, but subtle doesn’t always mean it’s not noticeable if that makes sense. That’s really it, I honestly think it’s the closest representation of how the music was meant to sound. I will add that pressing quality, as always, varies and does show on a mono cart as it does on any other cartridge you run.

Is it worth the hassle? Yes and no, and I’ll explain. If you don’t have a replaceable head shell, I would say no. Even though I really, really prefer the sound from the mono cart, it wouldn’t be worth the added work of mounting and calibrating a cart for just a couple albums. Maybe if you have a bigger mono collection, but even then, you need to stick to mono for a good stretch to avoid the inconvenience of switching back. Now, all that being said, if you have a removable head shell, I would really think about it, especially if you find yourself in a similar set up as I am, where you’re running a Grado cart already. With the Grado Prestige carts having the same specs and tracking force, the swap with a removable head shell is literally the same time it takes to flip an album.

I’m really happy I gave this a go and thrilled with the PLX 1000 set up with the Gold and ME+ carts on the fly for whatever I want to listen to. Yes, it’s $150 more for the ME+ and some of you with a Gold would probably appreciate the jump an 8MZ would bring to the table for the same cost, but as one of those always looking for the best representation of the music I listen to……..that I can afford, I’m really excited about quality mono pressings that might come along in the future. :)
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Awesome write up, thanks for sharing.
 
AnthonyI said:
I didn't feel like starting a whole new thread just for this, but has it already been 2 months since these 2 Grado carts showed up? Hope you enjoy the read, just thought I would share.

View attachment 71308

Over the last 7 weeks or so I’ve been burning in and spinning away with my Grado Gold v3 and Grado ME+ Mono carts, after approx. 30 hours on each we started doing a little A/B testing to see what’s what with a mono cart on a “mono” pressing compared to a stereo cart on a mono pressing. A couple of quick disclaimers here, I have maybe 2 actual mono pressings and the rest are “modern” mono represses and or re-issues. I know there’s a big conversation about “true” mono, so I wanted to get that out of the way. 2nd disclaimer, these are just my opinions not gospel and only intended as such, sharing experiences is a big part of this hobby in my opinion, you can always gain a little something from a lot of people.

So let’s talk sound, I've always really liked the way mono pressings sounded with my stereo carts, I thought they represented the music better, some say they don’t hear a difference and like everything it boils down to preferences. But, when comparing them head to head (Mono vs Stereo Cart), there is a noticeable difference between the two….in my opinion.

What we listened to:
  • The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds [45 RPM AP Mono Pressing 2017]
  • Blossom Dearie – ST [Verve/VMP Mono Pressing 2019]
  • Frank Sinatra – In the Wee Small Hours [Capitol Records Mono repress 1956]
  • Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow [Mobile Fidelity 45 RPM Mono 2015]
  • John Coltrane – Blue Train [Blue Note 75th Ann. Mono 2014]
  • The Kinks ‎– The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society [Sanctuary Records Reissue Mono 2014]
  • Lightnin' Slim* ‎– Rooster Blues [Excello reissue Mono 2016]
  • Robert Johnson ‎– King of The Delta Blues Singers [Columbia/MOV Remaster, Reissue Mono 2013]
  • Sonny Rollins ‎– Saxophone Colossus [Prestige remaster Mono 2011]
After spending a lot of time going back and forth over single tracks at a time, I find it kind of easy to explain. The stereo cart, again, while sounding really good, has an extra airiness to it, which makes sense, but with the mono cart that disappears and the focus goes to what’s in the track, the instruments and the vocals. The instruments are more defined compared to the stereo cart, the bass is much tighter and “warmer”, it has a more detailed strum and thump to it. The vocals are accurate, very much how they should sound and “feel”. I fight the urge to say the difference is subtle, but subtle doesn’t always mean it’s not noticeable if that makes sense. That’s really it, I honestly think it’s the closest representation of how the music was meant to sound. I will add that pressing quality, as always, varies and does show on a mono cart as it does on any other cartridge you run.

Is it worth the hassle? Yes and no, and I’ll explain. If you don’t have a replaceable head shell, I would say no. Even though I really, really prefer the sound from the mono cart, it wouldn’t be worth the added work of mounting and calibrating a cart for just a couple albums. Maybe if you have a bigger mono collection, but even then, you need to stick to mono for a good stretch to avoid the inconvenience of switching back. Now, all that being said, if you have a removable head shell, I would really think about it, especially if you find yourself in a similar set up as I am, where you’re running a Grado cart already. With the Grado Prestige carts having the same specs and tracking force, the swap with a removable head shell is literally the same time it takes to flip an album.

I’m really happy I gave this a go and thrilled with the PLX 1000 set up with the Gold and ME+ carts on the fly for whatever I want to listen to. Yes, it’s $150 more for the ME+ and some of you with a Gold would probably appreciate the jump an 8MZ would bring to the table for the same cost, but as one of those always looking for the best representation of the music I listen to……..that I can afford, I’m really excited about quality mono pressings that might come along in the future. :)
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Bookmarked. I'll look into how a Grado will be compatible with my equipment + music preferences. Thank you for the detailed breakdown and thoughts.
 
Gavaxeman said:
I had a bit of that and I thought I might need a new stylus (2 years coming up) but a quick adjustment to my anti skate solved the problem
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Ok, so I have Pro-Ject Debut Carbon. From doing a little research, I'm not sure what anti-skate adjustment might be needed. I have the weight hanging from the middle divot and just checked the tracking force with a scale and it's 1.8 grams. I also confirmed everything is level... with a level... Any other recommendations?

I'm probably going to upgrade to 2m Blue anyway. But, I'm still curious if this can be explained by anything else. I have noticed it on several records, but not all.
 
TheAcademy said:
Ok, so I have Pro-Ject Debut Carbon. From doing a little research, I'm not sure what anti-skate adjustment might be needed. I have the weight hanging from the middle divot and just checked the tracking force with a scale and it's 1.8 grams. I also confirmed everything is level... with a level... Any other recommendations?

I'm probably going to upgrade to 2m Blue anyway. But, I'm still curious if this can be explained by anything else. I have noticed it on several records, but not all.
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A stylus has a lifespan of approx 1000 hours. If you do a quick guesstimating of how many records you listen to a week you can usually figure out how long it has left on it or if it’s past it’s best and needs replacing. A stylus that is done isn’t going to make your system sound good and if it’s well past it’s best it could damage your vinyl.

So I spin a lot. I reckon 20 hours a week. Because of that I change my stylus yearly because it roughly hits the 1000 hours in that time. Some other people take 2 or 3 or even 4 years to reach that.

Regardless of all the above the blue is a damn big jump from the red and well worth it because it’s just the stylus that needs swapping as they use the same cartridge body. I really don’t like the red but think the blue is a very fine option at its price point.
 
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