Nah, he's totally killing it. But he already has some tenitus and can't really tell I'm sure. Plus, for him it's just the joy of listening to his favorite records that hes had around since he was growing up. Frankly, he probably gets more enjoyment out of listening than just about anyone i know (self included) even though he doesn't care at all about "quality" how a lot of people here do. Different strokes for different folks.
Just as a point of clarification, the AT-VM95E cartridge included with this table is also styli upgradeable to Eliptical nude, Micro Line and Shibata. AT-VM95E as a cartridge is a great starting point but, the upgradeability is part of the chemistry. I have an AT-LPW40WN, with the AT-VM95ML. I would be hard pressed to suggest a Debut Carbon over this combination.
Upgrade-ability is the one area that stands out for me. Turntables in this price range don't offer VTA, this does. I upgraded to a Shibata stylus for $179 and now it sounds better than my $600 Pro-ject with a $189 Ortofon Blue stylud upgrade.
Out of the box there might be better choices but that upgrade path is unbeatable.
I've got a Pro-ject debut carbon with ortofon 2m red- will this be an upgrade? If not, how can I make the most of what I have now? Still not fully satisfied with the sound from them :p
I'm currently a fan of acrylic, especially with a heavy weight/clamp. I initially got the combo (which I linked) because a number of the older special edition LP I own are warped (clear/tinted stuff from the 70s did not hold up). It helped flatten them out enough so that playback didn't have any noticeable warping noises. After using it with a bunch of good vinyl, I found it did help tighten the bass response a bit while bolstering the mids a smidge. Both of which didn't make too much of an overall impact for my setup because the gear I'm running is fairly warm and vibrant for mid-fi (Denon VL12 Prime turntable, Teac AX-501 and Nobsound 6P1 amps, Yaqin MS-23B Phono preamp, Yaqin CD3 line buffer, and Pioneer FS52 and BS22 speakers with SP-8 subwoofer), and were only easily noticed when using the monitor out with my HD6xx and T1.2 cans.
I did not (and still don't) like cloth mats. They have a bad habit of generating and holding static electricity. Plus they leave detritus on the bottom side of the LP. I did find that putting the cloth mat between the turntable platter and the acrylic mat helped isolate some of the vibrations generated by the floor-standing speakers and subwoofer, but that is more anecdotal than anything else.
Edit: Also, a handy benefit of the acrylic platter is being able to easily and accurately set the anti-skate controls on turntables that have 'em. Without risk of damaging the stylus or vinyl, even. Start the table without any vinyl, place the stylus about 1/4 the way to the edge of the acrylic, and adjust the anti-skate control until the tonearm doesn't move in either direction. Too much or too little will have the tonearm either heading towards the center or outside of the platter.
phoenixsongYou might want to also consider a bronze upgrade. Blue you can swap to quickest, same cart as red. Bronze and Black come with a different cart.
silentbirdieThe present is generally a poor indicator of the future.Whether5.0 or not, Bluetooth turntables are readily available today and will only improve in sound quality. Who they appeal to and why at this point is another story.
A the sub $500 level, people might not always as demanding as you may be.
I recently purchased a set of 5.0 speakers that also offer USB and optical connectivity—and I don’t hear any difference.
aves
Feb 5, 2020
Are there going to be multiple colors available? Wood, black, and white options would be awesome.
I agree the dark wood is handsome, I also liked the original walnut... a warm cherry would match my furniture and speakers (Polk Audio) and tastes best though. Thanks for dropping some comments!
There is an available headshell, the curve is due to the straight tonearm. In an s-shape configuration we do sell pre-mounted cartridges that screw righ on.
There's literally only 4 styluses for the cartridge and the cartridge comes with the turntable what more info do they need? Are you new to turntables and think a stylus and cartridge are the same thing? 🤣🤣🤣
silentbirdieUnfortunately, I'm not new to buying turntables, or upgrading the cartridge or stylus - it's been far too much money. Now for a history lesson, kid - MicroLine styli have existed for decades, and a cursory search - at least a dozen older ML styli would fit on this cart. That's right, older - the NOS market is enormous. You'd know that if you had a look at audiokarma, vinylengine, stevehoffman, and older A-T documentation (instead of drop and reddit). The point of my initial comment still stands - your response was worthless.
Btw, grats on your first 'bigboy' table!