OpiumEd

You said a preamp only brings the signal to line level. For the purpose of education, I thought someone needed to be pedantic and explain the rest. As I suspected, some people did learn from it.

A phono preamp does more than just bring a weak signal to line level. (If that's all it did, you could use any preamp or even just another amplifier). The main thing a phono preamp does, that sets it apart from other amps, is it adjusts for (or adds) the "RIAA curve." During the 1930s-1940s when the record companies (mainly RCA Victor and Columbia) were experimenting with obtaining the best fidelity (highest quality) out of records, the new LPs and 45s that is, they came up with various equalization adjustments, de-emphasizing particularly the bass frequencies while emphasizing the highs, then reversing this on playback. For awhile, each record company had their own equalization "curve." A standard was eventually agreed upon through the Recording Industry Association of America, so the RIAA curve became the standard in 1954. All phono preamps come with the RIAA curve built in. read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIAA_equalization

I have a Str8-80 - with two cartridges mounted on separate headshells, one for playing modern albums with higher fidelity (the "EEE III"), and the original default cartridge (the "500") with a general stylus for playing 78s. I found that with one screw unlocked, I can point the stylus to different angles. As it moves toward the center, it tends to get more-and-more off axis. The limited tracking angle of the Str8 arm is rather annoying, I must say. I have a few records that have grooves very close to the center - novelty records and custom-cut records from the 78-RPM era. Sometimes I can angle the stylus to sort of fake it, but If I try to play these on the Str8-80, the stylus gets way too far off the axis as it gets closer to the center. One of the main reasons I have the Stanton is for playing (and archiving) 78s and other old records going back 100+ years. The default "500" cartridge it comes with is the defacto standard for playing 78s (and even cylinders). There are also a wide range of stylii for playing different groove widths for archaic shellacs, aluminum, lacquer, and Edison discs... The "500" has also been used for DJ'ing use, but the frequency response is too limited for modern records, and should be switched out for these. How far closer to the center can an S-shaped arm track?

Is it possible to exchange just the straight ("Str8") tonearm for an S-curved one?

In the original article to this thread, the Stanton is listed as a turntable to avoid. What is it about the Stanton you don't like?