Spirit Level Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 Hi all, I'm looking to improve my setup and I'm hoping to get some guidance from the community on where the bottleneck in my system is. I've been researching new cartridges and new phono stages but I want to make sure I'm upgrading the right area. My setup: Turntable: Project debut carbon esprit Cartridge: Ortofon 2m Red Phono stage: Project phono box Amp: Onkyo TX-NR575E Speakers: Onkyo SKF 4800, SFC 4800, SKR 4800, SKW-770 Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smellman Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 Not sure what your budget is but I would replace those speakers first. Give us your budget, tastes, room for possible speaker recommendations. For a cheaper improvement you might want to consider the Ortofon Blue or something similar. An even cheaper option is getting just the Blue stylus as it can be installed on a Red cartridge. (The Bronze and Black cannot be used on the Red cartridge FYI) I had the Esprit and found it to be a solid table if overpriced. In my research and auditioning I found that you're probably looking to spend $1000+ to get to the next tier of turntable if you're looking to replace the Esprit. I think that should be your lowest priority though. I may have some more advice when I have more time. Good luck going down the upgrade rabbit hole! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluethumb Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 I'd second the recommend for the 2M Blue—I have one on my Debut III and it even makes that thing sing. Big upgrade from the red as well from what I read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spirit Level Posted September 5, 2020 Author Share Posted September 5, 2020 Does anyone have any recommendations for a good upgrade on the Project phono box? I think this is the first thing I'd upgrade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smellman Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 The Lounge Audio LCR MKIII is an excellent preamp and a definite step up from the Pro-Ject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al-naafiysh Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 Do you have another music source connected to your speakers? If so, what is it and are you happy with how that sounds? The speakers will make the greatest difference. Although I'm not familiar with your exact speakers, you have a surround sound setup, which was definitely not engineered with vinyl playback in mind (and probably not music at all). If you are happy with your speakers, then by all means keep them, but you won't find much benefit from upgrading to turntables (or preamps) that are more expensive than your front L/R speakers. Cartridge will make a difference - the easy swap to 2M blue, or to a moving coil cartridge, will definitely improve the sound. A high end MC cartridge with a high end preamp, even more so. But since you asked where the bottleneck is - a pair of speakers will only sound so good, no matter how much money you throw at everything else. They will always sound like that pair of speakers. Might be a good idea to look into room acoustics too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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