Weez Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Question for anyone to chime in, and I understand the answer is "listen to both and use what sounds best", however I am looking for someone that might have experience with similar equipment. I already own a Musical Fidelity V90 LPS phono stage that I had been using to let me use my Marantz Slimline 1402 receiver with. I purchased a used Rotel RA2030 on a whim for a good price. Is there any advantage to using my Musical Fidelity Phono into the AUX of the Rotel, or will the internal Phono in the Rotel sound the same or better? side topic too, I inherited an extensive collection of classic vinyl that was well loved and well played and partied through the 60's and 70's, that being said what is the best way to wash, restore the collection at home? thanks everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinch Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I'd put my money on the MF being the far better option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I'd put my money on the MF being the far better option. +1 you need to spend quite a bit more money to better the V90 so I would be very surprised if the onboard Rotel one comes close. the best way is a proper vacuum washing machine but there is a lot of info around so do some googling on the cheaper alternatives. In extreme cases for very dirty records there is the wood glue method but again do the research. No cleaning can repair physical damage though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weez Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 Sincerest thanks Allenh & Slinch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Actually Rotel has insanely good phono channels. No MC but if you're a MM user... No need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Actually Rotel has insanely good phono channels. No MC but if you're a MM user... No need. Agreed Some of the Rotel's from a few years ago had nice phono stages and the stand alone one they did was not bad value 2nd hand and a lot better than some of the lower end phono stages about like the basic Project offerings which I've always thought a little flat, but they are not in the same ballpark as the V90 or any of the MF XL phono stages for that matter. The Musical Fidelity phono stages have consistently been a bargain and all through the versions I can't think of anything that comes close at the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesecrets0308 Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 A lot of people swear that using a stand-alone pre-amp is always superior to an onboard phono stage in an integrated amp. Most people believe you just get a cleaner sound. To be completely honest, I've never even tried the phono stage in my Rotel amp vs. my Azur stand-alone. Makes me curious. Perhaps I'll do some comparison with that over the weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Some people swear the world is 4,000 years old too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Yes and there are no absolutes when discussing a range of equipment. With all hifi the law of diminishing returns is always present in that you can spend an amount to get a perfectly good sound but the higher you climb above that more often than not the costs far out way the gains, and when you get up to the high end things just tend to sound different rather than better or worse and the rest is down to personal preference. Quality is always relative though and a lot of on board phono stages are average as well as a lot of stand alone ones, and in my experience the average stand alone units are easily beaten by the on board phono stages contained in many a vintage integrated amps. That will be an interesting comparison as it should test the above well as you are using the same amplifier. My money is on the Cambridge just if it's a 551 and easily if its a 651, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Some people swear the world is 4,000 years old too. I forgot to say a lot of hifi people have to justify the money they have spent as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesecrets0308 Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I forgot to say a lot of hifi people have to justify the money they have spent as well. Yes, and hifi people always seem to be all for having as many separate devices as possible just because they like to have a ton of "gadgets". haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weez Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 Thesecrets, Let me know the results of your comparison.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Yes, and hifi people always seem to be all for having as many separate devices as possible just because they like to have a ton of "gadgets". haha. Guilty as charged on that one but it's the lure of the shiny things on my part. thesecrets0308 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesecrets0308 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Guilty as charged on that one but it's the lure of the shiny things on my part. No wrong in it if it's something you can afford to do. And as long as it sounds good, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesecrets0308 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Thesecrets, Let me know the results of your comparison.... I will for sure. Haven't used the rig tonight at all. Will probably get to it sometime tomorrow or Sunday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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