loving this substack, jeff! i've opted to go modern with my setup, and recently contacted a (luckily local to me) dealer to discuss my next upgrades as i've been looking into getting my first MC cartridge. i've gone pretty deep down the youtube research rabbit hole and am pretty comfortable doing my own research, but consulting with a pro has been a total gamechanger for me - he got me a great deal on a new tonearm and cartridge, took care of the sales tax himself, and gave me a pretty hefty discount on the cartridge, on top of doing a good deal of research to figure out what would be best for my system and budget. all in all a really great experience and it's great to have a local hookup with audiophile contacts all over the country who are constantly tinkering with their setups - ya don't get that from the online retailers!
Wow that’s great you have a dealer you love. Feel free to shout them out here. May I ask what MC you went with and the preamp situation you’re going with? Considering the jump to MC myself and leaning toward my first step being a passive step up transformer into my integrated amp’s pretty good phono stage (MM only).
Thanks for reminding me of MicCloud. How do you recommend listening to it. I have heard that Bluetooth degrades sound. I have jBL 3 series MKII, an Onyoko amp/receiver, and get to the speakers through a MOTU M2 analog to digital box. The Onyoko receives Bluetooth.
Are those powered speakers? Yes, Bluetooth is pretty terrible for audio. The simplest way to listen to music losslessly from the internet would be running a line out from your headphone jack on your computer to RCA into an AUX on your receiver. You could go one step further (and get a considerable increase in sound quality) if you run USB out of your computer, into a DAC and then into the AUX of your receiver/amp. If your source is only your phone, the same methods apply although getting from an iPhone to a DAC makes it a little more involved. I’m not familiar with the MOTU. What purpose is that serving in your system?
I use the MOTU M2 to record voice and guitar into Logic Pro on my laptop. I also can playback Logic or other streaming content to the speakers from my laptop or from an Apple TV box connected to WiFi which is connected a 1G fiber internet connection. I have considered bypassing WiFi and using an Ethernet cable. The Apple TV box also connects to a tv monitor via HDMI. I don’t use the speakers in the TV monitor.
I have a second system with PreSonus audio 12 i/o connecting Logic to Mackie PA speakers when recording or rehearsing with electric instruments. The powered Mackie speakers were from a time when I had a band. I have not played out with this in over a drcade, but I am recently retired so that could change (if I use roadies) i have considered connecting the PreSonus to additional amp/speakers to experiment with quad or other spatial formats that Logic will allow you to mix to.
Ah I see. I don’t know much about pro/studio gear so I couldn’t tell you if it’s the best situation for home listening. Mixcloud does have apps for iPhone and Android. The desktop version is the best and most full featured though.
Very informative toward me personally, I find myself in a constant cycle of buying vintage setups mainly for the cheaper price tag. Other than that the surface level issues I could always troubleshoot, but if the inner mechanics start to crap out, it's over. If I want to see myself become more serious as far as audio quality, I gotta bite the bullet and go for a newer product, smaller company, and hopefully a warranty. Thanks for the reference, and P.S. I enjoyed the direct stab at Amazon!
loving this substack, jeff! i've opted to go modern with my setup, and recently contacted a (luckily local to me) dealer to discuss my next upgrades as i've been looking into getting my first MC cartridge. i've gone pretty deep down the youtube research rabbit hole and am pretty comfortable doing my own research, but consulting with a pro has been a total gamechanger for me - he got me a great deal on a new tonearm and cartridge, took care of the sales tax himself, and gave me a pretty hefty discount on the cartridge, on top of doing a good deal of research to figure out what would be best for my system and budget. all in all a really great experience and it's great to have a local hookup with audiophile contacts all over the country who are constantly tinkering with their setups - ya don't get that from the online retailers!
Wow that’s great you have a dealer you love. Feel free to shout them out here. May I ask what MC you went with and the preamp situation you’re going with? Considering the jump to MC myself and leaning toward my first step being a passive step up transformer into my integrated amp’s pretty good phono stage (MM only).
Thanks for reminding me of MicCloud. How do you recommend listening to it. I have heard that Bluetooth degrades sound. I have jBL 3 series MKII, an Onyoko amp/receiver, and get to the speakers through a MOTU M2 analog to digital box. The Onyoko receives Bluetooth.
I also just use good headphones with my IPhone.
Hey David,
Are those powered speakers? Yes, Bluetooth is pretty terrible for audio. The simplest way to listen to music losslessly from the internet would be running a line out from your headphone jack on your computer to RCA into an AUX on your receiver. You could go one step further (and get a considerable increase in sound quality) if you run USB out of your computer, into a DAC and then into the AUX of your receiver/amp. If your source is only your phone, the same methods apply although getting from an iPhone to a DAC makes it a little more involved. I’m not familiar with the MOTU. What purpose is that serving in your system?
I use the MOTU M2 to record voice and guitar into Logic Pro on my laptop. I also can playback Logic or other streaming content to the speakers from my laptop or from an Apple TV box connected to WiFi which is connected a 1G fiber internet connection. I have considered bypassing WiFi and using an Ethernet cable. The Apple TV box also connects to a tv monitor via HDMI. I don’t use the speakers in the TV monitor.
I have a second system with PreSonus audio 12 i/o connecting Logic to Mackie PA speakers when recording or rehearsing with electric instruments. The powered Mackie speakers were from a time when I had a band. I have not played out with this in over a drcade, but I am recently retired so that could change (if I use roadies) i have considered connecting the PreSonus to additional amp/speakers to experiment with quad or other spatial formats that Logic will allow you to mix to.
I should check to see if there is an OSX Mixcloud app.
Ah I see. I don’t know much about pro/studio gear so I couldn’t tell you if it’s the best situation for home listening. Mixcloud does have apps for iPhone and Android. The desktop version is the best and most full featured though.
Very informative toward me personally, I find myself in a constant cycle of buying vintage setups mainly for the cheaper price tag. Other than that the surface level issues I could always troubleshoot, but if the inner mechanics start to crap out, it's over. If I want to see myself become more serious as far as audio quality, I gotta bite the bullet and go for a newer product, smaller company, and hopefully a warranty. Thanks for the reference, and P.S. I enjoyed the direct stab at Amazon!