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Analogue upgrade ?

A

Andrewxyz

pfm Member
After living with my current system for several years I'd like to upgrade the front end a level or two. It's a Nottingham Analogue Horizon SE with a Tecnoarm and AT33PTG. I'd plan on keeping the arm & cartridge. Budget £1 - £1.5k, less is better :) , I'm perfectly happy with used or ex-dem

A Spacedeck or Ace Spacedeck is an obvious direction, is there much difference between the models ? A Hyperspace would be nice, but more than I'm willing to pay for a new one and I can't recall seeing one being advertised 2nd hand (which must say something)

I could always jump sideways to a Gyrodec or possibly an Orbe, how would the presentation differ from the Notts ?

Sorry for the numpty questions but Liverpool is a bit of a hifi desert so I've bought most of my current gear without audition.

I'm down in London on Saturday, is Walrus the sort of place you can just pop in for a look around ? I've a few other things planned but might be able to pay a visit.
 
I've got a HYperspace , I jumped ship from an LP12 ... if you like the NAS sound then a TT up the ladder that you can afford may be good , but go to Walrus and ask for a dem , I suspect they wont be busy this time of year. The Mitchel TT are similar to NAS in many ways , so yes they are an alternative.
 
I'd say that a change to a gyrodec from your NA SE could be a bit of a sideways step, rather than a clear step up.
A 2nd hand Orbe, or staying within the NA range could make more sense.
As Jon said, an Orbe & a Hyperspace would be a good step up, & have broadly similar character.
Good, strong but clean & clear bass, loads of detail, good clean imaging etc.
I found my Orbe 2nd hand & paid within your stated budget, but if I'd have found a hyperspace before I saw the Orbe, I'm sure I'd be equally content.
I reckon that Michell & NA offer superb value for money, arguably due to them not being as well known & "maximising the potential of marketing their name" as much as certain other manufacturers.
Possibly Origin live, Avid & Rega should be put on any shortlist for a turntable for long term satisfaction.
Happy hunting.
Matt.
 
I'd love to hear a Raven 1 someday.


£1000 will buy you a good idler such as a Lenco or Garrard.

Or you could go for a high end Japanese or German 1970's to 1980's direct drive. Plenty of these to choose from.
 
I'd suggest the acespace and perhaps at a later stage adding a heavy kit and or wave mechanic. Another option would be the Space 294 but the 12" arm may limit your options.
 
If you don't already have them, premium quality pressings of your favourite records. I reckon this will have a greater effect on your music quality than a new arm, deck or cart, since what you have already is lovely.
 
Eyebroughty said:
Well Tempered Amadeus, comes with an arm so you can sell yours.
Click to expand...

This is a good suggestion because the Amadeus is an extremely good deck. However, it's outside your budget unless you find a used bargain, which isn't easy. IMO you can even beat the Amadeus on your budget: Technics SL1200 (£150), Timestep power supply (£300), Ekos (£1000), armboard (£50). Yes, I have compared this mongrel side-by-side with an Amadeus, and I thought it did everything the Amadeus could, while retrieving a little more detail.
 
Hi, I may know where there may be a Hyperspace with no arm which might just be within budget. I will check & PM you if it is.

Simon.
 
Before changing the TT it would be a good idea to look at the rest of your system. A good phono stage can make an enormous improvement as can changes elsewhere in your system.

Three years ago I was planning to change from my Linn front end however as I changed the other components away from Naim the Linn sounds better than ever. The last huge improvement was going from 6yo Shahinian Obelisks to the new model 2. Such detail is amazing.

Cheers,

DV
 
Thanks for the advice so far, other kit is a Slee Era Gold phonostage with Elevator for the MC, an ATC SIA-2 150 and a pair of Spendor SP7/1's. Other sources are an Audiolab 800T and a Copland CD player.
 
Just off the phone with Les at Walrus, they are open on Saturday but not able to do any turntable deems. However they do have a Hyperspace (White?) in the right price range.

Any views on the Origin Live range ? There are 2 on EBay at the moment.
 
Andrewxyz said:
Any views on the Origin Live range ? There are 2 on EBay at the moment.
Click to expand...

I listened to the Aurora and Calypso this summer, compared to the Avid Volvere. The Calypso seemed more musical than the Avid though it retrieved less detail. The Aurora was disappointing. The dealer very kindly moved an OL Silver tonearm from the Avid to the Calypso as I thought the Avid had an advantage there. The Calypso was more enjoyable than the Avid but it was a bit of a mess in the mid/high frequencies. It did very deep bass though - deeper and cleaner than the Avid. Perhaps the Calypso wasn't quite set up right in the rush. The Avid was ruthlessly clean and detailed, but somehow not much fun. In the end I didn't find either a compelling upgrade over my pimped Technics (Timestep/Ekos), but it's not a fair comparison as the Technics wasn't present, so I was relying on memory and unfamiliar ancilliaries (SuperNait/Totem Model 1). Sorry it's not much to go on, but it's all the first hand experience I have of OL decks.
 
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