cartridge or phono stage - biggest benefit?

I've recently acquired a Gyro SE from a forum member and very nice it is too . It is wearing an Ortofon MC15 cartridge and feeding into an MF XLP with XPSU. I also have a Sumiko Blue Point (not Special) from the Thorens deck I've replaced, but haven't had time to compare it (and to be frank I dread swapping and fettling cartridges). My only criticism is that there could be more bass extension and body, so I'm wondering what a the best bang for buck next step could be - sell both cartridges in favour of something else (what, I have no clue as yet) or sell the MFs (which seem to command healthy prices on eBay) in favour of a Dino/Dino+. Any opinions?

 

I'd say phono stage.

Nothing wrong with an MC15, its great.

 

I've got a XLP I bought on a whim and to be honest it's not very good. It has lots of bass, but to my ears the middle is seriously lacking, which as a result makes the bass sound stodgy. Is the MC15 high output, I can't think off the top of my head. I bought a Loricraft Missing Link to replace it and can't praise it high enough, perhaps a Dino or Penances Microgroove would do you a good job. £400 would get you a great phono stage. The benefits from better carts would be lost on the XLP.

I A/B'd it with my Slee Gram Amp 2 when I got it and the Slee was so much better.

 

Thanks for responses. I posted over on HFC as well - consensus seems to be keep the Ortofon and sell the phonoa nd Sumiko. People there are recommending the Slee Era Gold - but this is a MM or high output MC stage, whereas I think the Ortofon is a lowish output MC. There are reasonable deals to be had on the Dino & Dino+ combo but I'll try and get to listen to a Slee model that wd suit the cart.
First thing is to flog off the MF....

 

I think the MC15 is around 0.5 (or 0.6) which would be too quiet for an MM stage.

I have a Dino+ and think it's great. Having the gain and load adjustable and not having to actually open the box up to get to it, is very useful and allows for easy experimentation.

MF gear seems to get over inflated prices on ebay, imo, so selling the unit should be quite easy.

The MC15 is a decent cart so the phono stage would be where I would look.

 

cart specs:

http://www.needledoctor.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.968/it.A/id.270/.f

Mine was quiet but listenable into MM stage of my EAR 834P, but was happier into MC stage.

 

I dont know the XLP but if its anything like the X-Pre then you could do alot better. They use poor components with cheap build inside those nice tubes. Saying that, a full overhaul of the X-Pre has done wonders but unless you inclined to basically rebuild the XLP Id try summat else.

 

I'm running an MC15 Super MkII and am quite fond of it.

For the money (£150), it produces a very clean, open delivery. Good leading edges/decay too. Admittedly, bass isn't its strong point. I would have to describe it as "lean", rather than fulsome & punchy.....

You could try using it with a SS PS, rather than a valve stage like the XLP. Might tighten things up a bit more in those last octaves.

DT

 

XLP isn't valve, it's only the x-cans that are.

 

Phono stage.

 

I'd have thought the other way round, stick some valves in and get a fuller low end. I'd say stick some valves in anway. But I'm like that.

 

me too anex, me too.

something in used condition by Audion, audio innovations, Ear, or WAD would be a lot of fun for about £300.

 

Cartridge. But phono stage should be properly matched with cart (obviously).

 

the mf phonostage isn't up to much kop, its ok, but better with a slee. even the lowly slees will be a lot better, or a dynavector p75 which beats the dino imo.

all mf's phonostages are cheap 5532 circuits, not valve.interesting the slee uses similar chips but he knows what to do with them, not just copy an application note.

the lowly mf xlp don't fetch much on ebay, on a bad day you may get £70

I use an mc15 and its superb.you would have to get a kontrapunkt b to better it.

anyone on hfc selling a slee elevator? I could do with one....

 

i've an elevator and have toyed with the idea of swapping stages around. when and if i do i'll let you know

 

actually one just went for I think £92 + £24 postage overseas - I'd be happy with £90 s I'll stick it on (can't seem to log on to eBay at the moment, too much traffic)

actually the bass across the system has now emerged in shedloads with the application of a long pair of WM's xlr connoisseur interconnects , and the whole vinyl rig now sounds pretty good.... however my taste is whetted, and I'm still going to upgrade

 

thanks John, I hope our philosophical differences don't get in the way of things I 'd happily buy if we could agree on terms when the time comes.

 

Glad your happy with signal transmission devices sir

 

Are those the ones with the osmium coated connectors - rare isotopes lovingingly hand extracted from meteorites on the antarctic ice sheets sloppie? ;-)

 

whatever the source they had the effect of making one of the speaker grilles fall off when I was playing Hyperballad!!