TT with Optical Out (A Blasphemous outrage!)

[mikmas]

But unless absolutely necessary why would you go from A to D then back again, i understand if it's a recording that's not available on any other format and you need to convert it so that you can put it on your ipod for instance, but for everything else it seems unnecessary and frankly a waste of money

In this case the difference in price between the Pro-Ject Essential III Digital and the Pro-Ject Essential III is about £40 - even if you only occasionally rip your vinyl this is already a much cheaper option than a dedicated, reasonably decent AD unit.

That of itself is enough reason (provided the Pro-Ject AD conversion reaches the quality required) but the less obvious advantage is one less box to make desk space for, one less interconnect cable + sockets and one less PSU muddying the waters.

There are more but those two would be enough to convince me.

[Opti-cal]

Sounds like an absolutely ripping idea to me !!
Pro-Ject have a an established reputation for good quality gear at an affordable price and their TTs generally get good reviews by critics and users alike so the idea of adding an AD converter to the existing options is a real winner.

I have been digitising my vinyl for yonks and have used a number of gizmos; orginally from the likes of Roland/Edirol and Bheringer and more recently M-Audio and now Focusrite.
The Focusrite mixer I use at the moment has the option of outputting the digital conversion via a Coax SPDIF and I have quite often used that for listening while ripping - the sound is only marginally inferior to the original analogue source and I could quite happily live with it.

Only problem with my way of doing things over the Pro-Ject solution is the additional expense of an AD converter and phono stage - the only downside of their TT that I can see is a loss of flexibility in the choice of these two.
Obviously for obsessed 'box-swappers' this would be a huge deal breaker but if I was in the market for a new TT, I would definitely give the Pro-Ject a go (and have some fun)

Yes, considered a few others including Debut Carbon, Expression III, various offerings from Edwards Audio and Rega (usual suspects). I have had 2 Edwards Audio tables in the past and was seriously impressed by them but fancied trying something a bit different.

Had a Pro-Ject 2.9 Wood with an AT150MLX cart and a few mods (acrylic platter etc) which was a lovely sound so hopefully this will be similar.

I also like having the output box so I can have matching cables from tonearm/output box to amp (very sad I know and yes I do know its only as good as the wire from the pins on the cart) but its going to look cool with all Chord Chameleons snaking their way through . . .

Cheers

[Sherwood]

Sounds like an absolutely ripping idea to me !!
Pro-Ject have a an established reputation for good quality gear at an affordable price and their TTs generally get good reviews by critics and users alike so the idea of adding an AD converter to the existing options is a real winner.

I have been digitising my vinyl for yonks and have used a number of gizmos; orginally from the likes of Roland/Edirol and Bheringer and more recently M-Audio and now Focusrite.
The Focusrite mixer I use at the moment has the option of outputting the digital conversion via a Coax SPDIF and I have quite often used that for listening while ripping - the sound is only marginally inferior to the original analogue source and I could quite happily live with it.

Only problem with my way of doing things over the Pro-Ject solution is the additional expense of an AD converter and phono stage - the only downside of their TT that I can see is a loss of flexibility in the choice of these two.
Obviously for obsessed 'box-swappers' this would be a huge deal breaker but if I was in the market for a new TT, I would definitely give the Pro-Ject a go (and have some fun)

One of the neat features of my Parasound Phono Preamp is the option to switch off the internal RIAA processing and to post-equalise using software. It is fascinating to hear what the unprocessed signal from a vinyl disc sounds like!

Geoff

[Opti-cal]

One of the neat features of my Parasound Phono Preamp is the option to switch off the internal RIAA processing and to post-equalise using software. It is fascinating to hear what the unprocessed signal from a vinyl disc sounds like!

Geoff

Lovely feature for the purists and enthusiasts there Geoff. Did not know you could actually do that. Great stuff.

Could you describe the difference at all (in as few or many words as you care to!)?

Cheers

[Sherwood]

Lovely feature for the purists and enthusiasts there Geoff. Did not know you could actually do that. Great stuff.

Could you describe the difference at all (in as few or many words as you care to!)?

Cheers

This short video, despite the crap music and hifi, gives a good sense of how the audio signal is manipulated to increase playback time. Without reverse "fiddling" it sounds awful!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hNq1rl_QVo

[mikmas]

One of the neat features of my Parasound Phono Preamp is the option to switch off the internal RIAA processing and to post-equalise using software.
Geoff

Cool ... I have done that using my mixer but it was a bit more laborious (re-routing interconnects)
RIAA eq was done via Audacity which has this as a built in feature - there are even downloadable curves for other vinyl/shellac platters here
Only problem I found was a significant decrease in the volume of the signal .... but it was fun trying

[Sherwood]

Interesting to hear your experiences Geoff. 100% agree that there is still a gulf between the vinyl and digital realms but I believe some non-oversampling valve DAC's with clean output paths now give vinyl a run for its money. Eliminating some of the harshness associated with digital music and especially those poorly recorded/mastered CD's you are referring to.

The Jolida DAC referred to above does an okay job (its slightly modified too) but I also have a Musical Paradise MP-D1 (also modified) which is as smooth and warm a DAC s I've ever heard. Has some lovely NOS Western Electric tubes in it also which certainly tame any shrillness.

I'm told that SW1X DAC's are even closer to true analoge sound but haven't actually heard one myself.



EAR 834P - Best phono stage I've had or heard. I swapped the V3 position for a 12au7 as opposed to a 12ax7. Noise floor dropped significantly (albeit slightly affecting the RIAA possibly) but it was deep beyond belief. Should never have let it go . . . .

Thanks,

Chris

I now have a streaming system that stands up well to a good vinyl system in terms of SQ. The ability to travel with my entire digital library is a bonus.

I agree that the EAR834P is a good phono preamp although I think its MC input fell somewhat short of the MM input. For that reason I used it with an Audio Technica AT630 step up transformer. I got a good price for it, given that it was in excellent condition.

Geoff

[Opti-cal]

Why not just plug it in and try it?

Doesn't arrive until today (hopefully). I was just wondering what I could expect!

Will certainly plug it straight in and document my thoughts when I can.