Music Hall TT advice

[bigred7078]

I recently purchased a Pro-Ject Xpression III turntable. I only had about 30 albums so I didnt want to get anything to fancy. Well I was recently given a couple hundred albums by my family and figured I might as well step up my turntable.

I can get great deals on Music Hall so I am most interested in them. I was looking at either the MMF-7.1 or MMF-9.1

Should I spend the extra $400ish on the 9.1 or go with the 7.1 and use the savings for more vinyl? Or just say screw it, keep what I have and buy lots and lots of vinyl Thoughts?

[un4gvn94538]

Originally Posted by bigred7078

I recently purchased a Pro-Ject Xpression III turntable. I only had about 30 albums so I didnt want to get anything to fancy. Well I was recently given a couple hundred albums by my family and figured I might as well step up my turntable.

I can get great deals on Music Hall so I am most interested in them. I was looking at either the MMF-7.1 or MMF-9.1

Should I spend the extra $400ish on the 9.1 or go with the 7.1 and use the savings for more vinyl? Or just say screw it, keep what I have and buy lots and lots of vinyl Thoughts?

ive enjoyed vinyl since the late 80's but i dont think i personally would benifit from a more expensive turntable. i dont think my ears are qualified. im quite happy with my rega p1 regardless of some people on other sites call it junk. so i think it would depend on you and what you think you can get out of a more expensive tt. for me, i would take the 400 and go to amoeba records in berkeley and make a day out of it

[Fanaticalism]

Go big or go home! 9.1!

[FreddieFerric]

I'd suggest that you go wth the 9.1. I believe it also comes with a pre-mounted Goldring MM cart.

[joe1515]

I would also look at tables from VPI, rega, and the usual suspects. I agree with the others I would opt for the better table. Especially since you have had your Pro-ject Xpression for what 1 month and already looking to upgrade. I thought I was bad, it took about 7 months before I wanted to upgrade from the Xpression III .

Joe

[richteer]

Count me in the "upgrade" camp too! Your system will only ever be as good as its source, so you might as well have the best source that you can afford. But if you can, check out the alternatives.

[richteer]

Originally Posted by un4gvn94538

ive enjoyed vinyl since the late 80's but i dont think i personally would benifit from a more expensive turntable. i dont think my ears are qualified.

Nonsense! Unless you have a hearing defect, you'll easily be able to hear the improvement with a more expensive TT! (Not necessarily all of the improvement, granted, but a lot of it.) Go to your local dealer and give it a go--but leave your wallet at home! :-)

[un4gvn94538]

Originally Posted by richteer

Nonsense! Unless you have a hearing defect, you'll easily be able to hear the improvement with a more expensive TT! (Not necessarily all of the improvement, granted, but a lot of it.) Go to your local dealer and give it a go--but leave your wallet at home! :-)

maybe i dont give myself as much credit as i should

[bigred7078]

Originally Posted by un4gvn94538

ive enjoyed vinyl since the late 80's but i dont think i personally would benifit from a more expensive turntable. i dont think my ears are qualified. im quite happy with my rega p1 regardless of some people on other sites call it junk. so i think it would depend on you and what you think you can get out of a more expensive tt. for me, i would take the 400 and go to amoeba records in berkeley and make a day out of it

well unfortunately for me, I can definately hear differences between different TT's, carts, etc. Consider it a gift or a curse

Originally Posted by Fanaticalism

Go big or go home! 9.1!

Ha! You would say that

Originally Posted by BluRayFred

I'd suggest that you go wth the 9.1. I believe it also comes with a pre-mounted Goldring MM cart.

Yeah it comes with the pre-mounted Goldring Eroica LX cart, which is supposidly pretty good, although i've never heard it myself. But hell that cart by itself sells for $750... http://www.musicdirect.com/product/83490

[bigred7078]

Originally Posted by joe1515

I would also look at tables from VPI, rega, and the usual suspects. I agree with the others I would opt for the better table. Especially since you have had your Pro-ject Xpression for what 1 month and already looking to upgrade. I thought I was bad, it took about 7 months before I wanted to upgrade from the Xpression III .

Joe

Haha, well Its not as if i'm unhappy with the Xpression III. I actually love it. But the reason I didnt go with a more expensive table to begin with is because at the time I had a VERY limited assortment of albums. Now that I have a couple hundred albums I figured I may as well get a better table.

Also like I said, the reason I was looking at the Music Hall was becuse I can get them for several hundered less through this distributer at work. So i figured a MMF-9.1 with the goldring Eroica cart was a solid deal for around $1450.

[bigred7078]

well crap...the distributor no longer is able to get the 9.1

I can get everything up to the 7.1 though. Think the 7.1 is worth a $200 more than my Xpression III ?

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by un4gvn94538

ive enjoyed vinyl since the late 80's but i dont think i personally would benifit from a more expensive turntable. i dont think my ears are qualified. im quite happy with my rega p1 regardless of some people on other sites call it junk. so i think it would depend on you and what you think you can get out of a more expensive tt. for me, i would take the 400 and go to amoeba records in berkeley and make a day out of it

The REGA P1 is NOT junk. It's a fine turntable in its own right and as long as you're happy with it and have no desire to upgrade to a better model, then I say congrats to you for being happy with your purchase!

John

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by bigred7078

well crap...the distributor no longer is able to get the 9.1

I can get everything up to the 7.1 though. Think the 7.1 is worth a $200 more than my Xpression III ?

Absolutely and without a doubt a big resounding YES!

John

[bigred7078]

Originally Posted by John72953

Absolutely and without a doubt a big resounding YES!

John

lol fair enough.

So beyond the better cart, is there much that would make it that much better? I would guess the separately isolated motor from the table helps out a lot, but is that audibly significant in making a BIG difference? The double plinth just helps further dampen the table. The carbon fiber tonearm is either the same as my Xpression III or slightly different. They both utilize a acrylic platter. I guess those are about the only differences.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by bigred7078

lol fair enough.

So beyond the better cart, is there much that would make it that much better? I would guess the separately isolated motor from the table helps out a lot, but is that audibly significant in making a BIG difference? The double plinth just helps further dampen the table. The carbon fiber tonearm is either the same as my Xpression III or slightly different. They both utilize a acrylic platter. I guess those are about the only differences.

That's probably the key point as I don't know what the real differences between the tonearms used are. Perhaps someone else can comment on that.

Having the motor detached from the TT is a huge plus in my opinion. One of the major differences I found in going to my Nottingham TT with it's detached motor assembly, is how quiet the TT is. I think you'll find the same.

John

[CasualKiller]

My opinion, 7.1 and use the rest for a decent cartridge. The Goldring carts are poop, very thin sounding. Something like a high output Benz or Sumiko MC cart or possibly Ortofon Black, though to be honest after getting used to my MMF 5.1 / Ortofon 2M Blue setup I'm finding Ortofon a tad too bright for my MMF 5.1.

I have a Grado Reference on watch for a very decent price that I'm hoping to score, if that doesn't go through I think I'm going to try out a high output Benz.

[un4gvn94538]

Originally Posted by John72953

The REGA P1 is NOT junk. It's a fine turntable in its own right and as long as you're happy with it and have no desire to upgrade to a better model, then I say congrats to you for being happy with your purchase!

John

i know and i am. i really didnt take it personal when i read comments on other sites

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by CasualKiller

My opinion, 7.1 and use the rest for a decent cartridge. The Goldring carts are poop, very thin sounding. Something like a high output Benz or Sumiko MC cart or possibly Ortofon Black, though to be honest after getting used to my MMF 5.1 / Ortofon 2M Blue setup I'm finding Ortofon a tad too bright for my MMF 5.1.

I have a Grado Reference on watch for a very decent price that I'm hoping to score, if that doesn't go through I think I'm going to try out a high output Benz.

From what I've heard and read the Grado's actually match quite well with the MMF's. The Benz is the frontrunner right now regarding an MC upgrade, but I still need to do more research as MC's are unfamiliar territory for me.

John

[FreddieFerric]

Originally Posted by bigred7078

well crap...the distributor no longer is able to get the 9.1

I can get everything up to the 7.1 though. Think the 7.1 is worth a $200 more than my Xpression III ?

Is that a permanent situation? Too bad if it is.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by CasualKiller

The Goldring carts are poop, very thin sounding.

I haven't found that to be the case with my 1012GX.