Invest in better phono preamp or RCM first?

[dirklenart]

Hi guys

I'm hesitating what my next step should be after upgrading a Thorens TD160 - Denon DL-110.

I can spend some money on a Heed Quasar http://www.heedaudio.hu/en/products/modular-line/quasar/details(now using Rega Fono MM) or I can invest the same amount of money in an Okki Nokki RCM.

What would you recommmend?

Dirk

[bauzace50]

Hello Dirk,

Your present equipment is good for substantially satisfactory sound, with sufficient resolution to identify the sound of debris on records. And clean records have a higher probability to last longer.

My choice would be the record washing machine now. It will give immediately better sound upon playback, and help in saving your prized record collection and diamond tip.

To share a personal little thought: I had resisted purchasing a washing machine for too long, but was floored when playing my very first Washed LP! How could I have omitted such a benefit? The benefits are too large to omit.
Regards,
bauzace50

PS- By the way, records do not need to be washed on each playback occasion. Only when they appear to have gathered debris, case by case.

[1200y3]

(I am assuming this is a MM cart.)
You will need clean records to review any equipment, and there is a variety of phono preamps to try.

In fact, millions of preamps exist worldwide on the second hand market, and there is only a few record washers.

P.S. I think I would buy the spin clean for its ability to scrub the record under water (fluid). This cleaner is very affordable. (The only irony is that I would still use a vacuum to dry the disc!) Actually as long as all the wetting agent is removed, say with a distilled water rinse, the disc should dry automatically.

[madog99]

build or cobble together a vacuum system of some sort for less than $150 . It is the best upgrade you can do , I was really floored once I started using one.

[Tedrick]

Hello Dirk,

Your present equipment is good for substantially satisfactory sound, with sufficient resolution to identify the sound of debris on records. And clean records have a higher probability to last longer.

My choice would be the record washing machine now. It will give immediately better sound upon playback, and help in saving your prized record collection and diamond tip.

To share a personal little thought: I had resisted purchasing a washing machine for too long, but was floored when playing my very first Washed LP! How could I have omitted such a benefit? The benefits are too large to omit.
Regards,
bauzace50

PS- By the way, records do not need to be washed on each playback occasion. Only when they appear to have gathered debris, case by case.

+1. Once you've listened to records that have been thoroughly cleaned on a good RCM, you'll wonder how you ever got by without one (and why you waited so long to get one, too).

[dirklenart]

Thanks for all your answers which seem to point in the same direction

[nabil]

Seems like you've already decided, but I'm going to pipe in anyway. The largest single improvement I've heard in my vinyl system was upgrading my phono section-that said, I wouldn't have been able to hear how much my phono stage upgrade improved my system without my Okki-Nokki.

[dirklenart]

Thanks Nabil. I think I will try to get both. Depends on how much the second hand Heed will be sold for. I think you are right in saying that both are needed upgrades.
Cheers

[Dinohyus Hollandi]

Yeah, ideally you'd get both, but if budget is a bit tight you could make do with something like a Disco Antistat (around 55 euro new). Just ditch the supplied fluid; that stuff is awful and will only make matters worse. If you mix your own concoction of distilled water and alcohol you should get satisfactory results.
That Heed is a very nice piece of kit BTW...

[dirklenart]

Hi guys

Time to update this thread. I've bought the Heed off Ebay(400 euro) but unfortunately upon arrival there were problems with it, which I found out to be a broken mains cable. This caused humm, crackle and noise.
Before I sent it back I've fiddled a bit with the cable and found a position in which I didn't have any problems. So I got the chance to listen to it with my gear.
It sounded good, but not that good, and a lot of that impression came from the fact it had more gain in the MM section than my Rega Fono. I think to hear the real merits of the Heed I would have to upgrade my front-end first: better cartridge and better arm (the Thorens itself has received all the mods already).
So I invested the refund immediately in buying an Okki Nokki after hesitating a whole afternoon to buy a Lehmann Black Cube SE off Ebay. But in the end I decided against it.
I'm waiting for the RCM right now, together with a whole bunch of first pressings bought in shops and off Ebay. I got my 3 squeeze bottles already lined up to be filled with the Okki Nokki fluid, the l'Art du Son fluid and the last one for plain distilled water. I've also ordered extra brushes: one Mobile Fidelity and one Clearaudio wet brush, together with a pack of Mobile Fidelity sleeves.
I'm sooooo ready to get cleaning

I'll let you know my findings when I've started cleaning!

Regards

Dirk