My system - What to upgrade first ?

[jtore]

Give the CA some working hours to break in.

[willb]

If the sound is still slightly "blurry" with the Cambridge, then I would say it's more likely something to do with your TT/arm, as you say the sound is ok with TV/mp3.

Check your AT95 for alignment and if your arm is not misaligned (azimuth = 90deg to record).

If other sources sound better, it has to be something with the TT.

HTH

Chris

[Alec124c41]

My 640-P had an interesting bloom to the sound, straight out of the box. After a few days of use, it tightened up nicely.

Cheers,
Alec

[_blank]

I will check the cartridge / tonearm alignment when I get home from holidays, and I will give the 540p some time to really kick in. But as I said, the sound is really good when using my headphones instead of the speakers, so I guess they are the problem.

I should also have mentionned (sorry, the clues come to me one by one...) that when switching from the TV to the turntable as a source of sound, I have to turn up the volume by 20 steps to reach the same level of sound.

[Alec124c41]

The dynamic range of TV sound is very compressed, at the top limit of what it will bear.
Music on LPs has (generally) vastly greater dynamic range, so only the peaks get anywhere the upper limits.
Cartridges also have a range of outputs for the same signal. Some might go a s high as 8 or 10 mv, some are around 2 or 3 (sticking with MM here).
There are also some phono pre-amps with greater gain than others.
All in all, don't worry about it. It is perfectly normal to have to turn the volume setting up more for records.

Cheers,
Alec

[Ottermel]

Did you get any speakers? Seeing that you are in France, why not Focal 705's or 706's which can be bought for about that amount money or a bit more?

[_blank]

Hi,

I am currently saving money in order to get new speakers in the next few months, so I have been putting all this on hold lately.

Thanks a lot for this suggestion, these speakers look fine and have good reviews on the website where I would likely buy them (http://www.son-video.com/Rayons/Hifi/En ... s705V.html).

Do any of you have an opinion about them ? I have read that some brands of speakers sound better when associated to a particular brand of amplifier... I think my ear is not sharp enough to detect a big difference, but I prefer to ask.

I think I will also get new speaker cables, the ones I have are quite cheap. What brand should I go for ?

As always, thanks for your good advice !

[Alec124c41]

I recommend #16 cheap wires.

Cheers,
Alec

[youngdand]

2 strand mains flex should do nicely. shielded if you absolutely have to or will be running near a lot of power cables. just tap the shield off to the negative banana on the amp end.

[_blank]

Thanks everybody !
After saving for a few months I finally got myself the pair of Focal 705V Ottermel suggested, and the sound is now crystal clear. I will now be able to fully listen to my small collection of LPs... and to buy some more

Thanks again for your help !