Question about Turntables and Denon 2700 (1 Viewer)

[Lin Park]

Seems like I am not the only one considering jumping into vinyl at this point and I wanted to get this question cleared up before I do any research. I have a Denon 2700 which has inputs for a turntable. So far I am considering the Music Hall 5 or the Rega P2. I know some table are direct drive, some are magnet, and there may even be other modes. Am I limited to the type of table that I get because of my Denon? I'm sure I will eventually go the way of separates and have a Phono Line Stage but I don't feel like upgrading that part right now. Thanks for the advice and don't feel like you'd be insulting me by giving me too much information because I really know absolutely nothing about turntables at this point.

Thanx,
Lin

 

[Saurav]

Check your Denon's manual to see if it talks about what kinds of cartridges it can handle. There are 2 kinds of cartridges, Moving Magnet and Moving Coil. I'm guessing that your receiver's phono input will handle MM only, this is the more common practice. Note that this is a characteristic of the cartridge only, and has nothing to do with the turntable itself - you can mount MM and MC carts on any modern turntable. So, you're limited to the kind of cartridge you can get, not the 'table.
Between the P2 and MMF5, you might be better off with the latter (assuming you're buying them new). You could probably get a used Rega P3 for that price, but a used 'table might not be the best way to start exploring vinyl. At the same time, a Rega is probably the best 'table to buy used, since it involves the least amount of setup/fiddling.
Now that I've confused you A new MMF5 comes with a cartridge included in the price, and your dealer should be able to set it up and align it for you. IMO it's important to learn how to do this for yourself, but it takes a few times before you get the hang of it.
Hope that helps. Feel free to ask if you have any more questions, or shoot me an email if you want to discuss anything offline.

 

[Lin Park]

Many thanks Saurav, things are much clearer now. I had read the manual first and it spoke of MM and MC but I was unsure what this was. The Denon handles only MM unless I buy a separate piece of equipment to sit between the turntable and the receiver. What are the pros/cons of each type of cartridge?

I'm also curious if you've done any comparisons between vinyl, standard CD's, and DVD-A/SACD's and what you think of each? I realize this is highly subjective but I have not found too many people who have all the hardware as well as albums in all 3 formats to compare.

Thanx,
Lin

 

[Saurav]

I'm also curious if you've done any comparisons between vinyl, standard CD's, and DVD-A/SACD's and what you think of each?

On my system, I prefer vinyl to regular CD. Of course, at list prices, my turntable+cartridge costs over 4 times as much as my CD changer. I haven't heard any DVD-A. I heard SACD and vinyl once, on a system I would rate as state-of-the-art. They were very close, and to my mind both had their strengths and weaknesses. SACD did some things better, vinyl did some other things better. Given my tastes, I would still pick vinyl, but I can easily see how someone with different priorities would prefer the sound/presentation of SACD.