| Biggest waste of money? [message #91365] |
Tue, 21 January 2020 15:46  |
Leot55
Messages: 227
Registered: June 2017
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Master |
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Some changes offer more bang for the buck than others, so which do you think are the biggest waste of money? Maybe the gadget/addition/treatment/improvement enhances the audio, but the return is minuscule when compared to the cost. Personally, I don't think those foam acoustic panels do much, but they're often recommended as a first step. At least they aren't terribly expensive though.
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| Re: Biggest waste of money? [message #91370 is a reply to message #91367] |
Wed, 22 January 2020 10:41  |
Rusty
Messages: 1188
Registered: May 2018
Location: Kansas City Missouri
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Illuminati (3rd Degree) |
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I listen pretty exclusively to vinyl records. The common consensus you read about on forums and advertising is that LOMC, (low output moving coil) cartridges are the pinnacle of achievement for the highest sound quality with vinyl record playback. I'm no different than most blokes and wanted to find out about all this nirvana awaiting with one of these critters. Keep in mind that some of these things can go for multiple thousands of dollars. Which is what the high end audio is know for. Not being a man of such means, my entry would have to be one of the lower end models. What I ended up with was a cartridge historically known for being a good return on investment. The Audio Technica OC9 II. When the model came on sale after a newer model of the same was introduced, I jumped on a sale that made it no more expensive than some higher end MM, (moving magnet) types of cartridges. The most commonly used type of phono cart. With a LOMC cartridge, the output from it is so low that it must be boosted by whats know as a SUT or step up transformer. Or a phono preamp that can boost the signal up to a usable level. So, your investment is dependent on acquiring at least one of the two before the use of the cartridge is made. My set required the SUT. I built one from plans on the internet. Longish story short, I can say that the cartridge sounds good. But, no better really than my good MM cartridges, and not as good as a couple of my vintage MM cartridges that I acquired for less money. All I can say is that this foray into the threshold of high end phono cartridges didn't instill any faith that investing stupid money into one of these greater, finer little do-dad's would make me roll my eyes back in my head in audio ecstasy.
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