Analogue Options
If you want to rediscover records, or invigorate an existing turntable based system we have some great analogue options for you. Enjoy great sounding record players from Well Tempered Labs and Pro-Ject. Match these with phono cartridges from Dynavector and Ortofon, phono stages from Well Tempered, Dynavector, Pure Audio and Cambridge Audio. And fine tune your record playing system with a carefully selected range of dedicated analogue cables, accessories and cleaners.
You can get better sound out of records than has ever been possible before and if you compare digital with a new vinyl pressing the record always sounds better.
Our primary source of music at home has always been a turntable. It’s not that we don’t like digital, it’s just that we have a very big record collection and are still buying new vinyl records. We know a whole lot about record player set up and what sounds good because it's what we enjoy.
When you start to investigate a new record playing system today you'll quickly find that you are spoilt for choice. We have listened to and sold many turntables over the years. What makes a system sound good comes down to some very simple principles – the quality of design being most important. A record player is inherently simple – it just has to go around at a constant speed, and allow the stylus to do its job in terms extracting information from the groove of the record. The art is in actually achieving this to the standards we expect.
The cool thing about analogue is that there is an infinite amount of information on a LP record. The better the record playing system, the more you’ll hear.
The new Pro-Ject 2Xperience Turntable - looks fantastic and sounds even better - $1695 plus cartridge.
Everyone has to be comfortable with the choices they make, so we cover a broad range with turntables. For as little as $500 you can get a thoroughly competent and modern little turntable from Pro-Ject which will do a great job. You can look further up their range, and also consider models from Dual which have their own distinct virtues. If you consider yourself an analogue enthusiast, you owe it to yourself to learn about the new models from Well Tempered Labs. These are simply the finest sounding turntables we've heard, but are by no means the most costly. In fact many cartridges cost more. You could use the word revolutionary...
Since the introduction of the Well Tempered Amadeus turnable around 4 years ago, WT Labs have expanded the range in both directions. The Simplex was introduced as an entry level version. The original Amadeus has enjoyed subtle revisions and upgrades and now with the introduction of the Symmetrex tonearm is officially MK2 . The better Amadeus GT has morphed into the GTA version - the acrylic plinth being replaced by a more massive and seriously engineered composite aluminium version. And now features the top of the line LTD/Symmetrex tonearm taking it's performance well beyond that of the standard Amadeus.
Equal to the Amadeus GTA at the top of the range, the new flagship model VERSALEX is also upgraded with the Symmetrex. The plinth is a 'Baltic Ply' - in other words just like that used in Shahinian speakers which has some rather nice acoustic and mechanical properties - it's finished in a handsome walnut veneer. The motor, platter and bearing may be identical to the Amadeus components but the Verselex has its own distinctive character.
Most turntables are manual meaning that they will not switch off at the end of a record – in today’s world this is often not what a lot of us want to deal with so we suggest the German made Dual models solve this issue and do so in an uncompromised fashion – the CS415 is just NZ$ 499. We suggest you talk with us to decide which of the models best suits your needs, in terms of sound, usability and budget.
With any turntable you can dramatically improve performance by replacing or upgrading the cartridge and stylus. Ortofon produce a great range of entry level and better moving magnet cartridges which will perk up any existing turntable and are effectively standard equipment of any credible new model. Dynavector Moving coils are the ones to beat – they are continually improved and refined and deliver state of the art performance from around $650.
It’s far to easy to underestimate the importance of a quality phono stage – In many cases modern amplifiers simply don't include this option. The new entry level 551P and appreciably better 651P from Cambridge Audio are little stunners - far better than you might expect and the easy winners in the value for money stakes.The brand new Well Tempered Labs RIAA phono stage is just on NZ$500 and shows you just how good even low cost cartridges can sound.
The new Dynavector P75mk3 phono stage is actually more compact than the Cambridge models but the sound that comes out of it is far more impressive. Now in Mark 3 form and far more sophisticated in every way, the Dynavector P75 features the Patented Phono Enhancing Circuit designed by Dr Tominari, to dramatically improve the performance of Dynavectors low output moving coil cartridges with a vanishingly low noise floor and exceptional detail retrieval.
But good as the Dynavector may be, the new Pure Audio phono stage delivers a whole new world of analogue pleasures. Designed and made in New Zealand by Gary Morrison this is truly a state-of-the-art product. If you can imagine the difference between the sound of an entry level Pro-ject turntable and the better of the Well Tempered models, then you'll be starting to understand the gains made by investing in the Pure Audio. Remarkable doesn't begin to describe what you'll hear.
The connection between turntable and phono stage (or amp) is also critical. The output from phono cartridges (especially MC) is much lower than other audio components so it's critical that any cable used is both of high quality so you avoid loss. But even more important is that it is well shielded to eliminate hum and noise. We stock and recommend the ultra quiet Mogami Negelx cables which can be made to any length by order - these are a worthwhile upgrade for many Project models and are effectively mandatory for the Well Tempered.
Record Care
The Spin Clean is a cheap and cheerful device that really works - it comes in a happy yellow box, includes everything you need to thoroughly clean a large number of records and costs just $200.
One of our clients tells us - “Hi sharon please convey to john that i am very pleased with the results of the 30 or so LPs I have cleaned so far, it has reduced the hiss and improved the clarity significantly. many of these LPs have not been cleaned for near 30 years but have always been well treated, says a lot for the longevity of vinyl” Once you've got your records really clean, keep them that way with daily use of the Pro-Ject Carbon Fibre brush and store them in Nagaoka Anti-Static record sleeves.
And all this is just really the start of our analogue range. With notable brands such as the Italian Sonus faber, loudspeakers, Quad vacuum tube amplifers and electrostatic speakers, Grado headphones, we've got all the bases covered. Drop us a line and tell us how we can help.
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Dunedin 9016
New Zealand
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John Ransley and Carolyn Guytonbeck are the principals behind Totally Wired. It’s our own business and we take pride in building something worthwhile.
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